Head of Compensation

Catalyst Partners; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Catalyst Partners is seeking a Head of Compensation to own and shape global pay strategy, partnering with executive leaders across multiple markets. You will lead analytics, governance, and design of compensation programmes while guiding decisions that affect retention, performance, and transformation.

The role offers international exposure, executive collaboration, and the opportunity to drive strategic reward initiatives in a fast-paced, growing environment.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in compensation strategy, benchmarking, salary structures, incentive design, and governance.
• Experience partnering with senior executives and influencing decisions in complex organisations.
• Strong analytical skills to translate data into business insights.
• Proven track record leading large-scale reward initiatives and transformation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and ongoing development of global compensation programmes, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to advise on pay decisions, talent retention, org design and reward challenges.
• Oversee compensation analytics and market intelligence, turning data into actionable leadership recommendations.
• Drive reward initiatives linked to business transformation and workforce growth.
• Review and enhance compensation structures, job frameworks, and incentive arrangements to meet evolving needs.
• Develop and lead a high-performing compensation team with strong stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Compensation strategy

Benchmarking

Salary structures

Incentive design

Governance

Stakeholder management

Analytical insights

Job description

About the Company and the Role

Our client is a large, internationally recognised, FTSE 100 organisation operating across multiple markets and employing several thousand people globally. As the business continues to grow and evolve, reward is playing an increasingly important role in supporting workforce strategy, talent retention, and organisational performance.

As Head of Compensation, you will join the Reward leadership team and take ownership of compensation partnering across a complex global environment. Leading a team covering both consulting and analytics, you will work closely with senior business leaders, HR, and Finance to shape reward strategy, guide key compensation decisions, and ensure programmes remain competitive and aligned to business objectives.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced compensation leader seeking a highly visible role with genuine strategic influence and international scope.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and ongoing development of global compensation programmes, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to provide commercial advice on pay decisions, talent retention, organisational design, and reward-related challenges.
• Oversee compensation analytics and market intelligence, translating data into actionable recommendations for leadership teams.
• Drive reward initiatives linked to business transformation, organisational change, and workforce growth.
• Review and enhance compensation structures, job frameworks, and incentive arrangements to support evolving business needs.
• Develop and lead a high-performing compensation team, fostering strong stakeholder engagement and service delivery.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will bring significant compensation experience gained within a multinational organisation or leading advisory environment.
Key requirements include:

• Deep expertise across compensation strategy, benchmarking, salary structures, incentive design, and reward governance.
• Experience partnering with senior executives and influencing decision-making in a complex organisation.
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to turn data into commercially meaningful insights.
• Proven track record of leading compensation transformation or large-scale reward initiatives.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing compensation or reward teams.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to operate at leadership level.
• Exposure to global reward programmes and multi-country environments is highly desirable.

This role will suit a commercially minded reward leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery, enjoys solving complex business challenges, and thrives in a fast-paced international environment.