Head of Compensation & Benefits

Independent Food Company; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Independent Food Company in Dubai is seeking a Total Rewards Manager to design and oversee compensation, benefits, payroll governance, and incentive schemes across brands and markets.

You will lead job evaluation, grading, and dashboards, ensuring internal equity, market competitiveness, and cost efficiency, while partnering with Finance, HR Ops, and leadership to support growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, finance, business, economics, or related field.
• CIPD, GRP or equivalent certifications preferred.
• 7–10 years in Compensation & Benefits / Total Rewards.
• Minimum 3 years in a managerial role.
• Strong experience in retail, hospitality, F&B, or multi-site operations.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement total rewards strategy aligned with business goals.
• Manage compensation structures for all job families and levels with market benchmarking.
• Lead job evaluation and grading governance across corporate and store roles.
• Design and manage incentive schemes linked to KPIs and profitability.
• Oversee benefits programs, payroll governance, and regulatory compliance.
• Develop budgeting processes and monitor compensation spend vs. budget.
• Provide governance for policies and ensure internal equity and cost efficiency.
• Partner with HR, Operations, Finance, and leadership on compensation decisions and new markets.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or related field

CIPD or GRP certification or equivalent (preferred)

Job description

Independent Food Company is home to some of the region's most recognized hospitality concepts, including SALT, Somewhere, Parker's, Shalwa, Somewhere, and Public. We are a fast-growing organisation with an expanding portfolio of concepts, an active acquisition strategy, and ambitious plans for growth across new and existing markets. As we scale, the quality of our people remains central to everything we build. That is where you come in.

Role Summary

The Total Rewards Manager is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing the organization’s total rewards strategy, including compensation, benefits, payroll governance, incentive schemes, job grading, salary structures, and reward frameworks across corporate and store operations.

The role ensures the company remains competitive in the labor market while maintaining internal equity, pay transparency, cost efficiency, and alignment with business performance. It plays a key role in supporting business growth, store profitability, and talent attraction and retention across all brands and geographies.

Key Responsibilities

Compensation & Benefits Strategy

• Develop and execute the organization’s total rewards philosophy aligned with business strategy and HR vision.
• Ensure compensation & benefits structures support attraction, retention, and motivation of talent across corporate and operational roles.
• Balance cost efficiency with market competitiveness and internal equity.
• Define annual rewards roadmap in alignment with business growth and manpower planning.

Compensation Management

• Design and maintain salary structure on all job families and levels.
• Conduct regularly salary benchmarking against relevant F&B, retail, and hospitality markets.
• Manage annual salary review processes, increments, and merits cycles.
• Ensure pay equity across brands, roles, and geographies.
• Define and maintain range for stores, corporate, and leadership roles.

Job Evaluation & Grading Governance

• Lead job evaluation processes and maintain job architecture across the organization.
• Ensure consistent application of grading methodologies across corporate and store roles.
• Review new roles and changes to ensure correct grading and internal alignment.
• Maintain career ladders and role progression frameworks in coordination with Talent Management.

Incentive & Variable Pay

• Design and manage incentive schemes for store operations, including:
  • Store Manager bonuses
  • Sales and KPI-based commissions
  • Team performance bonuses
• Ensure incentive plans are aligned with business KPIs such as sales, profitability, labor cost, and customer experience.
• Review and optimize incentive effectiveness and behavioral impact.
• Partner with Operations and Finance to ensure schemes are financially sustainable.

Benefits Management

• Oversee employee benefits programs including medical insurance, life insurance, leave policies, and statutory benefits.
• Evaluate and negotiate benefits providers to ensure cost-effectiveness and employee value.
• Ensure benefits are competitive within the UAE F&B and retail market.
• Manage annual renewal cycles and vendor relationships.
• Continuously assess benefit utilization and employee satisfaction.

Payroll Governance & Compliance

• Ensure payroll processes are accurate, timely, and compliant with labor laws and internal policies.
• Oversee payroll audits and controls.
• Work closely with Finance and HR Operations to ensure payroll integrity.
• Manage statutory reporting requirements related to compensation and benefits.
• Ensure compliance with WPS (where applicable) and regional regulations.
• Continuously assess benefit utilization and employee satisfaction.
• Conduct regular compensation and benefits surveys and benchmarking studies.
• Analyze market trends in F&B, retail, and hospitality sectors.
• Provide insights on pay competitiveness, attrition risks, and cost implications.
• Develop dashboards and reports on total rewards metrics.
• Key metrics include:
  • Pay competitiveness ratio (PCR)
  • Compensation cost as % of revenue
  • Incentive payout efficiency
  • Salary positioning by grade

Budget & Cost Control

• Lead annual compensation and benefits budgeting process.
• Partner with Finance to forecast salary increases, bonus pools, and benefits costs.
• Monitor monthly compensation spend vs budget.
• Provide recommendations to optimize labor cost efficiency.

Policy Development & Governance

• Develop and maintain total rewards policies and procedures.
• Ensure governance and consistency in reward decisions.
• Establish approval frameworks for compensation exceptions.
• Ensure compliance with local labor laws and internal audit requirements.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with HR Business Partners, Operations, Finance, and senior leadership.
• Advise leadership on compensation decisions and pay structures.
• Support business expansion with compensation frameworks for new store openings and new markets.
• Provide expert guidance on pay positioning for critical hires and leadership roles.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or related field.
• Professional certifications such as CIPD, GRP, or equivalent are preferred.

Experience

• 7–10 years of experience in Compensation & Benefits / Total Rewards.
• Minimum 3 years in a managerial role.
• Strong experience in retail, hospitality, F&B, or multi-site operational businesses.
• Experience managing both corporate and high-volume operational pay structures.
• Experience in job evaluation methodologies (Hay, Mercer, or equivalent) is highly desirable.
• Strong exposure to incentive design for frontline workforce.