Interim Senior Reward Lead

Working for Essex; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 92,000 - 101,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking an Interim Senior Reward Lead to shape reward frameworks, ensuring fairness, legality and financial sustainability. In a hybrid role based in Chelmsford, you will advise senior leaders and unions, drive policy development, and oversee reward governance across a large organisation.

You will lead complex change, analyse market data and ensure policies align with organisational priorities, with a 3-month contract and umbrella daily rate.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent (RQF Level 6) or equivalent through professional experience.
• Chartered CIPD, CIPP or equivalent with CPD.
• Extensive knowledge of reward strategy, pay frameworks and benefits design in large organisations.
• Expertise in pay equity, equal pay and reward governance.
• Significant experience in pay and grading, market benchmarking, reward analytics and salary surveys.
• Knowledge of job evaluation methodologies and workforce frameworks.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills; translate data into strategic insight.
• Experience leading complex change, programmes and projects with risk management.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, implementation and review of reward policies, frameworks and processes.
• Act as lead adviser on job evaluation, grading and pay design with governance.
• Provide reward consultancy to senior leaders on organisational change and workforce issues.
• Lead collection and interpretation of reward data and market intelligence.
• Maintain governance for reward activities, ensuring compliance and risk mitigation.
• Manage reward and benefits provision, including procurement and monitoring.
• Lead equal pay and reward assurance initiatives to ensure fairness.
• Build relationships with stakeholders, unions and external partners.
• Maintain expert knowledge of reward practice and legislation.
• Collaborate across People & Organisational Development to support priorities.

Education

Degree at RQF Level 6 or equivalent

Chartered CIPD/CIPP or equivalent

Reward strategy, pay frameworks & benefits design

Pay equity and reward governance

Pay and grading, market benchmarking, reward analytics

Job evaluation methodologies & workforce frameworks

Analytical & numerical skills

Leading complex change and projects

Communication & influencing skills

Job description

Interim Senior Reward Lead

Temporary (3 months),Full Time

£500 - £550 per day (umbrella)

Location:Chelmsford

Closing Date: 14th October 2026

The Role

The People & Organisational Development (P&OD) function helps ensure we have the people, skills and culture needed to deliver excellent services for residents and communities. Within P&OD, the Reward team provides specialist expertise across pay, grading, job evaluation, benefits, market benchmarking and equal pay.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us as our interim lead reward specialist, shaping reward frameworks that are fair, transparent, legally compliant and financially sustainable. Working closely with senior leaders, people professionals, trade unions and external partners, you will provide expert advice and insight that supports workforce strategy, organisational change and a positive employee experience across a large and complex Council. To read more about our business area, please visit: Corporate Services

The Opportunity

The Senior Reward Consultant is the organisation's lead specialist for reward, providing expert professional advice and leadership across pay, grading, job evaluation, reward policy, benefits and reward governance. The role is responsible for ensuring reward frameworks and practices remain fair, compliant, financially sustainable and aligned with organisational priorities, enabling the organisation to attract, retain and motivate the workforce required to deliver excellent services.

Working across a wide network of senior stakeholders, the role combines strategic insight with operational delivery, providing expert consultancy on complex reward matters, organisational change and workforce initiatives. The postholder leads the development, implementation and continuous improvement of reward policies, processes and practices, ensuring decisions are evidence-based, legally compliant and informed by external market intelligence and internal workforce data.

As the organisation's principal reward subject matter expert, the Senior Reward Consultant provides assurance and governance over reward-related activity while working collaboratively across People & Organisational Development and the wider organisation. The role plays a key part in supporting workforce stability, organisational change and the delivery of people priorities throughout the remaining lifecycle of the organisation.

Accountabilities

• Lead the development, implementation and ongoing review of reward, pay and grading policies, frameworks and processes, ensuring they remain equitable, legally compliant, financially sustainable and aligned with organisational requirements and workforce priorities.
• Act as the organisation's lead professional adviser on job evaluation, grading and pay design, providing expert guidance, quality assurance and governance to ensure consistent application of policies and robust decision-making across the organisation.
• Provide specialist reward consultancy and advice to senior leaders, People colleagues and managers on complex reward matters, supporting informed decisions on organisational change, recruitment, retention, recognition, market positioning and employment reward issues.
• Lead the collection, interpretation and presentation of reward-related data, workforce metrics and market intelligence, using insight and evidence to support decision-making, identify risks and opportunities, and inform reward recommendations.
• Maintain effective governance arrangements for reward-related activities, ensuring compliance with legislation, organisational policy, audit requirements and recognised best practice, while identifying and mitigating potential risks.
• Manage the organisation's reward and benefits provision, including the review, procurement, implementation and monitoring of schemes and contractual benefits, ensuring value for money, operational effectiveness and a positive employee experience.
• Lead the organisation's approach to equal pay, reward assurance and pay equity, undertaking analysis, reviews and improvement activity to identify and mitigate risk, ensure compliance with legislative requirements and support fair, transparent and equitable reward practices across the organisation.
• Develop effective relationships with senior stakeholders, trade unions, external partners and professional networks to support the successful delivery of reward priorities, influence decisions and share best practice.
• Maintain expert knowledge of reward practice, employment legislation, job evaluation methodologies, market trends and emerging developments, providing subject matter expertise to support organisational decision-making and continuous improvement
• Work collaboratively across the People and Organisational Development function to support wider workforce priorities and organisational objectives, contributing professional expertise to corporate initiatives and service improvement activities.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Degree educated (RQF Level 6) or equivalent through relevant professional experience.
• Chartered CIPD, CIPP or equivalent professional qualification, with evidence of continuing professional development.
• Extensive knowledge and experience of reward strategy, pay frameworks and benefits design within large, complex organisations.
• Expertise in pay equity, equal pay and reward governance, with a strong understanding of relevant employment legislation.
• Significant experience of pay and grading, market benchmarking, reward analytics and salary surveys.
• Expert knowledge and practical application of job evaluation methodologies and organisational workforce frameworks.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills, with the ability to translate complex data into strategic insight and recommendations.
• Proven experience of leading complex change, programmes and projects, including business case development and risk management.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to advise and challenge senior leaders and stakeholders

This is a hybrid-working role contractually based in Chelmsford. The role allows for some home-working with a requirement to attend the office 1 day per week, in line with business need.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview allveteransandcare leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go tohttps://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please [e-mail]

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