Head of Reward

Full Time Permanent position Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices.

What We Offer

We have embraced a hybrid working model for most of our positions, which means that you can enjoy a balanced approach of working from home for part of the week and working from the office for the remainder of the week. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive salaries and bonuses, robust Learning and Development support, excellent Defined Contribution pension and comprehensive Wellbeing initiatives and support to name but a few.

At Irish Life, our purpose is to help people build better futures. Our company values shape everything we do and underpin our vision of being the driving force behind Ireland’s financial, physical, and mental well‑being. We believe in doing the right thing—acting with integrity and making fair, responsible decisions. We aim high, setting ambitious goals and constantly find better ways to innovate and improve. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we are dedicated to understanding their needs and exceeding their expectations. We believe that as a team we work best together, in a supportive, collaborative environment where every idea and contribution is valued.

Role Overview

The successful person will lead and develop the Irish Life Group (ILG) HR Reward & Benefits team to deliver high‑quality business‑as‑usual objectives and a broad range of Reward and Benefits projects, including EU Pay Transparency, to ensure that our Reward & Benefit policies and practices continuously support the delivery of our strategy and risk appetite. The Head of Reward acts as business partner and a subject matter expert on all aspects of compensation and benefits providing strategic advice to senior leadership ensuring Reward frameworks are market competitive, cost effective and support business objectives.

What You Will Help Us To Achieve

• Lead and develop the ILG Group HR - Reward and Benefits team to consistently deliver effective and efficient reward solutions.
• Act as a trusted advisor to all stakeholders (e.g., business leaders, HRBPs) to provide guidance around Reward practices, remuneration structures and processes.
• Lead the implementation of the annual compensation process (Salary reviews, Bonus awards, Executive compensation (JG16+), APSS Share Scheme) for all ILG companies in Ireland (including Cornmarket & Unio), ensuring adherence to budgetary allowance and compliance with regulations and standards.
• Lead the completion of the annual salary benchmarking and salary range reviews by managing the retrieval and submission of detailed data input from reward surveys, analysis of survey results to identify appropriate benchmark data for all roles, market trends, forecasts, and anomalies, and preparation of reports/information to deliver relevant and accurate information and recommendations to business leaders.
• Manage the relationship with the third parties responsible for delivery or support of reward mechanisms.
• Lead the investment bonus scheme and Solvency II calculations and deferrals process to ensure compliance with all Solvency II / Remuneration Policy requirements.
• Manage the Income Protection policy, including the ongoing administration and development.
• Lead any benefit initiatives (defined annually) which could include benefit administration / oversight on Healthcare, Wellbeing, Car policy, Retirement, Mobility etc.
• Design and development of remuneration structures which are required following market review, significant internal restructures, or acquisitions, including identifying appropriate benefits e.g., salary ranges, bonus, car, pension, and health offerings.
• Lead Strategic Reward and Benefits projects and participate in various HR Projects as required to support the broader HR agenda and ensure adherence to applicable regulations.
• Own the Reward framework, principles, policy and standards ensuring robust governance, documentation and decisions making regarding Reward practices.
• Report to and support the engagement with the ILG Board Remuneration Committee.
• Production of internal and external gender pay reports to ensure all our gender pay reporting obligations are fully met.
• Identify networking opportunities for the Company in the marketplace, report on market insights & represent the Company as required at these.

More Specific Responsibilities Will Include

• Values/Culture: Act in a manner consistent with the organisation’s vision and values. Act as a role model in promoting behaviour that is consistent with the organisation’s vision and values.
• Risk Management: Ensure compliance with all relevant risk and regulatory requirements; proactively highlight any risks so that mitigating actions can be taken.
• People Management: If you have people responsibilities oversee the activities of direct reports to ensure a high performing, well‑motivated and developed team which delivers the required results.
• Financial/Budgetary responsibility: If you have budgetary responsibilities monitor and manage local expenditure to ensure value for money is achieved and that budgets are managed responsibly.

What you will need to be successful in the role

• Significant experience working in a reward environment as part of a wider HR team.
• CIPD qualification strongly desirable.
• A strong working knowledge of reward practices and processes (performance management frameworks, reward analysis, job evaluation etc.).
• Strong knowledge of Irish Employment Legislation and the compliance requirements of the role.
• Strong understanding of Risk Management processes and technologies.
• Demonstrable experience in delivering large complex projects within budget and timeline.
• Financially articulate and have a clear ability to read financial trends within the business.
• Have strong ability to lead and empower others to deliver positive results for stakeholders.
• Excellent strategic thinking and process improvement capability.

About Us

Irish Life is one of Ireland’s largest financial institutions with a presence across a range of financial services markets. We are one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups with over 1.5 million customers. For over 80 years, we’ve been helping people to look after their life insurance, pension and investment needs, and more recently their health insurance. It is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies. We are proud of our culture of developing and supporting the growth and professional development of our people. The focus has resulted in a team of top talent with high standards, positioning us at the forefront of our industry. Irish Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported. We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.

If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact us and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best. ILGL supports Equal Opportunity and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.