Director, Total Rewards & HR Policies

Director, Total Rewards & HR Policies

Entity: Aga Khan University

Location: Karachi

Introduction to the Aga Khan University:

Chartered in 1983, Aga Khan University (AKU) is a private, autonomous and self governing international university with 13 teaching sites in 6 countries distributed across three continents. As an integral part of the Aga Khan Development Network, AKU provides higher education in several disciplines, carries out research pertinent to the countries in which it exists and has campuses, programs and/or teaching hospitals in Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda and the UK. As an international institution, AKU operates on the core principles of quality, relevance, impact and access; and AKU is a model of academic excellence and an agent of social change.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

Job Role / Responsibilities:

The Director Total Rewards leads the development and governance of the organization’s rewards and institutional policy frameworks, with end‑to‑end accountability for planning, designing, implementing, and administering a comprehensive total rewards strategy and programs. The role ensures policy relevance, effective governance, and full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, while supporting organizational objectives and workforce sustainability.

The role requires a strong understanding of best practices, innovative trends, and reward strategies, combined with the ability to deliver end to end solutions. You will play a key role in designing and delivering compensation and total rewards programs that support AKU’s competitive positioning and continued growth. In addition, the role will lead the development, review, and oversight of institutional policies, ensuring robust governance frameworks, alignment with organizational priorities, and compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Specifically, you will be responsible for:

• Support in the development of the reward strategy in line with the University strategy, ensuring market competitive remuneration for colleagues across AKU.
• Identify and receive business needs/challenges from the Leadership or HR Business Partners and interpret related needs to propose affordable and sustainable reward solutions.
• Analyze relevant market trends and data for comparison with AKU’s remuneration offerings and propose any changes or new reward elements, ensuring AKU’s remuneration policies remain up to date for retention and attraction of desired talent.
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders for creating awareness on developed plans and timely/effective communication.
• Review and evaluate the performance of the developed framework in line with existing strategies and policies.
• Analyze the financial impact of the total reward program and design core measures to evaluate cost trends.
• Establish plans using the insights obtained through advanced analytics, while following up on certain issues such as market competitiveness, internal equity, etc.
• Partner with Finance and HR teams for the purpose of planning the annual budget process, preparation of budgets, and forecasting from a total remuneration perspective.
• Leverage expertise in the job evaluation process to ensure it is equitable, defensible, and supports the needs of the Organization.
• Monitor the effectiveness of compensation and benefits programs and recommends modification to reduce costs and improve delivery.
• Collaborate with other HR functions to contribute to a strategic delivery of total rewards programs.
• Implement end-to-end management of the increment cycle, including but not limited to preparation of options for merit increment, promotional increases and market adjustments within the approved budget, seek leadership approval of options, process letters  and handling any post increment queries.
• Develop governance and compliance improving pay transparency.
• Develop and implement variable payment / incentive payment mechanisms for improving staff retention, while maintaining institutional sustainability.
• Develop faculty compensation plans based on different specialties to attract and retain faculty within the institution.
• Participate in and conduct market data surveys in collaboration with relevant consultancies.
• Conceive and prepare analysis related to compensation & benefits, helping form the business case for Total Reward initiatives.
• Evaluate jobs based on internationally recognized job evaluation methodologies.
• Implement career progression plans within different job families to provide career growth to staff.
• Lead the development, review, and periodic updating of organizational policies, benchmarking against best international practices and peer institutions, while ensuring alignment with institutional objectives, evolving operational needs, and external regulatory requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective policy governance frameworks, including approval processes, version control, and communication mechanisms to ensure consistent application across the organization.
• Ensure institutional policies remain compliant with all applicable statutory, regulatory, and labor law requirements, guiding leadership and stakeholders on policy interpretation and risk implications.

Eligibility Criteria / Requirements:

• Master’s degree in human resources / finance or equivalent.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience with an exposure of direct management of the total rewards function of a large institution. Past experience of working within an academic setup / academic medical center would be an added advantage.
• Strong knowledge of compensation and benefits practices, regulations, and trends.
• Strong knowledge of statutory, regulatory, and labor law frameworks, with the ability to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical, well‑governed organizational policies.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to influence and collaborate at all organizational levels.
• Excellent analytical, problem solving and financial modelling ability.
• Sound judgment, independent and creative thinking with an eye for detail and accuracy.
• Solid financial and computational abilities; must be accurate and disciplined in capturing details and maintaining records.
• Ability to proactively develop team dynamics and performance, ensuring quality standards are consistently achieved.
• Significant experience in policy development, governance, or regulatory compliance within a complex organization, with demonstrated ability to interpret and apply statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Proven stakeholder management and advisory skills, with experience providing policy guidance to senior leadership and ensuring consistent institutional application.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.