Head of Rewards

Head of Reward

£100,000 - £120,000 + Bonus

London | Hybrid (3 days in the office)

Catalyst are partnering with a growing Financial Services business to appoint their first Head of Reward. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this is a senior, highly visible role leading reward strategy and governance, with broader leadership of people operations, payroll and HR systems.

This is a great opportunity for an experienced reward leader to shape a reward framework from the ground up, take ownership of the RemCo cycle and act as a trusted adviser to the executive team and Board.

Reward & governance – the heart of the role

• Own the reward strategy, including job evaluation, external benchmarking, pay governance, the annual pay review and incentive frameworks, partnering with Finance and business leaders
• Take ownership of the annual RemCo cycle, establishing a governance framework that is fit for purpose and in line with regulatory expectations
• Prepare and present reward proposals and strategy to RemCo and senior stakeholders
• Advise on complex pay decisions, including offers, retention, benefits and contractual terms, with clear approvals and cost implications
• Assess the people and cost implications of organisational change and acquisitions, including inherited terms and harmonisation proposals
• Provide accurate workforce and reward reporting to support executive decision-making and risk management

People operations, payroll & systems

You’ll also lead a small team covering payroll, people operations and HRIS, providing leadership and oversight rather than hands-on technical expertise. This includes:

• Overseeing the end-to-end employee lifecycle service, from offer and contract through to exit
• Ensuring payroll is delivered accurately and on time, with robust controls
• Setting direction for HR systems, data quality and reporting, and sponsoring process improvement

About you

• Deep reward experience, covering salary structures, benchmarking, benefits, incentive governance and complex pay decisions
• Experience building scalable reward frameworks, ideally within an investor-backed environment
• Experience preparing for and attending RemCo meetings, and confidence presenting reward strategy to senior stakeholders and Boards
• Commercially astute, with strong workforce cost modelling skills and a track record of partnering effectively with Finance
• Experience resolving complex inherited-terms or integration issues in a growing or changing business
• Comfortable balancing strategic design with hands-on delivery in a lean function