Compensation Manager

Compensation Manager

Basingstoke Full-Time 55000 - 77000 ÂŁ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Shape and lead compensation strategies for a leading consumer brand.
  • Company: Join a well-known UK brand with a focus on innovation and collaboration.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, bonus, car allowance, and career growth opportunities.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on how talent is rewarded and recognised.
  • Qualifications: Degree in Reward and experience in retail or hospitality compensation.
  • Other info: High-profile role with exposure to senior leadership and strategic influence.

The predicted salary is between 55000 - 77000 ÂŁ per year.

Compensation Manager – retail or hospitality

England (ideally Midlands or South based)– remote working with weekly visits to Head Office

ÂŁ65-77,000 + bonus + car allowance + benefits + career opportunities

Are you ready to shape the future of reward in one of the UK’s most recognisable consumer brands?

We’re seeking a strategic, commercially-minded Compensation Manager who can bring fresh thinking to pay structures, incentive design and reward frameworks that truly engage a diverse, fast-paced workforce. This is a role for someone who wants to be more than an analyst or partner – you’ll be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, influencing decisions that impact thousands of colleagues across the UK & Ireland.

The Role

This is a pivotal role within our Clients People function, sitting at the heart of how we attract, retain and recognise talent. You’ll be responsible for shaping and leading the full compensation agenda, ensuring their reward offering is both competitive in the market and compelling for colleagues.

In practice, this means:

Owning the annual pay and bonus cycles, from design and modelling to execution and communication, ensuring fairness, accuracy and alignment with business performance.

Benchmarking and pay positioning, staying ahead of the market to make sure their pay structures remain competitive and sustainable.

Advising senior leadership, acting as the go-to expert for compensation decisions, balancing commercial priorities with fairness, equity and compliance.

Leading on executive and long-term incentives, supporting the design and delivery of schemes that drive leadership accountability and business growth.

Data-driven insights, analysing pay trends, equal pay and gender pay to provide actionable recommendations that shape strategy and enhance EVP.

Governance and compliance, ensuring all compensation practices meet legal requirements and company policy, while anticipating future legislation.

Continuous improvement, proactively challenging current ways of working and introducing new approaches, tools and frameworks to keep us at the forefront of reward practice.

This is a high-profile, business-facing role where you’ll have exposure to the Exec team, Board-level reporting and external regulators. It’s about shaping reward in a way that not only supports growth but also reflects their culture and values.

About you

Degree educated with further qualifications in Reward

To thrive, you’ll bring the blend of technical expertise, commercial judgement and influencing ability needed to set the standard in compensation. You will have incredible progressive experience gained within fast moving retail or hospitality organisations and understand what world class Compensation programmes look like in progressive organisation

We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate:

Compensation expertise, deep knowledge of compensation principles including pay structures, incentive design, executive reward and benchmarking frameworks (experience with WTW global grading is essential).

Commercial acumen, you connect reward outcomes with business performance, and can articulate the “so what” to senior stakeholders.

Analytical strength, comfortable modelling complex pay scenarios, handling large datasets, and producing insight that drives action.

Strategic mindset, able to look beyond process to consider how compensation underpins engagement, retention and EVP.

Influence and impact, you can hold your own with senior leaders, simplify complexity for a broad audience, and inspire confidence with your recommendations.

Resilience & pace, you enjoy working in a dynamic environment where priorities shift and deadlines are tight.

Credibility in context, ideally experience gained in a multi-site, consumer-facing or service-led organisation, where agility and pragmatism are key.

Why join?

This is a chance to make your mark in a high-profile role, where your work directly shapes the colleague experience and the organisation’s ability to attract and retain top talent. You’ll join a collaborative HR team with big ambitions and a leadership group that values innovation in reward.

If you’re ready to bring your expertise to a household-name brand and help set the standard for compensation excellence, we’d love to hear from you.

To apply please email your CV to nicola.eddy@hprtalent.com or call 0115 870 0115 for more details

Compensation Manager employer: HPRtalent

Join a leading consumer brand as a Compensation Manager, where you'll play a crucial role in shaping competitive pay structures and reward frameworks that engage a diverse workforce. With remote working flexibility and weekly visits to the Head Office, you'll thrive in a collaborative culture that values innovation and offers significant career growth opportunities. This high-profile position not only allows you to influence senior leadership decisions but also directly impacts the colleague experience across the UK and Ireland.
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Contact Detail:

HPRtalent Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Compensation Manager

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to industry contacts on LinkedIn or attend local events. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.

✨Tip Number 2

Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its compensation strategies. Be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals, especially in shaping reward frameworks.

✨Tip Number 3

Showcase your analytical skills! Bring examples of how you've used data-driven insights to influence compensation decisions in previous roles. This will demonstrate your value as a trusted advisor.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search.

We think you need these skills to ace Compensation Manager

Compensation Expertise
Pay Structures
Incentive Design
Executive Reward
Benchmarking Frameworks
Commercial Acumen
Analytical Strength
Data Analysis
Strategic Mindset
Influencing Skills
Resilience
Credibility in Context
Governance and Compliance
Continuous Improvement

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Compensation Manager role. Highlight your expertise in compensation principles, incentive design, and any relevant experience in retail or hospitality.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're the perfect fit for this role. Share specific examples of how you've influenced compensation strategies in the past and how you can bring fresh thinking to our team.

Showcase Your Analytical Skills: Since this role involves handling large datasets and producing actionable insights, be sure to mention any relevant analytical tools or methodologies you've used. We want to see how you can turn data into strategic recommendations!

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from us!

How to prepare for a job interview at HPRtalent

✨Know Your Numbers

As a Compensation Manager, you'll need to be comfortable with data. Brush up on your analytical skills and be ready to discuss how you've used data to influence compensation strategies in the past. Prepare examples of pay structures or incentive designs you've worked on.

✨Understand the Business

Make sure you can articulate how compensation impacts business performance. Research the company's current compensation practices and think about how you can align them with their commercial goals. Be prepared to discuss how your strategic mindset can enhance their employee value proposition.

✨Showcase Your Influence

This role requires you to advise senior leaders, so demonstrate your influencing skills during the interview. Share specific instances where you've successfully communicated complex compensation concepts to non-experts, and how your recommendations led to positive outcomes.

✨Stay Ahead of Trends

Familiarise yourself with the latest trends in compensation and reward frameworks, especially in retail or hospitality. Be ready to discuss how you would benchmark pay positioning and ensure compliance with evolving legislation. Showing that you're proactive about continuous improvement will set you apart.

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