Senior Reward Manager in City of London

I'm pleased to be partnering exclusively with a global media organisation at a pivotal moment in its evolution. Operating across nearly 30 countries with a workforce exceeding 10,000, the business sits at the heart of some of the most recognisable brands in its sector. Backed by private equity, it is entering an exciting phase of transformation, combining strong investment with a clear agenda for growth. Despite its scale, the organisation has retained a highly collaborative, entrepreneurial feel - with a genuinely flat structure and a flexible approach to how and where people work.

As part of a broader evolution of the Total Reward Centre of Expertise, a Global Senior Reward Manager is being appointed to play a central role in shaping the organisation's future reward framework. This is a rare opportunity to combine strategic influence with hands-on delivery, helping to build a more sophisticated, scalable compensation infrastructure ahead of a critical growth phase in 2026 and beyond.

The role:

• Reporting directly to the Global Head of Reward, you will take ownership of the global compensation agenda - leading the design, implementation, and embedding of frameworks that will underpin decision-making across the business.
• With job architecture currently being integrated into Workday, your initial focus will be on building out the supporting compensation infrastructure. This will include the development of global pay ranges, benchmarking strategy, governance frameworks, and driving improved understanding of reward across a decentralised HR population.
• Alongside this, you will contribute to the ongoing evolution of incentive programmes and gain exposure to senior leadership and executive compensation. Whilst benefits currently sit at a local level, you will support the longer-term ambition to bring greater consistency and global oversight.
• You will be supported by a small but capable team, alongside strong HRIS expertise.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the global compensation framework, including benchmarking strategy, salary survey participation, and pay range development.
• Own and embed the global job architecture framework, ensuring consistency and effective adoption.
• Partner with senior stakeholders on executive and leadership compensation, supporting governance and decision-making forums.
• Build and enhance global pay governance, providing clear frameworks, guidance, and education to HR teams.
• Support the delivery and evolution of incentive programmes, including annual bonus and sales incentive structures.
• Collaborate with HRIS to optimise Workday Advanced Compensation and improve user experience and self-service capability.
• Act as a trusted advisor to HR business partners on benchmarking and compensation queries across multiple geographies.
• Contribute to the harmonisation of benefits as part of a longer-term global strategy.
• Play a key role in shaping and articulating the organisation's reward philosophy.

What we're looking for:

• You will bring deep compensation expertise, ideally gained within a complex, global or transforming organisation.
• You are comfortable operating with autonomy and influence, and have experience building and embedding reward structures at scale.
• A strong technical grounding in job architecture, benchmarking, and salary survey data (e.g. Aon, Mercer) is essential, alongside experience of incentive design and senior stakeholder engagement.
• Exposure to Workday Advanced Compensation is highly desirable, as is experience working within a private equity-backed environment.
• Crucially, you will be an effective communicator who enjoys bringing clarity and structure to ambiguity - with the ability to upskill and influence HR teams within a decentralised model.

What's in it for you:

• A high-impact role within a global, creative organisation undergoing meaningful transformation.
• The chance to shape and embed global reward frameworks at a critical growth stage.
• Close partnership with an experienced Global Head of Reward and senior leadership team.
• A collaborative, inclusive culture with minimal hierarchy.
• Highly flexible working environment with strong benefits (London office attendance required but this can be infrequent).
• Team leadership.
• £100,000-£120,000 + bonus.

If you are a reward professional who enjoys operating at both strategic and operational levels, and are motivated by the opportunity to build something meaningful within a global business, we would welcome a confidential conversation.