Freelancer (m/f/d) Compensation & Benefits

Shape the future of compensation at Polarise with us.
At Polarise, we are growing rapidly, continuously evolving, and building the structures that a modern scale-up needs for sustainable success. To support this journey, we are looking for an experienced Compensation & Benefits Freelancer (m/f/d) to help us establish a transparent, market-aligned, and scalable compensation framework.
You will support us in further developing our existing salary structure, introducing salary bands, designing variable compensation models, and establishing a job architecture for our current team of approximately 70 employees.

In detail, you will take ownership of the following topics:

• You analyze our existing compensation landscape, role structure, and bonus commitments.
• You conduct interviews with managers and senior leadership to create transparency around roles, responsibilities, and career paths.
• You develop a company-wide job architecture with job families, levels, and career paths for all employees.
• You create market-aligned salary bands, including governance, grading, and progression frameworks.
• You conduct market benchmarking analyses and derive robust compensation structures for different roles and career levels.
• You design goal-setting and bonus models for various areas of the business.
• You develop a fair and transparent transition approach for bonus commitments that have already been communicated.
• You support the implementation of the compensation framework in Personio and document processes and guidelines to ensure long-term sustainability.
• You advise us on preparing for the requirements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive and on establishing an objective, gender-neutral compensation framework.

• You have several years of hands-on experience in Compensation & Benefits, Total Rewards, or compensation consulting and are familiar with the relevant employment law framework.
• You have already gained experience in implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive and understand how to translate regulatory requirements into practical compensation models.
• You have a proven track record of developing and successfully implementing job architectures, career frameworks, and salary bands in growing organizations.
• You understand the requirements and dynamics of scale-ups, technology companies, or SaaS businesses and know how to adapt compensation structures to support growth.
• You bring strong expertise in the design, implementation, and further development of variable compensation models.
• You stand out through your strong analytical skills as well as advanced Excel and data analysis capabilities.
• You work in a structured, pragmatic, and results-oriented manner and take ownership of your projects.
• You are able to communicate complex compensation topics clearly and effectively to both managers and employees.
• You have business-fluent German language skills and are fluent in English, both written and spoken.

Bonus points if...

• You have already worked with compensation cycles, salary reviews, and compensation reporting in Personio.
• You bring experience from a compensation consulting environment or a fast-growing technology company.

Have you successfully delivered similar projects and are you excited about helping shape a modern compensation framework within a growing technology company? Then we look forward to receiving your application, including relevant project references, your availability, and your daily rate.