Sample Job Architecture Framework

Sample_Documents

DISCLAIMER: This is a sample template provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Organizations should consult their own legal and tax advisors and tailor this document to reflect their specific business needs, geographies, and applicable laws.

Document Header

Field	Value
Document Title	Job Architecture Framework
Company	<Company Name>
Document Type	Base Compensation
Category	Job Architecture
Version	<Version Number>
Effective Date	<Effective Date: <Date>>
Last Review Date	<Date>
Next Scheduled Review	<Date> (typically 12 to 24 months after effective date)
Document Owner	<Total Rewards Leader or COE>
Approved By	<Executive Sponsor or Compensation Committee>
Geographic Scope	<Global> with local adaptations for <Country> as required
Confidentiality	Internal Use Only
Contact	<Compensation Inbox or HR Shared Services Email>

Purpose and Objectives

Provide a clear, consistent, and scalable job architecture for <Company Name> that supports fair and market-competitive pay decisions, transparent career paths, and effective workforce planning.
Enable standardized job levels, families, and titles to support pay structure alignment, talent mobility, and analytics.
Improve compliance with pay equity, disclosure, and works council or labor union obligations across applicable jurisdictions.
Reduce role proliferation, ensure internal comparability, and facilitate market pricing with external benchmarks.

Scope and Applicability

In Scope

All regular employees of <Company Name> in the following categories: Individual Contributors, People Managers, Executives, Technical Specialists, and Sales roles.
Job levels, job families, titling standards, job evaluation methodology, and the linkage between job architecture and pay structures.
Global guideline with local implementation considerations for <Country>, <Country>, and <Country>.

Out of Scope

Contingent workers, interns, and apprentices unless specifically included by local policy.
Collective bargaining agreement roles where job definitions and pay structures are governed by negotiated terms.
Sales incentive plan mechanics, commission rates, and territory design details.
Executive long-term incentive design, which is covered in a separate policy.

Applicability

This framework applies to all covered roles effective <Effective Date: <Date>> and is mandatory for new job creation, job changes, and market pricing.
Local HR may implement country-specific adaptations subject to approval by Total Rewards and legal review.

Guiding Principles

Market-Informed, Internally Fair: Use reputable market sources and ensure internal equity across comparable roles.
Simple, Scalable, and Sustainable: Favor a small number of flexible job families and consistent levels to reduce complexity.
Transparent and Understandable: Employees and managers can understand how levels and titles are determined.
Governed and Controlled: Clear roles, approvals, and audit trails for changes to jobs, levels, and titles.
Global Standards with Local Flexibility: Maintain global consistency while enabling required local adaptations.

Framework Overview

Components of the Job Architecture

Career Streams: Distinct pathways such as Individual Contributor, People Manager, and Executive.
Job Functions and Families: Broad groupings of related work (for example, Engineering, Sales, Finance), with subfamilies as needed (for example, Software Engineering, Sales Operations).
Career Levels: A progression of responsibility and scope within each stream (for example, IC1 to IC7, M1 to M5, E1 to E3).
Job Codes and Titles: Standardized internal job codes and titles; external or market titles may be used for recruiting and external purposes where appropriate.
Job Descriptions: Standardized content including purpose, responsibilities, qualifications, and decision rights.

Career Streams

Individual Contributor (IC): Professional roles without direct people management as the primary responsibility.
People Manager (M): Roles with responsibility for managing people, team performance, and resource allocation.
Executive (E): Enterprise leadership roles with broad strategic and financial accountability.

Career Levels: Individual Contributor

Level	Typical Scope	Knowledge and Experience	Problem Solving and Impact	Supervision Received
IC1	Entry-level professional	Foundational knowledge; typically 0 to 2 years	Applies standard procedures; impact limited to own tasks	Close supervision and guidance
IC2	Developing professional	Broader knowledge; typically 2 to 4 years	Solves routine problems; contributes to team deliverables	Regular guidance; increasing independence
IC3	Experienced professional	Advanced knowledge; typically 4 to 7 years	Solves varied problems; influences immediate team	General direction; works independently
IC4	Senior professional	Deep expertise; typically 7 to 10 years	Leads complex tasks; cross-functional influence	Minimal supervision; may mentor others
IC5	Principal professional	Recognized expert; typically 10+ years	Leads complex programs; enterprise impact	Operates autonomously; mentors and coaches
IC6	Distinguished professional	Enterprise authority	Defines standards and strategy; external influence	Self-directed; thought leader
IC7	Fellow-level expert	Industry-recognized leader	Shapes industry practices; patents, publications	Operates with executive sponsorship

Career Levels: People Manager and Executive

Level	Typical Span of Control	Scope of Accountability	Decision Rights	Financial Impact
M1	5 to 10 direct reports	Single team, tactical execution	Prioritizes team work, hiring, performance	Influences cost center budget
M2	2 to 4 managers or 10 to 20 total reports	Multiple teams, functional coordination	Sets team strategy within function	Manages budget for sub-function
M3	Multi-team or geography	Functional strategy and delivery	Approves org design and staffing plans	Owns sub-function P&L elements
M4	Large function or business unit	Cross-functional strategy	Sets function policy; major investments	Owns function P&L
M5	Multiple functions or region	Enterprise-wide initiatives	Enterprise investment and portfolio decisions	Significant P&L accountability
E1	Executive leader of function	Company strategy input	Approves function strategy and capital	Enterprise P&L contribution
E2	Business unit president or equivalent	Company strategy ownership	Enterprise portfolio, M&A, external commitments	Full P&L for BU
E3	C-level enterprise leadership	Company-wide strategy and oversight	Board-level decisions, external governance	Enterprise P&L and shareholder value

Job Families and Taxonomy

Functions and Families

Example functions include: Engineering, Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, People, Legal, Operations, IT, Customer Success, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain.
Within each function, families group similar work (for example, within Engineering: Software Engineering, Infrastructure, Quality Assurance, Security).
Subfamilies can be used sparingly to capture specialization where market data supports it.

Family Design Criteria

External market alignment to ensure reliable benchmarking.
Critical mass of roles to justify a family or subfamily.
Clear differences in purpose, qualifications, and career pathways.

Titling Standards and Job Codes

Internal vs External Titles

Internal titles follow the structure: Function Family Title, Level Indicator, for example, Software Engineer III (IC3).
External or market-facing titles may omit level indicators for simplicity in recruiting materials, for example, Senior Software Engineer.
Executive titles must align with corporate governance, for example, Vice President, Senior Vice President, and Chief <Function> Officer.

Titling Guidelines

Avoid using inflated titles to attract talent; use market-appropriate seniority aligned to level.
Use consistent seniority terms: Associate, Mid, Senior, Principal, Distinguished, Fellow.
Sales titles should reflect role type (for example, Account Executive, Sales Engineer) and market level.

Job Code Structure

Format: <Function Code>-<Family Code>-<Level Code>-<Country Code>
Example: ENG-SWE-IC3-US or FIN-ACC-M2-UK
Level codes: IC1 to IC7, M1 to M5, E1 to E3
Maintain a central code catalog owned by Total Rewards.

Job Descriptions

Required Sections

Job Purpose
Key Responsibilities and Deliverables
Qualifications and Experience
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Decision Rights and Problem-Solving
Relationships and Influence
Working Conditions and Travel
Location and Work Arrangement (for example, hybrid, remote, on-site)
Legal and Compliance Statements

Writing Standards

Use clear, non-discriminatory language and essential functions only.
Describe outcomes, not just tasks. Example: "Lead cross-functional program delivery for <Product> improving time-to-market by <Percentage>%."
Include qualifications as required vs preferred to avoid unnecessary barriers.
Ensure consistency with FLSA or local exempt status determination; consult Legal for <Country> specific requirements.

Job Leveling Methodology

Factor-Based Evaluation

<Company Name> uses a factor-based approach to determine the appropriate career level for each job. The following factors are weighted to reflect business priorities:
Business Impact and Scope: <Percentage>%
Complexity and Problem Solving: <Percentage>%
Knowledge and Experience: <Percentage>%
Communication and Influence: <Percentage>%
Leadership and People Responsibility: <Percentage>%

Factor Descriptions

Business Impact and Scope: Extent of influence on revenue, cost, customer outcomes, or risk.
Complexity and Problem Solving: Degree of ambiguity, novelty, and interdependency of work.
Knowledge and Experience: Depth and breadth of technical or professional expertise required.
Communication and Influence: Nature of stakeholder interactions, negotiations, and change leadership.
Leadership and People Responsibility: Level of coaching, resource allocation, and organization design responsibilities.

Slotting Process

Hiring manager and HRBP draft job description using the standard template and align to a family and stream.
Total Rewards assigns preliminary level using factors, market benchmarks from <Vendor Name>, and internal comparisons.
If market data is inconclusive, apply factor scoring and internal calibration with adjacent roles.
Proposed level, title, and code are reviewed by the Function Leader and Total Rewards.
Final approval is recorded in <HRIS Vendor Name> and becomes effective on <Date>.

Exception Handling

Roles that do not map cleanly (for example, hybrid technical leadership) should be evaluated using factor scoring and, where needed, dual career ladder considerations approved by Total Rewards.
Exceptions to established titles or levels require Total Rewards and <Executive Sponsor> approval.

Linkage to Pay Structures

Grade Mapping

Each career level maps to a pay grade within the global salary structure. Example mapping:

Career Stream and Level	Grade Band	Typical Range Spread	Midpoint Progression
IC1	G1	35% to 45%	8% to 10%
IC2	G2	35% to 45%	8% to 10%
IC3	G3	40% to 50%	10% to 12%
IC4	G4	45% to 55%	10% to 12%
IC5	G5	50% to 60%	12% to 15%
M1	G5	50% to 60%	12% to 15%
M2	G6	55% to 65%	12% to 15%
M3	G7	60% to 70%	15% to 18%
M4	G8	70% to 80%	18% to 20%
E1 to E3	G9 to G11	80% to 100%	20% to 25%

Market Pricing Standards

Use at least two independent market data sources (for example, <Vendor Name> and <Vendor Name>).
Price jobs to the 50th percentile (P50) for core roles and up to P75 for strategically critical or scarce talent roles with Total Rewards approval.
Apply geographic differentials where applicable using a location factor table maintained by Total Rewards.

Range Management

Compa-ratio target: 0.95 to 1.05 for fully proficient employees.
Range penetration informs growth potential within a grade. Promotions generally require sustained performance and readiness with placement at or above the new grade minimum.
Pay changes outside standard guidelines require a documented business rationale and approvals per the Compensation Governance Policy.

Premiums and Differentials

Shift differentials, on-call pay, and hazard pay are managed in local policies and should map to job families consistently.
Hard-to-fill premium or scarcity allowance may be used temporarily for specific markets with sunset date of <Date>.

Global Consistency and Local Adaptation

Localization Rules

Global levels and families are standard. Local titles may vary for compliance or market reasons but must retain internal code mapping.
Country-specific legal requirements take precedence. For example, job classification disclosures in <Country> or job posting pay range requirements in <Country>.
Works council or employee representative bodies must be consulted in applicable jurisdictions before implementation.

Currency and Exchange Rates

Salary structures are maintained in local currency. Exchange rates for modeling are set quarterly by Finance on <Date> and communicated to Total Rewards.

Language and Translation

Official English versions are authoritative; certified translations are provided for <Country> languages as required.

Governance, Roles, and Responsibilities

Governance Bodies

Compensation Governance Committee: Oversees policy, exceptions above <Amount>, and annual structure updates.
Total Rewards Center of Excellence: Owns methodology, market data, ranges, and audits.
Function Leaders: Stewards job family content and alignment for their functions.
HR Business Partners: Advise managers, ensure policy application, and facilitate change management.
Talent Acquisition: Applies titles and levels to requisitions; ensures offer alignment to range and market.
Finance: Confirms budget alignment and provides financial impact analysis.
Legal and Compliance: Reviews for regulatory and labor law requirements.

RACI Overview for Job Changes

Responsible: Hiring Manager and HRBP
Accountable: Total Rewards
Consulted: Function Leader, Finance, Legal
Informed: HR Operations, Talent Acquisition, Payroll

Processes and Workflows

New Job Creation

Hiring Manager initiates request in <HRIS Vendor Name> with job purpose, responsibilities, location, and justification.
HRBP reviews and refines content to match family standards.
Total Rewards evaluates level, market price, and proposed grade using <Vendor Name> data.
Function Leader approves job content and business need.
Total Rewards finalizes title, code, grade, and range; enters into the Job Catalog.
HR Operations creates job in HRIS with effective date and notifies Talent Acquisition.

Job Reclassification or Level Change

Manager and HRBP submit reclassification request with evidence of sustained scope change over <Time Period> months.
Total Rewards conducts factor evaluation and market review.
Finance validates budget impact; Legal reviews compliance if required.
Approvals per governance thresholds are recorded; changes made effective on the next pay period start date or <Date>.

Sunsetting Jobs

Function Leader proposes sunset when role is obsolete or merged.
Total Rewards confirms no active incumbents or outlines transition plan.
HR Operations updates HRIS and archives the job code effective <Date>.

Data and Records

Maintain audit logs for at least <Time Period> years or longer per local requirements.
Version job descriptions with change history and effective dates.

Implementation Guidelines

Phased Approach

Phase 1: Design and functional validation of families, levels, and titling standards.
Phase 2: Mapping existing roles to the new architecture and identifying gaps.
Phase 3: Market pricing and grade alignment; development of salary structures.
Phase 4: Systems configuration in <HRIS Vendor Name> and data migration with quality checks.
Phase 5: Manager enablement, communications, and change management.
Phase 6: Go-live on <Date> with post-implementation support and stabilization.

Change Management Considerations

Identify change impacts by function and geography and prepare FAQs, job aids, and briefing decks.
Train HRBPs and managers on job leveling, titles, and pay structures.
Publish an employee-facing guide and ensure transparency on how levels relate to career development.

Systems and Data Migration

Maintain crosswalk tables for legacy titles and new job codes.
Perform data validation on required fields: job code, family, level, grade, location, and FLSA or local equivalent.
Freeze job changes during cutover window of <Number> days to ensure data integrity.

Review and Approval Process

Review Cadence

Annual market review cycle begins on <Date> and finalizes by <Date>. Mid-year review as needed for hot skills or market shocks.
Structural review of job families and level descriptors every 24 months, or sooner if strategic shifts occur.

Approval Thresholds

New job creation within established families requires Total Rewards and Function Leader approval.
Deviations from titling standards, level placement, or grade mapping require Compensation Governance Committee approval if cost impact exceeds <Amount> or affects more than <Percentage>% of employees in a function.
Global changes with material employee impact require <Executive Sponsor> sign-off and, where applicable, works council consultation.

Controls, Compliance, and Risk Management

Pay Equity and Legal Compliance

Conduct annual pay equity analyses by level, family, and location; remediate as needed in the merit cycle.
Ensure compliance with equal pay, salary history bans, and pay transparency laws in <Country> and <Country>.
Job postings include pay ranges as required by local law; ranges must align to the mapped grade.

Audit and Control Activities

Quarterly audit of job code usage to prevent shadow titles and proliferation.
Access controls restrict job catalog edits to Total Rewards and designated HR Operations staff.
Segregation of duties is enforced for job creation, level assignment, and pay adjustments.

Risk Mitigation

Single points of failure avoided by documenting processes and cross-training HR staff.
Monitor market trends for critical roles; update ranges mid-cycle if market moves exceed <Percentage>%.
Maintain escalation paths for exception handling with defined SLAs of <Number> business days.

Metrics and Reporting

Key Performance Indicators

Job catalog size and growth rate by function and geography.
Ratio of internal to external hires by level and family.
Grade drift and range utilization distribution by population segment.
Compa-ratio and pay equity gaps by protected categories, where legally permissible.
Span of control and organizational layers by function.
Time to approve new job requests and reclassification requests.

Reporting Cadence

Monthly operational dashboards to HR leadership and Function Leaders.
Quarterly governance updates to the Compensation Governance Committee.
Annual Board or Compensation Committee summary of architecture health metrics.

Family and Level Example Descriptors

Example: Software Engineering Family

IC1 to IC7 follow the IC descriptor table; M1 to M3 represent Team Leads to Directors.
Example responsibilities by level:
IC2: Implement features in <Programming Language> with code reviews and unit tests; resolves defects.
IC3: Designs components, mentors interns, and collaborates with Product on requirements.
IC4: Leads cross-service design, performance tuning, and incident response across <Number> services.
M2: Sets team roadmaps, aligns priorities with Product, owns delivery metrics and staffing plans.
IC5 and above: Defines technical strategy, cross-functional architectures, and external technical brand.

Example: Sales Family

IC2 to IC5 capture Account Executives and Enterprise sellers; M1 to M3 for frontline managers and regional leaders.
Example responsibilities by level:
IC3: Manages pipeline of <Amount> with a quarterly quota of <Amount>; coordinates with SEs.
IC4: Sells to C-level, negotiates complex deals, and mentors sellers across a region.
M2: Owns regional forecast accuracy within <Percentage>%; sets territory plans and enablement.

Career Progression and Mobility

Progression Principles

Progression is based on sustained demonstration of scope and impact at the next level, not time-in-role alone.
Dual career paths allow advancement as either Individual Contributor or People Manager.
Lateral moves across families are encouraged to build breadth; level may remain the same.

Promotion Guidelines

Promotion proposals include evidence of sustained impact for at least <Time Period> months, performance history, and market considerations.
Typical promotional increase guidelines align to new grade minimum and position-in-range, with increases of <Percentage>% to <Percentage>% depending on compa-ratio and internal equity.
Off-cycle promotions require <Executive Sponsor> approval.

Data Standards and Catalog Management

Required Job Fields

Job Code, Internal Title, External Title, Career Stream, Level, Function, Family, Subfamily, Grade, Location, FLSA or local equivalent, EEO or local reporting codes, Effective Date.

Catalog Hygiene

Avoid duplicate or overlapping roles; sunset obsolete jobs.
Use a standard naming convention with no special characters except hyphens where needed.
Review job content annually to ensure currency and alignment to business needs.

Change Log

Version	Date	Description of Change	Approved By
<Version Number>	<Date>	Initial release	<Approver>
<Version Number>	<Date>	Market range update and family descriptor refresh	<Approver>

Glossary

Career Stream: A high-level pathway of work such as Individual Contributor, People Manager, or Executive.
Career Level: A stage in increasing responsibility and scope within a stream (for example, IC3, M2).
Job Function: A broad grouping of related work such as Sales or Finance.
Job Family: A sub-group within a function with similar responsibilities and qualifications.
Job Code: A unique identifier that encodes function, family, level, and geography.
Grade: The pay structure band associated with a job level.
Range Spread: The percent difference between minimum and maximum of a salary range.
Midpoint Progression: The percent increase between midpoints of adjacent grades.
Compa-Ratio: An employee’s salary divided by the midpoint of the salary range.
Range Penetration: Position of an employee’s salary within the salary range.
Market Pricing: The process of using external data to determine pay competitiveness.
Factor Evaluation: Method of assessing job level based on defined factors.
Works Council: Employee representative body in certain countries that must be consulted on employment matters.

Communication Section: For Employees and Managers

What Is Changing and Why It Matters

At <Company Name>, we want careers to be clear, fair, and rewarding. Our job architecture gives every role a consistent home with a defined level, family, and title. This helps us make pay decisions that are both market-informed and internally fair, and it makes career paths easier to understand.

You will see your role aligned to a career stream (for example, Individual Contributor or People Manager), a job family (for example, Software Engineering or Finance), and a level (for example, IC3 or M2). These elements connect to our pay structures and development programs so that similar work is recognized in similar ways, across teams and locations.

What You Can Expect on <Effective Date: <Date>>

Most employees will see no immediate change to base pay or job responsibilities. Your job title in our HR system will include a level indicator that helps you understand where you are in the career path. For roles that need a different level based on scope, your HR partner will reach out to talk through the change and next steps.

If your role’s market has moved significantly, we may adjust ranges. When that happens, we look at internal equity and budget, and we will discuss any pay changes with you directly.

How to Read Your Level and Family

Your level reflects the scope and impact of your work. For example, IC1 to IC7 are individual contributor levels, M1 to M5 are people manager levels, and E1 to E3 are executive levels. A higher level means broader responsibility, more complex problem solving, and a bigger sphere of influence.

Your job family groups you with others doing similar work. Families make it easier to compare roles and to see development expectations for your path.

Career Growth and Mobility

Growth can happen in place, through projects that increase your scope, or by moving across teams to build new skills. Promotions occur when you consistently operate at the next level’s expectations. If you prefer to remain an individual contributor, that is a valid path; you do not need to become a manager to grow your career.

Ask your manager about the level guide for your family and how it translates into skills, results, and behaviors for your next step.

Titles You Will See

We use internal titles that include a level indicator to keep things consistent. For example, a Senior Software Engineer might be listed as Software Engineer IV (IC4) internally. For external purposes like LinkedIn or recruiting, we may use a market title without the level indicator.

Pay and Ranges

Every job level connects to a pay range based on market data for your location. Being within the range means your pay is aligned to the market for the work you do. We look at your position in the range when making pay decisions, considering performance, experience, and equity with peers. Promotions typically come with a new range and an increase aligned to that range.

If your location publishes pay ranges with job postings, we will show the applicable range for the job’s level and location, consistent with local law.

What You Need to Do

Review your job information in <HRIS Vendor Name> after <Effective Date: <Date>> and confirm your family and level look right.
Talk with your manager about your development plan and how your role maps to the level expectations.
If something looks off, contact your HR Business Partner or email <Compensation Inbox> for support.

Timeline and Support

We will roll out the new job architecture on <Date>. Manager briefings and office hours will run from <Date> to <Date>. You can access guides, FAQs, and job aids on <Intranet Link>. If you have questions, please reach out to your HRBP or the Total Rewards team at <Compensation Inbox>.

Important Notes

This communication explains how we organize jobs and set ranges. It does not guarantee employment for any period of time, nor does it change the at-will nature of employment where applicable. In countries where additional agreements apply, those documents govern. We may update the job architecture over time to reflect business needs, market changes, and legal requirements.

Document Information:

Document Type: Job Architecture Framework
Category: Base Compensation
Generated: August 22, 2025
Status: Sample Template
Next Review: <Insert Review Date>

Usage Instructions:

Replace all text in angle brackets < > with your company-specific information
Review all sections for applicability to your organization
Customize content to reflect your company's policies and local regulations
Have legal and HR leadership review before implementation
Update document header with your company's version control information
At bottom of the document you find a short example on how the content could be communicated to end-users, for instance employees.

This sample document is provided for reference only and should be customized to meet your organization's specific needs and local legal requirements.