The Role
Leads the strategy, design, governance, and administration of compensation, benefits, retirement, leave, payroll, and total rewards analytics across the U.S. and Canada. Oversees self-funded health plans, pension and 401(k) programs, compensation architecture, pay-for-performance, payroll controls, vendor relationships, compliance, M&A integrations, and executive compensation support. Builds a scalable total rewards function, develops a small team, and partners with Finance, Legal, Operations, and HR leadership.
Summary Generated by Built In
Position Title: Director, Total Rewards
Location: Coeur d’Alene, ID - Corporate Office
Purpose: The Director, Total Rewards leads the design, build, and governance of Hecla’s compensation, benefits and payroll programs across the United States and Canada. The incumbent will assess and establish the frameworks, systems, governance, and analytics that a growing, acquisitive mining company requires — moving Total Rewards from a largely administrative footing to a strategic, data-informed capability that supports Hecla’s growth strategy.
Reporting directly to the CHRO, the Director serves as Hecla’s principal technical authority on benefits and compensation program design. Benefits — self-funded health and welfare, a closed defined benefit pension plan, 401(k) plans, and leave programs — represent the largest share of the role. The Director partners across Finance, Legal, Operations, and the broader HR team, builds the capability and bench strength of a small, developing team, and provides support to the CHRO on executive compensation, where the Company’s executive compensation consultant leads external assessment and design work.
Reports To: VP, CHRO
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
1. Total Rewards Strategy, Governance & Foundational Build
- Develop and gain endorsement for a multi-year total rewards strategy and roadmap aligned to Hecla’s business strategy, growth objectives, talent priorities, and cost parameters.
- Establish the foundational architecture of the function: compensation and benefits philosophy, governance model, decision rights, approval thresholds, policy documentation, calendars, and standard operating procedures.
- Define and build the Total Rewards technology and data foundation including HRIS configuration, market data subscriptions, survey participation, job and pay data integrity, and reporting/analytics.
- Establish a total rewards metrics framework (competitiveness, cost trend, utilization, pay equity, incentive leverage) and report results to the CHRO and executive leadership.
- Monitor legislative, regulatory, and market developments across U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions and translate them into timely program and policy action.
2. Benefits Design, Health & Retirement Plan Management
Self-funded health and welfare
- Own the design and financial management of Hecla’s self-funded medical, dental, vision, and welfare plans — plan design modeling, contribution and cost-share strategy, plan tiering, and network configuration.
- Manage the economics of self-funding: claims and utilization analysis, high-cost claimant trends, stop-loss placement and attachment point strategy, IBNR and reserve adequacy reviewed with Finance, and administrative fee negotiation.
- Lead the annual renewal, budget-setting, and open enrollment cycle end to end, including plan change modeling, employee cost impact analysis, communication strategy, and system configuration.
- Design and implement complementary programs — pharmacy strategy, HSA/FSA/HRA accounts, life and disability, EAP, telehealth, voluntary benefits, and wellbeing initiatives — with a clear view of value delivered per dollar spent.
- Evaluate emerging plan design and cost-containment strategies (network alternatives, direct contracting, condition management, transparency tools) and build the business case for what fits Hecla’s workforce and geography.
- Establish benefits governance: plan documents, summary plan descriptions, fiduciary committee structure and calendar, compliance filings, non-discrimination testing, and audit readiness.
Retirement — closed DB pension and 401(k)
- Own governance and administration of the closed defined benefit pension plan: actuarial valuation coordination, assumption review, funding strategy input with Finance, participant data integrity, and required disclosures and filings.
- Assess and recommend pension de-risking alternatives including lump-sum windows, annuity buy-outs, glide-path investment strategy, or plan termination with cost, accounting, and participant impact modeled.
- Own 401(k) plan design and fiduciary governance: match and contribution design, auto-enrollment and escalation, investment committee support, non-discrimination testing, annual audit, Form 5500 filings, and fee benchmarking.
- Ensure Canadian retirement and savings arrangements are competitive, compliant, and administered to the same standard.
Leave, absence and Canadian programs
- Complete the analysis of leave policies and practices and redesign the leave portfolio including statutory, company-provided, parental, and disability and accommodation interfaces into a compliant, consistent, competitive, and administratively sustainable framework across all jurisdictions.
- Build absence and disability management processes that coordinate cleanly with Health & Safety, workers’ compensation, and site operations.
- Design and manage Canadian benefit programs, accounting for provincial and territorial requirements and the differences between Canadian and U.S. plan structures, taxation, and market practice.
Vendor and advisor management
- Select, contract, and manage brokers, consultants, carriers, actuaries, and third-party administrators; run competitive marketing and RFP processes on a defined cycle.
- Hold vendors accountable to service level, data quality, reporting, and cost commitments; escalate and remediate performance issues.
- Build the benefits data and analytics capability — dashboards on cost, trend, utilization, and enrollment — so decisions are evidence-based rather than anecdotal.
3. Compensation Programs & Career Architecture
- Complete and deploy the enterprise career (job) architecture: job families, career streams, leveling criteria, job documentation standards, and salary structures for U.S. and Canadian populations.
- Design and implement a pay-for-performance program tied to a short-term incentive (bonus) structure including plan design, metric selection, funding and payout curves, individual and corporate performance weighting, plan documents, modeling, and accrual methodology developed with Finance.
- Own annual compensation processes: market benchmarking and survey submissions, salary structure movement, merit and incentive cycles, promotion and equity adjustment guidelines, and manager tools.
- Provide compensation consultation and offer/retention modeling for senior hires, critical roles, and hard-to-fill technical and site positions.
- Ensure pay program compliance and defensibility, including pay equity analysis, pay transparency requirements, FLSA and provincial classification, and support for collective bargaining and represented workforce commitments.
4. Payroll, HR Services & Operational Excellence
- Provide oversight and financial stewardship of multi-state and cross-border payroll through the Compensation Manager and payroll team — accuracy, timeliness, internal controls, SOX-relevant documentation, reconciliation, and tax and regulatory compliance.
- Standardize and continuously improve HR service delivery processes, employee-facing documentation, self-service content, and case handling for total rewards inquiries.
- Build the reporting and audit routines that give Finance, Internal Audit, and external auditors confidence in payroll and benefits data.
5. Leadership, Partnership & Capability Building
- Lead, coach, and develop two direct reports and the broader four-person team; set clear expectations and goals, provide candid feedback, and deliberately build technical depth and confidence in a junior team.
- Create development pathways, cross-training, and succession depth so the function is resilient and not dependent on a single point of knowledge.
- Partner across the HR team so total rewards programs land well with managers and employees.
- Partner across the enterprise with Finance, Legal, Operations, Health & Safety, and site leadership; build credibility with front-line and technical populations by understanding how the business actually runs.
- Communicate complex rewards concepts simply and persuasively to audiences ranging from hourly employees at site to the executive team.
6. M&A, Due Diligence & Integration
- Lead Total Rewards workstreams in acquisitions: diligence on compensation, benefit, pension, payroll, and leave liabilities; identification of risks, change-in-control obligations, and one-time costs; and quantification of synergy and harmonization assumptions.
- Design and execute integration plans and payroll transitions, structure and level mapping into Hecla’s career architecture, retention arrangements, and employee communications.
- Build repeatable diligence playbooks, checklists, and data request templates so each transaction is executed faster and more reliably than the last.
7. Executive Compensation — Support to the CHRO
- Serve as an internal point of coordination for the executive compensation consultant — scheduling, data requests, internal information gathering, and tracking deliverables against the CHRO’s calendar.
- Assemble accurate internal data for the consultant and the CHRO: incumbent pay history, plan provisions, participation and eligibility data, and internal equity context.
- Review consultant deliverables for internal accuracy and consistency with Hecla’s broader compensation programs, and flag questions or implications for the CHRO.
- Support the administration of executive and long-term incentive programs, and provide requested inputs to Legal and Finance for proxy disclosure and related filings.
Qualifications:
Required- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, finance, accounting, economics, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered.
- Seven or more years of progressive total rewards experience, including at least three to five years leading compensation and/or benefits functions or teams.
- Deep benefits design experience (primary requirement): demonstrated ownership of self-funded health and welfare plan design and financial management including plan design modeling, contribution strategy, claims and utilization analysis, stop-loss, renewal and budget setting, and vendor selection and management.
- Hands-on experience with both defined contribution (401(k)) and defined benefit pension plans, including fiduciary governance, compliance testing, audits, filings, and actuarial coordination. Experience with a closed or frozen DB plan and de-risking alternatives is strongly preferred.
- Experience designing and administering leave, absence, and disability programs across multiple jurisdictions.
- Demonstrated experience designing compensation programs, including job architecture/leveling and short-term incentive or pay-for-performance plans.
- Working knowledge of U.S. compensation and benefits regulation (ERISA, ACA, FLSA, IRS/DOL requirements, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA and state leave laws) and of Canadian employment, benefits, and payroll requirements.
- Payroll oversight experience in a multi-jurisdiction environment, with strong internal controls and audit orientation.
- Strong financial acumen: budget ownership, cost modeling, accrual and forecasting concepts, and the ability to hold a credible conversation with Finance about numbers.
- Advanced analytical and Excel/modeling skills; experience with HRIS and compensation planning tools.
- Proven program and project management skills, with the discipline to run multiple concurrent builds to committed dates.
- People leadership experience, including developing early-career or junior professionals.
- Experience with pension de-risking, plan termination, or annuity buy-out transactions.
- Familiarity with executive compensation processes at a publicly traded company sufficient to support the CHRO and an external consultant (leading the work is not required).
- Total rewards experience in mining, heavy industry, energy, manufacturing, or another operations-intensive, multi-site environment.
- Cross-border U.S./Canada total rewards experience, including remote-site and northern operations.
- Experience with mergers and acquisitions including due diligence, harmonization, and integration of rewards programs.
- Experience with represented/unionized workforces and collective bargaining support.
- CCP, CBP, GRP, CEBS, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or CHRP/CHRL designation.
- Experience building a function from an early stage of maturity, including selecting and implementing systems and vendors.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, finance, accounting, economics, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
- Seven or more years of progressive total rewards experience, including three to five years leading compensation and/or benefits functions or teams.
- Demonstrated ownership of self-funded health and welfare plan design and financial management, including modeling, contribution strategy, claims analysis, stop-loss, renewals, budgeting, and vendor management.
- Hands-on experience with defined contribution 401(k) and defined benefit pension plans, including fiduciary governance, compliance testing, audits, filings, and actuarial coordination.
- Experience designing and administering leave, absence, and disability programs across multiple jurisdictions.
- Experience designing compensation programs, including job architecture, leveling, short-term incentives, or pay-for-performance plans.
- Working knowledge of U.S. compensation and benefits regulations, including ERISA, ACA, FLSA, IRS/DOL requirements, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, and state leave laws, plus Canadian requirements.
- Payroll oversight experience in a multi-jurisdiction environment with strong internal controls and audit orientation.
- Strong financial acumen, including budget ownership, cost modeling, accruals, and forecasting.
- Advanced analytical and Excel/modeling skills, with experience using HRIS and compensation planning tools.
- Proven program and project management skills managing multiple concurrent initiatives.
- People leadership experience, including developing early-career or junior professionals.
- Experience with pension de-risking, plan termination, or annuity buy-out transactions.
- Familiarity with executive compensation processes at a publicly traded company.
- Total rewards experience in mining, heavy industry, energy, manufacturing, or another operations-intensive, multi-site environment.
- Cross-border U.S./Canada total rewards experience, including remote-site or northern operations.
- Mergers and acquisitions experience, including due diligence, harmonization, and integration of rewards programs.
- Experience with represented or unionized workforces and collective bargaining support.
- CCP, CBP, GRP, CEBS, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or CHRP/CHRL designation.
- Experience building an early-stage function, including selecting and implementing systems and vendors.
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The Company
What We Do
Hecla Mining Company is the oldest U.S.-based precious metals mining company and the largest primary silver producer in the United States. We are responsible for 45% of the U.S. silver production, and we also mine gold, lead, and zinc. Hecla has deep roots in our communities and has been in business for more than 130 years. Hecla is headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with a sister office in Vancouver, B.C, and our operating mines are located in the U.S. and Canada (Juneau, Alaska; Idaho’s Silver Valley; Quebec, Canada; and Yukon Territory, Canada). We also own additional exploration properties in world-class silver and gold mining districts across North America. Hecla’s philosophy is to operate mines safely by promoting a deeply rooted value-based culture, leveraging mining skills developed over the Company’s long history, and applying innovative new practices. Hecla’s responsibility is to the safety and health of our people, the communities we call home, and the environment we operate in. We are the oldest NYSE-listed precious metals mining company in North America (NYSE:HL).
