Pay and Reward Specialist in Chelmsford

This is a hybrid-working role contractually based in Chelmsford. You will work from the Chelmsford office 2-3 days per week, depending on business need.

Please note this opportunity will be offered as an 18 month fixed-term contract or secondment.

The Pay and Reward Specialist supports the delivery of Essex County Council's People strategy by contributing to the development and implementation of effective pay, reward, and employee benefits processes. Guided by senior reward professionals, the role helps ensure that the Council's reward offerings align with broader people and business objectives, promote employee engagement, and support the attraction and retention of talent.

This role provides critical support to Reward initiatives, including project delivery, benchmarking, and data analysis, while actively promoting organisational understanding and application of Reward principles.

Working collaboratively with HR colleagues and stakeholders across the Council, the Pay and Reward Specialist helps deliver consistent, impactful reward solutions that benefit employees, support organisational goals, and positively influence service outcomes for residents.

• Support the development and delivery of reward strategies that contribute meaningfully to ECC's workforce and organisational goals. This includes working collaboratively with senior colleagues to ensure reward initiatives are aligned with broader strategic priorities, such as the Workforce Strategy and financial sustainability.
• Conduct research and analysis of external reward trends, benchmarking data, and internal workforce metrics to inform the design and refinement of ECC's reward offerings.
• Maintain and continuously improve the Social Care Capability Framework (SCCF) by overseeing evaluation processes, coordinating the annual review cycle, and ensuring timely delivery of associated outputs.
• Provide expert advice and guidance on SCCF performance data, working closely with stakeholders such as Payroll, Finance, and People Tech to resolve complex queries and support strategic planning.
• Contribute to the design, maintenance, and communication of ECC's pay and reward structures, including job evaluation frameworks, grading systems, and executive pay arrangements.
• Coordinate and deliver training, guidance, and drop-in sessions for the Social Care workforce and other internal stakeholders to build understanding of reward processes and SCCF-related changes.
• Manage and update reward-related content across ECC's internal platforms, including the Social Care Pay intranet pages, policy documents, guidance notes, and FAQs.
• Support the administration and review of employee benefits schemes.
• Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of pay and reward associated projects, managing scope, timelines, and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.

• Educated to RQF Level 5 or equivalent by experience.
• Professional membership of the CIPD, CIPP or other related professional body at Chartered level.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Deep understanding and demonstrable experience of reward management, compensation analysis and of a range of reward and performance functions, practice and procedure in a modern HR environment.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills with the ability to interpret, apply and present data to inform decision-making.
• Demonstrable experience of devising and implementing reward in a large matrix organisation.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate messages to a range of audiences.
• Strong working knowledge of current business technology.

Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job.