Head of Reward

Position: Head of Reward
Location: Global, with headquarters in London
Reports to: Chief People Officer
Direct Reports: Reward Analyst
Role Level: Senior Management

Role Purpose

The Head of Reward is responsible for developing and executing the company’s global Total Rewards Strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals and values, including supporting the business’s goal of becoming ‘The world’s best localized payments partner for global commerce’. 

The role ensures that the company’s reward offerings are competitive, scalable, fair, and aligned with the company’s core values, Be Customer-Focused, Operate as One, Know the Impact, and Unleash Ingenuity.

The Head of Reward will lead initiatives that attract, retain, and engage employees while managing pay equity, performance-based rewards, and innovative benefits packages that support global growth and expansion.

Key Responsibilities

Total Rewards Strategy:

• Design and implement aglobal reward strategy that includes compensation, benefits, recognition, and performance management frameworks.
• Ensure alignment with company goals and culture, promoting a “Higher Reward for Higher Performance” philosophy.
• Develop scalable and flexible reward models tailored to different global regions, ensuring market competitiveness.

Compensation:

• Manage executive compensation plans and long-term incentives, including equity-based rewards (e.g., RSUs), ensuring competitive design, effective administration, and alignment with business performance. Oversee HR’s role in the RSU lifecycle, including eligibility tracking, grant facilitation, employee communication, performance criteria setting, and coordination with Company Secretariat and Finance on execution and compliance matters.
• Oversee the development and execution of salary benchmarking, job evaluation, and salary progression frameworks.
• Manage executive compensation plans and long-term incentives, including equity-based rewards (e.g., RSUs) to align with business performance.
• Ensure pay equity across regions, regularly auditing and updating compensation practices.

Benefits:

• Develop globally consistent but locally relevant benefits programs.
• Oversee wellness programs, insurance benefits, retirement plans, and flexible working arrangements.
• Ensure compliance with local laws and regulations while keeping benefits aligned with company values of fairness and inclusivity.

Performance Management & Incentives:

• Create a performance management system that ties individual and team performance to company results, integrating financial and non-financial measures (OKRs).
• Lead the bonus and incentive programs, ensuring they are transparent, scalable, and equitable.
• Align reward programs with business growth, helping foster a high-performance culture.
• Ensure robust governance of the RSU programme from an HR perspective, including managing grant eligibility workflows, compliance with LTIP criteria, data accuracy in Certent (or any future platform), and supporting annual audit preparation in partnership with Finance and Company Secretariat.

Governance & Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with global and local labour laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.
• Establish governance around reward programs to ensure accountability and transparency.
• Act as a key liaison between HR, Finance, and Company Secretariat for all equity-related activities, ensuring that RSU operations run smoothly across grant, vesting, and exit stages, and that employee experience is well supported.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Collaborate with executive leadership, HR partners, and finance teams to drive reward policies that support business strategy.
• Provide insights to senior leadership on market trends, reward program effectiveness, and workforce satisfaction.

Innovation & Market Trends:

• Stay updated on industry trends and best practices for compensation and benefits to ensure the company remains competitive in the digital payments space.
• Recommend innovative approaches to rewarding high performance, contributing to financial inclusion and social impact initiatives.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strategic Leadership: Proven experience in leading a global reward function, aligning reward strategies with business objectives.
• Analytical & Data-Driven: Strong analytical skills to interpret compensation data, employee engagement metrics, and business performance.
• Cross-Cultural Expertise: Ability to manage compensation and benefits programs across multiple regions, with an understanding of local market trends and regulatory environments.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience working closely with senior leadership, boards, and cross-functional teams to align reward programs with business priorities.
• Compliance & Governance: Strong knowledge of global labour laws, tax regulations, and compensation governance.
• Innovation & Problem-Solving: Proactive in exploring new trends and implementing creative solutions to reward employees in a competitive global market.
• Equity Programme Familiarity: Strong understanding of RSU lifecycle administration, compliance, and communications, with the ability to lead cross-functional efforts to ensure seamless execution and employee engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in Compensation & Benefits or a related role, with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity.
• Experience in a global organization, particularly in fintech, digital payments, or technology sectors.
• Certifications: CCP (Certified Compensation Professional), GRP (Global Remuneration Professional), or similar preferred.