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- Tasks: Lead global Total Rewards strategy and governance for a dynamic business division.
- Company: Join SGS, the world's leading testing, inspection, and certification company.
- Benefits: Flexible working, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape impactful reward strategies in a transformative global environment.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in Total Rewards with strong analytical and leadership skills.
- Other info: Collaborate with diverse stakeholders across 90 countries.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 120000 £ per year.
Company Description
We are SGS – the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 99,600 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world. At SGS, we have an open corporate and international culture. We offer a dynamic work environment in a leading global company. Our high professional standards and our sustainability approach guarantee you a future-oriented work environment. We invest in our employees for the long term and are committed to supporting your development within the company. Our business principles include: Integrity, Health, Safety & Environment, Quality & Professionalism, Respect, Sustainability, and Leadership.
Job Description
Reporting To: Global Head of Human Resources, Business Assurance
Key Stakeholders: Group Total Rewards team, Regional Total Rewards Leaders, Regional & Country HR Directors, Finance, Legal, and Business Assurance Leadership
Location: Flexible / Global (Hybrid)
Travel: Occasional international travel
Role Overview
The Global Total Rewards Director for Business Assurance (BA) is responsible for designing, governing, and evolving Total Rewards strategy across nearly 100 countries and 8,500 employees. This role drives all global activities related to Compensation, Benefits, Job Architecture, Incentives, Benchmarking, Governance, and Reward Transformation for the Business Assurance division. As Business Assurance undergoes significant growth and transformation, this role will be instrumental in shaping competitive reward frameworks, harmonising practices across countries, improving internal equity, and ensuring strategic alignment with both Business Assurance business goals and SGS Group Total Rewards policies.
Key Responsibilities
- Global Total Rewards Strategy & Governance: Develop and execute a comprehensive global Total Rewards strategy aligned with BA’s business priorities and growth ambitions. Act as the strategic Total Rewards leader for BA, ensuring full alignment with Group Total Rewards. Establish strong governance frameworks for compensation, benefits, job architecture, and incentive plans across 90+ countries. Ensure consistency, internal equity, and global standards while balancing local market realities. Advise BA Executive Leadership on reward trends, risks, and strategic decisions.
- Compensation Frameworks & Grading: Lead global job architecture, ensuring clarity, consistency, and scalability across BA’s organisation. Own and manage the grading framework, ensuring rigorous application and calibration globally. Implement robust processes for job evaluation, leveling, and internal benchmarking. Partner with regional HR/Total Rewards to ensure correct and consistent application of compensation policies. Drive salary and bonuses reviews processes.
- Market Benchmarking & External Competitiveness: Lead global compensation and benefits benchmarking in Consulting, Audit, and Training sectors, in partnership with Group TR and external vendors (Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, local providers). Monitor market competitiveness across diverse geographies and propose adjustments proactively. Maintain a holistic, up-to-date view of competitiveness for BA’s critical roles globally.
- Annual Compensation Cycles: Lead and coordinate the annual global compensation cycles for BA (merit increase, bonus, promotions). Design guidelines and calibration methodologies for leaders, regions, and countries. Partner with Finance for labor cost scenarios, budgeting, and forecasting. Ensure strong communication, training, and change management with HR and business stakeholders.
- Incentive Plans & Bonus Structures: Review, harmonize, and improve incentive plans across BA, ensuring competitiveness, fairness, and performance alignment. Design or refine bonus schemes for different populations (sales incentives, auditors incentives, management incentives, special schemes). Ensure performance-based reward models that support BA’s commercial and operational priorities.
- Offer Management & Reward Advisory: Own global guidelines for compensation offers, ensuring competitiveness and internal equity. Support senior-level or critical-role offer decisions, including expatriation and mobility packages. Provide strategic reward advisory to HRBPs and BA leadership on complex cases.
- Reward Transformation & Continuous Improvement: Drive major Total Rewards transformation initiatives in BA (harmonization, digitalization, simplification). Identify gaps, inefficiencies, or inconsistencies across regions and implement corrective actions. Modernize reward processes, tools, dashboards (in collaboration with Group TR). Support Workday or other HR system enhancements related to rewards.
- Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: Act as BA’s main liaison to Group Total Rewards for global strategy alignment, tools, and methodologies. Partner with regional Total Rewards leaders to ensure alignment and smooth deployment globally. Work cross-functionally with HR, Finance, Legal, Business Leaders, and Group HR. Communicate complex reward concepts to diverse stakeholders with clarity and impact.
- HRIS, Workday & Rewards Systems Governance: Lead the strategic oversight of HRIS systems supporting Total Rewards (Workday compensation, grading, incentives, and benefits), ensuring global consistency, scalability, and data integrity. Drive automation, digitalization, and dashboard development to strengthen analytics, forecasting, and data-driven decision-making. Continuously improve reward system processes, reducing manual interventions and enhancing user experience for HR and business stakeholders.
- HRIS & People Data Analytics: Oversee data governance, data quality, and system optimisation to support global HR operations. Lead the use of HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday) to enable efficient and accurate processes across Business Assurance. Develop and maintain advanced people analytics, dashboards, and KPIs to support decision-making for leadership, HR, and the business.
Qualifications
Experience: 10+ years in Total Rewards / Compensation & Benefits, ideally in global or multi-regional organisations. Extensive experience across compensation strategy, grading, executive and broad-based compensation, incentives, and benefits. Proven track record in global reward harmonization and transformation. Strong understanding of compensation practices across APAC, EEMEA, Europe, Americas, and emerging markets. Experience supporting business models similar to BA (professional services, audit, certification, technical industries).
Skills & Competencies:
- Reward Expertise: deep knowledge of compensation, benefits, job evaluation, benchmarking, and market practices.
- Analytical Strength: strong financial mindset; ability to model scenarios, build business cases, and assess impacts.
- Transformation Leadership: ability to lead global change, harmonize frameworks, and simplify complexity.
- Stakeholder Influence: credible advisor to senior leaders; strong cross-cultural communication.
- Project Management: ability to drive multiple global initiatives simultaneously.
- Technology Fluency: good command of HRIS (e.g., Workday), Excel, and reward tools (Mercer, WTW platforms). Fluency in English required; other languages are a plus.
Additional Information
Why Join Business Assurance: Lead Total Rewards for a global division operating in 90 countries. Create high-impact reward strategies in a business undergoing transformation and growth. Work closely with Group Total Rewards while shaping the future of BA’s people strategy. Exposure to executive stakeholders, global complexity, and meaningful transformation.
Global Total Rewards Director Business Assurance in Ellesmere Port employer: SGS Australia
Contact Detail:
SGS Australia Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Global Total Rewards Director Business Assurance in Ellesmere Port
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at SGS through LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and might even lead to a referral, which is always a bonus!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by researching SGS’s values and recent projects. Show us that you’re not just another candidate; demonstrate how your experience aligns with our commitment to sustainability and quality.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your answers to common interview questions, but keep it natural. We want to see your personality shine through, so don’t be afraid to let your passion for Total Rewards come across!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply directly through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows us you’re genuinely interested in joining the SGS family.
We think you need these skills to ace Global Total Rewards Director Business Assurance in Ellesmere Port
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Global Total Rewards Director role. Highlight your experience in Total Rewards, especially in global or multi-regional organisations, and how it aligns with SGS's values and goals.
Showcase Your Expertise: Don’t hold back on showcasing your deep knowledge of compensation, benefits, and job evaluation. Use specific examples from your past roles to demonstrate your analytical strength and transformation leadership skills.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. Use straightforward language to communicate your ideas effectively, especially when discussing complex reward concepts. We want to see your ability to communicate with clarity!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows us you’re serious about joining our team at SGS!
How to prepare for a job interview at SGS Australia
✨Know Your Total Rewards Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of compensation, benefits, and job architecture. Understand the latest trends in Total Rewards, especially in global contexts, as this role is all about shaping competitive frameworks across multiple countries.
✨Showcase Your Analytical Skills
Be prepared to discuss how you've used data to drive decisions in previous roles. Highlight any experience you have with HRIS systems like Workday and your ability to model scenarios or build business cases. This will show that you can handle the analytical demands of the position.
✨Demonstrate Transformation Leadership
This role involves leading change and harmonising frameworks, so come ready with examples of how you've successfully managed transformation initiatives in the past. Talk about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them to achieve your goals.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Since you'll be liaising with various stakeholders, practice articulating complex reward concepts clearly. Prepare to discuss how you've influenced senior leaders in previous roles and how you plan to communicate effectively across different cultures and teams.