Director, Compensation & Benefits

As Director of Compensation & Benefits, you will build and lead a new Compensation & Benefits Centre of Excellence, shaping a modern, high-impact reward function that enables Forterro’s growth ambitions. You will play a leading role in the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency framework, ensuring our approach to reward is fair, forward-looking, compliant, and aligned with market expectations across our international organisation. This is a pivotal role in defining a total rewards strategy across EMEA and APAC that is competitive, equitable, and closely connected to our unified business goals. Working closely with People Operations, Talent & Growth, senior People Business Partners, Finance, and functional leaders, you will create data-driven, market-aligned compensation and benefits frameworks that strengthen attraction, retention, and engagement. You will also lead on reward governance and play an important role in M&A integration, equity management, and senior leadership compensation, bringing strategic insight, commercial rigour, and clarity to every aspect of the reward agenda. Responsibilities CoE Foundation, Strategy & Leadership Establish and lead a new Compensation & Benefits Centre of Excellence, building the core reward frameworks, governance, and operating foundations needed to support Forterro’s next phase of growth. Shape and embed a scalable compensation and benefits strategy following a period of significant acquisition activity, bringing greater consistency, transparency, and cohesion across the organisation. Create the strategic reward foundations that enable future growth platforms, including job architecture, pay structures, governance standards, and a clear total rewards philosophy. Lead the implementation of key strategic reward agendas, including EU Pay Transparency requirements, ensuring a fair, modern, and compliant reward approach across multiple jurisdictions. Act as the strategic reward partner to executive and functional leadership, advising on competitiveness, pay equity, affordability, and the reward implications of business transformation. Compensation Governance & Delivery Lead the global annual compensation review cycles, including merit, market adjustment, bonus, and promotion planning. Partner with the Talent & Growth team to apply job architecture frameworks, conduct market benchmarking, and maintain salary banding supported by robust data and insights, with support from People Operations where required. Develop and manage reward governance policies and compensation compliance practices, including gender pay, market reporting, transparency, and disclosure requirements. Benefits & Wellbeing Lead the evaluation, design, and governance of global and local employee benefit programs, including pensions, insurance, and wellbeing offerings. Partner with Local & Functional Business Partners to ensure benefit offerings are competitive, unified, costed and compliant in all jurisdictions. Develop wellbeing strategies that support holistic employee health and align to company values and culture. Reward Analytics & Strategic Insights Generate actionable compensation and benefits insights for senior stakeholders through the use of market intelligence, internal reward data, and external benchmarking, supporting informed and commercially grounded decision-making. Provide analytical leadership for key strategic priorities, including pay transparency, pay equity, job architecture, and reward governance, ensuring data integrity and clear insight to support policy and decision-making. Lead compensation-related input into HRIS, workforce planning, and organisational design initiatives, ensuring reward data and structures are aligned to broader people and business transformation programmes. Develop high-quality dashboards, reporting, and insight packs that enable leaders to monitor reward performance, assess competitiveness, and make evidence-based decisions at scale. Skills, Knowledge & Expertise Proven director-level experience in Compensation & Benefits or related reward roles, ideally within matrixed, international Software or SaaS organisations. Deep knowledge of EMEA & APAC compensation practices, benefits design, and relevant employment legislation across multiple jurisdictions. Experience operating within a Centre of Excellence model, ideally in a global business that is evolving through growth or rapid acquisition. Strong analytical capability and commercial acumen, with the ability to use data and insight to inform decision-making. Demonstrated experience in job architecture, market benchmarking, salary banding, and annual reward cycle management. Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, with familiarity in HRIS platforms and reward analytics tools. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders across functions, geographies, and cultures. Desirable Experience: In addition to English, a proficiency in one or more of the following languages would be desirable but is not essential; French, German, Polish. Aptitude: Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to operate hands-on and deliver through complexity in a fast-paced, evolving environment. A credible and influential partner who can engage senior leaders, build trust quickly, and challenge constructively across functions, geographies, and cultures. Strong analytical judgement, able to translate data, reward principles, and technical detail into clear, practical guidance that supports business decisions. Comfortable balancing strategic priorities with operational delivery, managing multiple demands independently while maintaining high standards and sound judgement.