Compensation and Reward Lead

awepeople; Reading; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9-day fortnight

Pension scheme (9–13%)

Maternity/Paternity pay

Professional development funding

Employee assistance program

Life Assurance

Discounts

Volunteer leave

Job summary

AWE in Reading, England, is seeking a Compensation Lead to deliver and manage our reward strategy. You will oversee base pay, allowances, incentives, and the annual pay review, guiding a small team of Reward analysts and ensuring compliance with laws and audit requirements.

You will partner with HR and management to communicate compensation programmes effectively, benchmark against markets, and drive data-informed improvements across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in compensation, reward or total reward, with a successful track record of designing, implementing and managing compensation frameworks in a complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of compensation and benefits practices, laws and regulations.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work effectively with all levels of the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Maintaining all compensation frameworks, including base pay, allowances, and incentives.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of compensation programmes, with recommendations based on business input, professional insight, and data.
• Conducting regular benchmarking and market analysis to ensure competitive compensation offerings.
• Collaborating with HR and management to ensure compensation programmes are well-communicated and understood.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and any delegated authority or pay freedoms.
• Meeting all internal and external audit requirements related to compensation.
• Providing expert advice and support to managers on compensation-related matters.
• Managing the annual pay review process and staff incentive distribution.
• Offering professional guidance, leadership, and direction to reward professionals.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of compensation programmes and make recommendations for change.

Skills

Compensation design

Analytical skills

Communication

Team leadership

Tools

HR software

Microsoft Office

Job description

Location: Located in Reading, with free onsite parking.

Package: Starting from £61,040 – £90,000 (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience)

Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight. We will consider flexible working requests so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle. Just let us know your preferred working pattern on your application.

Ready to play your part?

At AWE, it’s not just a job, it’s far more than that. Our shared purpose is to help keep the nation safe. Could this role be the opportunity for you to play your part?

Reporting into the Head of Reward, the Compensation Lead will be responsible for delivering the compensation components of the reward strategy. They will also manage the operational delivery of compensation, including pay, allowance and incentive structures and communications. This role will include task management of up to four Reward analysts to support effective delivery.

In the role, your key accountabilities will be:

• Maintaining all compensation frameworks, including base pay, allowances, and incentives.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of compensation programmes, with recommendations based on business input, professional insight, and data.
• Conducting regular benchmarking and market analysis to ensure competitive compensation offerings.
• Collaborating with HR and management to ensure compensation programmes are well-communicated and understood.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and any delegated authority or pay freedoms granted by the government.
• Meeting all internal and external audit requirements related to compensation.
• Providing expert advice and support to managers on compensation-related matters.
• Managing the annual pay review process and staff incentive distribution.
• Offering professional guidance, leadership, and direction to reward professionals assigned to or reporting within this area.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of compensation programmes and make recommendations for change based upon business input, professional insight, knowledge and data.

Responsibilities in the role include:

• Maintaining and communicating pay ranges, allowances, and variable pay arrangements.
• To build strong relationships with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, Finance and Industrial Relations colleagues to deliver effective compensation solutions across the business.
• Producing statutory reports, including gender pay gap analysis, with compensation insights and commentary.
• Advising on pay agreements across the business, acting as a subject matter expert and supporting the Industrial Relations lead in Trade Union discussions or negotiations.
• Generating and providing compensation-related data, including key performance indicators.
• Liaising with HR to ensure effective and compliant compensation uploads into payroll, offering oversight and guidance.
• Act as the focal point for all compensation-related internal and external audits, conducting internal checks and monitoring to proactively resolve issues.
• Manage reward professionals providing professional development and holding to account for delivery
• Providing professional guidance and share knowledge with reward colleagues.

We’d like you to have experience in some of the following:

• Significant experience in compensation, reward or total reward, with a successful track record of designing, implementing and managing compensation frameworks in a complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of compensation and benefits practices, laws and regulations.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work effectively with all levels of the organisation.
• Proficiency in HR software and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
• Management and leadership of small teams.

Some reasons we think you’ll love it here:

AWE has wide range of benefits to suit you. These include:

• 9-day working fortnight – meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay.
• Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4 x annual salary).
• Discounts – access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring.

The 'Working at AWE' page on our website is where you can find full details in the 'AWE Benefits Guide'.

Hybrid working is available for this role on an informal, non-contractual basis. Typically, 3 days on site per week.

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Important things you need to know:

• You will need to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role. This will be funded by AWE. The nature of our work does mean you need to be a British Citizen who has been resident in the UK for the past 5 years in order to apply for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.
• We want you to feel comfortable and able to shine during our recruitment process. Please let us know on your application form if you need any adjustments/accommodations during the process.
• Our interviews typically take place over Teams and for most roles are a 1 stage process.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be stored in accordance with GDPR and kept separate from your application form and CV, and the information will not be shared with anyone involved in interviewing or making hiring decisions.

Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us.