About the Role
We have an excellent opportunity for a highly skilled Senior Reward Analyst to join the Group Reward Team at DS Smith reporting to the EMEA Reward Manager. In this high impact role, you will partner closely with Reward colleagues and Regional HR teams to support a fair, consistent, and competitive reward offering that enables the business to attract, retain, and engage top talent.
You will apply and continue to develop your specialist reward expertise, supporting key reward processes, frameworks, and policies, while managing the full reward lifecycle for our global senior leadership cadre. This is a wide-ranging role with significant exposure across the business and the opportunity to contribute to impactful, organisation wide initiatives.
Key Responsibilities: (included but not limited)
Operational Reward & Lifecycle Management
Coordinate and evaluate analysis for the operational management of reward for the global senior leadership cadre across the full employee lifecycle (new hires, promotions, leavers).
Work closely with the Group Reward Manager to deliver all aspects of the annual compensation review process for the senior leadership cadre.
Provide benchmark data and analytical insight to support senior leadership package recommendations.
Provide training and guidance to the wider HR network.
Responsible for managing the annual reward processes including salary, bonus, and long-term incentive planning.
Support the maintenance and evolution of reward policies, frameworks and governance processes
Job Evaluation & Benchmarking
Lead job evaluation and salary benchmarking activities, using Mercer and Willis Towers Watson methodologies.
Provide analysis and market data to support the review and development of salary frameworks across all job levels and c.30 countries.
Coordinate the annual submission of salary survey data to external providers.
Analyses trends and advise on changes that could maintain our competitive and fair pay positioning
Reward Insights, Reporting & Governance
Calculate statutory reporting requirements for the PLC (e.g., CEO-to-employee pay ratio for the Annual Report, Gender Pay Gap, DRR, etc.).
Support the Group Reward team with analytical input into major reward projects (e.g., Workday compensation implementation, RemCo papers).
Produce high-quality reward analytics, reports and dashboards for stakeholders.
Ensure data integrity within reward systems and processes.
Business Partnering & Advisory
Act as the first line contact for HR queries on Group Reward principles, frameworks, processes, and governance.
Partner with Regional HR teams to provide reward expertise and guidance.
Act as trusted advisor on reward matters including job evaluation, grading, salary positioning.
Projects & Continuous Improvement
Support reward-related projects and initiatives.
Drive continuous improvement in reward processes and systems.
About You
We are looking for someone who is highly analytical, detail driven, and confident working with data to produce clear, meaningful insights. You’ll be organised, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities while building strong relationships across the business. You’ll be comfortable influencing others, working independently, and collaborating across teams, with strong technical capability in Excel.
Key Skills & Qualifications
Core Competencies & Attributes
Strong analytical skills with excellent attention to detail
Experience using Excel, formulas and data consolidation tools
Knowledge of statistical methods
Confident and proactive problem‑solver
Strong planning and organisational capability
Able to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines
Clear communicator with strong stakeholder management skills
Comfortable working both autonomously and collaboratively
Desirable Experience & Qualifications
Experience in Reward and HR experience with a strong knowledge of reward processes.
Experience in managing core operational reward activities, including annual pay review, short-term incentives and ideally senior-level reward packages.
Knowledge of long-term incentive plans and share schemes
Exposure to international reward practices and multi-country compensation
Experience in analytics or reporting roles
Familiarity with HR systems (advantageous)
Experience managing third‑party suppliers or platforms (advantageous)
Knowledge of job evaluation and benchmarking methodologies (Mercer and/or Willis Towers Watson preferred)
Benefits
Additional benefits include:
Competitive Salary
Discretionary bonus
Flexible working
25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
Pension scheme
Life assurance
Income protection
Employee assistance program
Cycle to work scheme
Corporate Discounts
Location: London
About us
We’re DS Smith, the company who are redefining packaging for a changing world. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. Today, we operate in more than 30 different countries, supporting customers across sectors like FMCG, industrial, and e-commerce. We deliver on quality, service, innovation, and added value to deliver market-leading sustainable packaging solutions our customers need. Our industry needs to transform, and we’re building the team to drive change across Europe and North America
To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.
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