Deputy Director, Total Rewards

A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

A*STAR is seeking a strategic leader to oversee Total Rewards across the organisation. You will shape reward policies, drive governance, and lead analytics to inform workforce decisions.

Reporting to CPCO, you will design frameworks for compensation, benefits, expatriate arrangements, and mobility programmes, ensuring equity, affordability and sustainability while aligning with business objectives.

Qualifications

• Experience building total rewards policies and frameworks.
• Ability to advise senior leadership on remuneration trends.
• Experience with governance and compliance in rewards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and drive Total Rewards strategy aligned with priorities.
• Lead compensation and benefits policies and market positioning.
• Review and design reward frameworks balancing competitiveness and governance.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leadership on reward matters.
• Oversee job architecture, evaluation and grading frameworks.

Skills

Total Rewards strategy

Compensation & benefits design

Executive remuneration

Job architecture & evaluation

Reward governance

Stakeholder management

Job description

Job Summary

A*STAR competes for exceptional scientific, technical, professional and leadership talent in increasingly global and specialised markets. Rewards play a critical role in attracting, motivating and retaining talent while ensuring fairness, sustainability and sound governance.

Reporting to the Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO), you will lead the development and stewardship of A*STAR's reward strategies, frameworks and governance. You will shape policies and programmes that support workforce and talent objectives, strengthen the employee value proposition and reinforce the desired culture, behaviours and outcomes across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

What You Will Do

Rewards Strategy and Policy

• Develop and drive A*STAR's Total Rewards strategy in alignment with workforce, talent and organisational priorities.
• Lead compensation and benefits policies, reward philosophy and market positioning across talent segments.
• Review and design reward frameworks that balance competitiveness, internal equity, affordability and governance.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leadership on reward-related matters and emerging market trends.

Reward Frameworks and Governance

• Oversee job architecture, job evaluation and grading frameworks to support workforce planning and career development.
• Lead the governance of executive remuneration, incentive plans and recognition frameworks.
• Review and strengthen policies relating to international assignments, expatriate arrangements and mobility programmes.
• Ensure robust governance, pay equity and compliance across all reward programmes.

Enterprise Advisory and Analytics

• Drive enterprise reward analytics and insights to support workforce and remuneration decisions.
• Present reward proposals and recommendations to senior management, councils and governance committees.
• Lead major reward reviews, transformation initiatives and policy reforms.
• Partner stakeholders across HR portfolios to ensure reward strategies support talent attraction, development, performance and retention outcomes.

What Success Looks Like

• A competitive and differentiated employee value proposition.
• Reward frameworks that support attraction and retention of critical talent.
• Improved alignment between contribution and reward outcomes.
• Strong governance, pay equity and sustainability of reward programmes.
• Data-driven reward decisions and enhanced executive confidence in reward policies.

Requirements

Critical Skills and Capabilities

• Total Rewards strategy and policy development.
• Compensation and benefits design.
• Job architecture and job evaluation methodology.
• Executive remuneration and incentive design.
• Reward governance, analytics and pay equity.
• Strategic thinking, stakeholder management and executive advisory capability.

Relevant Experience

• At least 12 to 15 years of relevant experience in Total Rewards, compensation and benefits, job evaluation or related disciplines.
• Experience leading organisation-wide reward reviews and policy development.
• Strong experience advising senior management on remuneration matters.
• Experience managing complex stakeholder environments and governance processes.

All new hires are appointed on a 3-year renewable contract in the first instance.