Head of Reward - 12 month contract - North London (hybrid)

Overview
Oliver James has partnered with a leading organisation to appoint a Head of Reward into a key strategic leadership role.
This position is responsible for shaping and delivering the organisation’s reward strategy across a large, diverse workforce - spanning frontline employees through to senior leadership. You’ll play a critical role in ensuring compensation and benefits frameworks are competitive, equitable, and aligned to business objectives, while also driving modernisation through HR technology, particularly SAP SuccessFactors.
This is a high-impact role with significant exposure to senior stakeholders and will suit an experienced reward leader comfortable operating in complex, unionised environments.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy & Design
*Develop and implement a comprehensive total reward strategy aligned to business objectives
*Design and manage job family frameworks and grading structures within SuccessFactors
*Establish salary bands and compensation frameworks that promote fairness and transparency
*Develop reward policies covering promotions, allowances, and pay structures
Compensation & Benefits
*Lead annual salary and bonus review processes
*Partner with finance on budgeting and forecasting for reward cycles
*Ensure consistency of global frameworks alongside local market relevance
*Review and enhance benefits offerings and associated employee communications
*Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation (e.g. gender pay gap, equal pay)
HR Systems & Data (SuccessFactors)
*Act as SME for reward-related SuccessFactors modules (Compensation, Variable Pay, Employee Central)
*Utilise system data for modelling, reporting, and strategic decision-making
*Lead configuration and optimisation of SuccessFactors as part of wider HR transformation
Payroll
*Oversee payroll operations, ensuring accuracy and timeliness
*Work closely with finance to reconcile payroll data and budgets
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
*Lead and develop payroll/reward team members
*Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on reward strategy
*Collaborate with HR, finance, and business leaders to deliver reward initiatives
*Engage with trade unions and support collective negotiations where required
Essential Skills & Experience
*Proven experience in a senior reward leadership role
*Strong expertise in SAP SuccessFactors, particularly Compensation and Job Profile Builder
*Experience operating within complex, unionised environments
*Strong analytical capability with experience managing complex compensation structures
*Solid understanding of payroll processes and relevant legislation
*Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
Desirable Skills
*Experience within transport, logistics, or similarly complex operational environments
*Strong commercial acumen with the ability to link reward strategy to business performance
*Experience leading reward transformation or HR system implementations