Head of Reward

Global University Systems (GUS); England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Hybrid working

Contributory Pension Scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Season Ticket Loan

Eye Care Vouchers

Training & Development

Staff Discount Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Refer a Friend Scheme

Job summary

Global University Systems (GUS) is seeking a senior reward leader to own UK compensation, benefits and pensions strategy in a fast-moving, acquisitive group.

You will partner with the C-suite, design executive compensation and PE-style incentives, and own the UK benefits agenda while aligning with governance and RemCo requirements.

Qualifications

• Senior reward professional with experience across reward, compensation and benefits.
• Experience of executive compensation and incentive design.
• Exposure to RemCo and senior executive stakeholders.
• Experience in privately owned/PE-backed acquisitive environments valuable.
• Experience managing UK benefits and external broker relationships.
• Knowledge of UK pensions and auto-enrolment.
• Strong commercial judgement; ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Agility to move quickly between priorities in a non-structured environment.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the C-suite and senior stakeholders, providing trusted, commercially focused reward advice.
• Lead executive compensation projects, benchmarking and incentive design.
• Support the Remuneration Committee, including preparing papers, analysis and recommendations.
• Design and developing MIPs and PE-style incentive arrangements within an acquisitive environment.
• Owning UK-wide benefits offering and managing the benefits broker relationship.
• Managing and developing the reward and benefits platform, driving engagement and employee experience.
• Overseeing UK pensions and auto-enrolment compliance, working with providers and stakeholders.
• Leading annual reward activities including salary reviews, benchmarking, bonuses and compensation planning.
• Responding to evolving business needs and delivering reward solutions with governance.

Job description

Global University Systems (GUS) is an international education group that empowers students to transform their lives through education. We believe education drives careers, lives, and society forward, enabling a brighter and more sustainable future for all. Our institutions offer the broadest range of industry-relevant skills through inclusive, accessible and digital-first learning. We offer a choice of career-enhancing certificates, degrees and post-graduate level qualifications, equipping our thriving multi-national community of students for lifelong success. Our world-leading network and state-of-the-art institutions power the upskilling of our students worldwide.

Summary of role:

• We’re looking for an experienced reward specialist to join us in a highly visible role with significant exposure to our C-suite and senior leadership.

• If you're looking for a career with challenge, pace, international exposure, genuine ownership and the opportunity to be part of a successful global organisation that's continuing to grow, we'd love to hear from you.

• This isn’t a traditional, highly structured reward role built purely around annual cycles. We operate in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial and acquisitive environment, so we’re looking for someone who enjoys variety, can pivot quickly as priorities change and is comfortable finding pragmatic solutions to complex reward challenges.

• You’ll act as our stand-alone senior reward expert across the UK, with the opportunity to work on everything from executive compensation and RemCo projects to PE-style incentives and management incentive plans (MIPs), alongside ownership of our wider benefits and pensions agenda. This is both a strategic focussed and operational position, which requires you to be flexible and agile with your time management.

What you’ll be doing

• Partnering closely with the C-suite and senior stakeholders, providing trusted, commercially focused reward advice.

• Leading executive compensation projects, benchmarking and incentive design.

• Supporting the Remuneration Committee, including preparing papers, analysis and recommendations.

• Designing and developing MIPs and PE-style incentive arrangements within an acquisitive, value-creation-focused environment.

• Owning our UK-wide benefits offering and managing our benefits broker relationship.

• Managing and developing our reward and benefits platform, driving engagement and improving the employee experience.

• Overseeing UK pensions and auto-enrolment compliance, working closely with providers and internal stakeholders.

• Leading annual reward activities including salary reviews, benchmarking, bonuses and compensation planning.

• Responding to evolving business needs and delivering reward solutions that balance commercial priorities with appropriate governance.

What we’re looking for

You’ll be an experienced senior Reward professional who is as comfortable discussing executive compensation with the C-suite as you are getting into the detail of benefits, pensions or a new reward project.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Strong experience across reward, compensation and benefits.

• Experience of executive compensation and incentive design.

• Exposure to RemCo and senior executive stakeholders.

• Experience within a privately owned, PE-backed, acquisitive or similarly entrepreneurial environment would be particularly valuable.

• Experience managing UK benefits and external broker relationships.

• Knowledge of UK pensions and auto-enrolment requirements.

• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to navigate ambiguity.

• The agility to move quickly between changing priorities without needing a highly structured environment around you.

There’s no team management with this position. Instead, it’s an opportunity to operate as a senior individual contributor with real visibility, influence and ownership.

If you’re a Reward leader who enjoys pace, variety and solving complex problems, we’d love to hear from you.

What we offer:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays - time to rest, recharge, and balance life beyond work.

• Hybrid working - most roles offer hybrid or flexible arrangements to support work-life balance.

• Contributory Pension Scheme - 5% personal contribution & 3% Company contribution, so you can build long-term financial security with added benefits of the company contributions.

• Private Medical Insurance (T&C's apply) - prioritising your wellbeing with speedy access to healthcare whenever you need support.

• Season Ticket Loan (T&C's apply) - spread the cost of your commute with an interest-free travel loan.

• Eye Care Vouchers - support for regular eye tests and essential eyewear.

• Training & Development opportunities (T&C's apply) - access to short courses via FutureLearn and Group-wide professional development programmes.

• Staff Discount Scheme - via My Rewards Hub, from various retailers – Fashion, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Travel, Automotive, Furniture, Dining, Sports and Leisure, Electronics, etc

• Employee Assistance Programme - confidential support for your wellbeing, whenever you need it.

• Refer a Friend Scheme for staff members (T&C's apply) - earn rewards for helping us bring great talent into the team

We will screen all applicants and select candidates whose qualifications meet our requirements. We will carefully consider your application during the initial screening and will contact you if you are selected to continue for the next stage of the recruitment process. We wish you every success in your job search.

GUS is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.

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