VP, Total Rewards
Description
AppFolio is more than a company. We’re a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future. One in which every experience feels effortless, yet meaningful. Where customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. We show up as one team, connected by our values to be a force for good. Because together, we have the power to create extraordinary outcomes for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.
As the Vice President, Total Rewards, you will serve as a key advisor to the Chief People Officer, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors, shaping how AppFolio invests in and retains top talent. AppFolio has a strong Total Rewards strategy in place — your job is to evolve it: anticipating shifts in the market, the business, and our talent strategy, and refining the strategy year over year so it stays ahead of where the company is headed rather than reacting after the fact. You’ll ensure Total Rewards is tightly aligned to our broader talent strategy, serve as a lead architect for 3-Year Plan inputs, and bring deep analytical rigor to keep the function ahead of business needs. We’re looking for a leader who builds trust through preparation and partnership — someone who brings stakeholders along early, backs recommendations with clear data and financial modeling, and translates complexity into decisions the business can act on with confidence.
Your Impact
Evolve Total Rewards for the Future of Work: Stay at the forefront of how AI is reshaping work and roles - what work humans do, which skills and capabilities become more valuable, and how roles should be structured, valued, and rewarded. Evolve our compensation, equity, benefits, and career frameworks accordingly, including how we recognize and reward high-impact individual contributors in roles where human judgment, critical thinking, and learning agility are increasingly critical. Translate this into clear annual priorities, programs, and measurable outcomes.
Partner on Executive Compensation & Board Governance: Serve as a strategic partner and co-pilot on executive compensation strategy, working closely alongside the Total Rewards leader who holds the primary Compensation Committee and Board relationship — shaping strategy and materials together, appearing jointly in Committee and Board settings as needed, and helping that leader continue to grow the depth and reach of that seat.
Architect the Benefits Strategy: Own a multi-year benefits roadmap — plan design, funding strategy (including evaluating self-funded models), wellness programming, and employee experience — grounded in a structured analytical framework.
Ensure Pay Equity & Governance Excellence: Lead annual pay equity analyses and build scalable, compliant governance across all Total Rewards programs.
Enable Leaders & Empower AppFolians: Equip leaders with the tools and confidence to make sound pay decisions and hold transparent conversations, simplifying complex program design into clear, engaging communication that builds trust across the company.
Build and Develop a High-Performing Team: Lead and develop a high-performing team spanning Compensation, Benefits, and Executive & Equity Compensation, including coaching senior leaders to own high-visibility relationships with the Compensation Committee and Board. Embed strong Total Rewards operations across the team, with clear processes, governance, data, and operating rhythms that enable the function to execute with rigor and scale.
Partner Across AppFolio: Serve as a trusted cross-functional partner to Finance, Legal, Talent Acquisition, HRBPs, and People Operations, ensuring Total Rewards is fully integrated into 3YP and tightly aligned with talent strategy.
Qualifications
Total Rewards Expertise: Expert knowledge of Total Rewards including broad-based compensation, executive compensation, equity programs, and benefits strategy, with the ability to connect program design to enterprise financial and talent outcomes.
Strategy & Vision: A forward-looking mindset — able to anticipate shifts in the market, the business, and talent strategy, and translate that anticipation into a sharper roadmap rather than a reactive one.
Board & Comp Committee Partnership: Experience working with a Compensation Committee and Board, with comfort partnering and co-piloting alongside another leader who holds the primary relationship, rather than needing to hold it personally.
Financial & Strategic Acumen: Deep understanding of compensation economics, job architecture, and market pricing methodologies, with the ability to connect technical program design to enterprise-level financial outcomes.
Executive Presence & Communication: Exceptional executive presence and communication skills, able to present complex, technical material to senior stakeholders with clarity and confidence, and to build influence without authority across functions.
Change Leadership: Experience navigating organizational transitions, managing ambiguity, and bringing stakeholders along through periods of strategic evolution.
Operational Rigor: A highly structured, analytical, and detail-oriented leader who brings clarity and rigor to complex environments — establishing strong frameworks, strengthening internal controls, and continuously refining practices to ensure efficiency, compliance, and financial discipline.
AppFolian Way Champion: Holds self and leaders accountable to a high-performance culture and models the values that make AppFolio a great place to work.
What You’ll Bring
12+ years of progressive Total Rewards experience, including 5+ years owning both Compensation and Benefits at a senior leadership level.
Experience in a public company environment with direct Compensation Committee and Board engagement.
Proven ability to develop, execute, and evolve multi-year Total Rewards strategies aligned to business planning cycles — and to build the business case that gets them approved.
Demonstrated track record of developing leaders and building functional depth, including coaching leaders into high-visibility roles, with the ability to create clarity, grow talent, and retain strong contributors through periods of change.
Strong analytical foundation, with proven experience building rigorous business cases and distilling complex data into clear recommendations for executive and Board audiences.
Experience evaluating or managing benefits funding strategy, including familiarity with self-funded or level-funded models.
Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.
About AppFolio
AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com.
Why AppFolio
Grow | We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.
Learn | We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We're cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best-in-class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.
Impact | We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.
Connect | We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.
Paddle as One.
Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers
Statement of Equal Opportunity
At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That’s why we’re a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you’re always welcome at AppFolio.