Global Head of Reward

Baringa; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks annual leave

Hybrid working policy

CSR days

Wellbeing fund

Profit sharing

Job summary

Baringa is seeking an experienced Global Head of Reward to define and deliver a global reward strategy across compensation, benefits, payroll and mobility. You will lead a UK-based to global team, partnering with senior leaders to drive growth, efficiency and compliant, data-driven decision making.

The role requires navigating a fast-paced, agile environment, guiding international expansion and M&A initiatives while leveraging technology and AI-enabled tools to scale the function.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading global compensation, benefits, payroll and mobility functions.
• Experience partnering with executive and senior leadership teams, with influencing skills.
• Proven track record building and executing reward strategies across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated success operating in fast-paced environments where priorities evolve.
• Strong commercial judgement including building business cases and managing investments.
• History of transforming reward operations, processes or technology for growth.
• Strong analytical and communication skills to distill complex information into concise recommendations.
• Experience leading geographically dispersed teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver Baringa’s global Reward strategy, aligned with growth, talent, performance and globalisation priorities.
• Advise senior leaders with clear, evidence-based reward recommendations.
• Translate business strategy and workforce priorities into reward choices and investments.
• Build robust business cases for reward investments with cost, value and risk analysis.
• Oversee global compensation, benefits, payroll and mobility frameworks to remain competitive and compliant.
• Lead firm-wide initiatives including international expansion, M&A and operating model evolution.
• Set a transformation agenda for Reward using data, automation and AI to improve efficiency.
• Lead and develop a global team of 14 professionals delivering commercially focused results.
• Manage reward investments with cost discipline, compliance and risk management.
• Combine internal data and market intelligence to challenge established approaches.
• Ensure quality and timeliness of global reward decisions with clear stakeholder guidance.

Skills

Global compensation

Benefits leadership

Payroll governance

Mobility programs

Executive partnership

Strategic cost control

AI-enabled tools

Tools

AI-enabled tools

Job description

About Baringa

Baringa is a global consulting firm that partners with leaders to drive change and create value. With deep industry expertise, and enabled by advanced technology, the firm helps clients to deliver with greater confidence and certainty. With over 2,000 people across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, the firm combines global insight with local understanding.

About Baringa

The firm works across energy and resources, financial services, government and public sector, consumer products and retail, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, manufacturing, and technology, media and telecoms, with capabilities spanning strategy, transformation and operational excellence - all powered by advanced technology, data, AI and digital innovation.

Clients value Baringa’s collaborative approach and the way its teams integrate seamlessly - all working with a shared understanding of what matters most. The firm is known for its kind, curious experts who listen closely and care deeply about client success as they help clients transform energy markets, modernise financial platforms, expand telecoms and digital networks through advanced data analytics, enable digital services in government, and unlock growth in consumer sectors.

Certified as Great Place to Work around the world, Baringa has been recognised by the Financial Times in 22 categories of its UK Leading Management Consultants rankings, and by Forbes for four consecutive years as one of the World's Best Management Consulting Firms.

Our People team are looking for an experienced Global Head of Reward to join them.

The People team exists to ensure Baringa’s people experience enables our strategy, growth, and performance. The team designs and delivers future-ready people solutions across reward, benefits, wellbeing, people operations, systems, and policy, ensuring our colleagues are supported to do their best work wherever they are in the world. By balancing commercial rigour, strong governance, and a deep understanding of employee needs, the function helps Baringa attract, retain, and develop exceptional talent while sustaining a kind, inclusive, and high-performing culture.

The Global Head of Reward is responsible for defining and delivering Baringa’s global reward strategy, ensuring our Compensation, Benefits, Payroll and Mobility offerings enable the firm to attract, retain and grow exceptional talent across an increasingly global business.

This role sits at the centre of several of Baringa’s strategic priorities. As a member of the People Leadership Team, the Global Head of Reward partners closely with senior leaders across the firm to shape strategic decisions, support international growth and ensure Reward acts as a commercial enabler of business performance.

Baringa operates in a fast-paced, agile and entrepreneurial environment. Priorities can evolve quickly as the firm grows and responds to new commercial opportunities. This role will suit someone who enjoys working at pace, is comfortable navigating ambiguity and can move pragmatically between strategy, decision‑making and delivery. Leading a global team of 14 professionals across the UK, Bulgaria & the US, the Global Head of Reward will ensure Baringa’s reward offering remains globally competitive, commercially sustainable, locally compliant and increasingly enabled through technology and automation.

What you will be doing

• Define and deliver Baringa’s global Reward strategy, ensuring alignment with business growth, talent, performance and globalisation priorities.
• Act as a trusted adviser to senior leaders, providing clear, evidence-based recommendations on reward, workforce and organisational decisions. Baringa is a Partnership and influencing skills and creating buy-in are key components for success.
• Translate business strategy, financial performance and workforce priorities into clear reward choices and targeted investment recommendations.
• Build robust commercial cases for reward investment, clearly articulating cost, value, risk and expected business outcomes.
• Oversee global compensation, benefits, payroll and mobility frameworks, ensuring they remain competitive, scalable and compliant across all geographies.
• Lead and contribute to firm-wide initiatives including international expansion, M&A activity, operating model evolution and strategic people programmes, partnering across functions and geographies to achieve business outcomes.
• Set and deliver a clear transformation agenda for Reward, simplifying processes, improving data and controls, and using technology, automation and AI to create a more scalable, efficient and insight-led function.
• Lead, develop and empower a global team of 14, creating a high-performing, commercially focused and delivery-oriented function that can respond quickly to changing business priorities.
• Manage reward investment and governance, balancing competitiveness and employee experience with cost discipline, compliance and organisational risk.
• Combine internal data, external market intelligence and commercial judgement to challenge established approaches, make pragmatic recommendations and enable timely business decisions.
• Own the quality, timeliness and commercial integrity of global reward decisions, ensuring issues are surfaced early and stakeholders receive clear recommendations.

Your Skills And Experience

• Significant experience leading global compensation, benefits, payroll and mobility functions.
• Experience operating as a strategic partner to executive and senior leadership teams, with excellent stakeholder management, influencing and constructive challenge skills.
• Proven track record of building and executing reward strategies within a complex, multi-geography organisation.
• Demonstrated success operating in a fast‑paced, agile or entrepreneurial environment where priorities evolve and timely judgement is essential.
• Strong commercial judgement, including experience developing business cases, managing significant investment and connecting reward decisions directly to business performance.
• A track record of simplifying and transforming reward operations, processes or technology in support of growth, scale and improved employee experience.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to distil complex technical, financial and people‑related information into clear, concise recommendations for senior stakeholders and leadership teams.
• Comfortable moving between strategic leadership and hands‑on problem-solving when required, without losing sight of longer‑term priorities.
• Experience leading and developing geographically dispersed teams.

Desirable

• Experience within professional services, consulting or partnership environments.
• Experience supporting international growth and market expansion.
• Experience working with AI‑enabled tools or digital operating models.

What a career at Baringa will give you

PuttingPeopleFirst.

Benefits

• Generous Annual Leave Policy:We recognise everyone needs a well‑deserved break. We provide our employees with 5 weeks of annual leave, fully available at the start of each year. In addition to this, we have introduced our 5-Year Recharge benefit which allows all employees an additional 2 weeks of paid leave after 5 years continuous service.
• Flexible Working:We know that the 'ideal' work-life balance will vary from person to person and change at different stages of our working lives. To accommodate this, we have implemented a hybrid working policy and introduced more flexibility around taking unpaid leave.
• Corporate Responsibility Days:Our world is important to us, so all our employees get 3 every year to help social and environmental causes and increase our impact on the communities that mean the most to us.
• Wellbeing Fund:We want to encourage all employees to take charge and prioritise their own wellbeing. We’ve introduced our annual People Fund to support this by offering every individual a fund to support and manage their wellbeing through an activity of their choice.
• Profit Share Scheme:All employees participate in the Baringa Group Profit Share Scheme so everyone has a stake in the company's success.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging is central to our culture and that diversity is paramount to driving creativity, innovation, and value for our clients and for our people.

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