Compensation and Benefits Manager

Rothesay is the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist, purpose-built to protect pension schemes and their members’ pensions. With over £68 billion of assets under management, we secure the pensions of more than one million people and pay out, on average, approximately £200 million in pension payments each month.

Rothesay is dedicated to providing excellence in customer service alongside prudent underwriting, a conservative investment strategy and the careful management of risk. We are trusted by the pension schemes of some of the UK’s best known companies to provide pension solutions, including British Airways, Cadbury, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Co-Operative, Morrisons, Smiths Industries and Telent. At Rothesay, we are striving to transform our industry. We believe deeply in creating real security for the future and our leadership in finding new and better ways to do that is the key to our success. To do that, we need the very brightest original thinkers to bring creativity as well as rigour. Rothesay is a rewarding place to work, where quality people can thrive and prosper. We pride ourselves on the connections our people build, many of whom have been with us for over ten years.

We are seeking to appoint a new Compensation and Benefits Manager who will report directly to the Chief People Officer. This individual will lead on the portfolio of Reward options for Rothesay and will be a crucial part of the leadership team which currently comprises of a Head of Business Partnering, Head of Recruitment and Head of L&D.  This is an exciting moment for the HR team and an opportunity for the successful candidate to drive a step change in capability from a reward perspective, to become a more commercially aligned and strategic, advisory function. Candidates will bring a good degree of gravitas and credibility to partner with Executive and Board stakeholders, to position the reward function as a critical, commercially enabling proposition.

This individual will bring experience of operating at the centre of a financial services business and will have a strong understanding of the regulatory environment that Rothesay operates within.  The successful candidate will need to bring a depth of experience across the executive compensation, wider reward, pensions and benefits.  This role will be crucial in shaping and leading the reward strategy for Rothesay, to attract, retain, engage, and motivate employees.

Key responsibilities:

• The role is responsible for all compensation and reward policies and remuneration practices including compliance with regulatory and external disclosure and reporting requirements.
• Bring together a cohesive reward approach for the first time, defining the overall Rothesay reward strategy and implementing programmes and schemes that comply with applicable legal regulations, D&I considerations and ultimately support delivery of Rothesay’s cultural objectives.
• Engaging with and supporting Executives and HR with the evolution and strategic direction of the Group’s reward practices, including making evidence-based recommendations on pay philosophy, bonus frameworks, grading and benefits.
• Acting as the internal expert on relevant remuneration trends, by maintaining and developing external contact and industry group participation to remain up to date.
• Coordinating the schedule, analysis, and delivery of concise and impactful reward papers.
• Work closely with the Group CFO, Finance and Co Sec teams to ensure calculations, accruals and reporting in relation to people related costs, disclosures data, bonus calculations etc are provided as required throughout the year.
• Managing and overseeing the provision of compensation benchmarking and analytics to HR and the business, delivering GDPR compliant data to surveys as agreed.
• Managing and overseeing the participation of Rothesay in appropriate and pre-approved external reward surveys.
• Managing Rothesay’s compliance with regulatory remuneration requirements for the Insurance sector.
• Deploying, coordinating, and continuously improving the Annual Compensation Review for the Group. Management of key processes and analytics, determination and distribution of statements, benchmarking analysis, and reviews of compensation across countries.  (November to January)
• Ensuring correct communication on compensation decisions (cash and shares) with our implementation stakeholders such as payroll and the company secretarial team.
• Ensure directly or via the team, significant support to our Executive team during and outside the annual process.
• Accountable for the gender pay gap and other diversity remuneration reporting as required, ensuring close coordination with key business stakeholders. Publish the data on the UK Government website.
• Design effective employee communications on compensation and benefits to promote the total reward proposition to our population.
• Support the delivery of ad hoc compensation arrangements and new hire packages as appropriate, working closely with HR the business.
• Provide advice as needed to HR, Recruitment, managers, and executives to assist with new hire remuneration package proposals.
• Work with HR stakeholders to ensure the correct recording of compensation information on HR systems.
• Act as a key point of contact to employees on Rothesay remuneration policies and processes.
• Evaluate the success of reward interventions for improvement opportunities through regular communication and feedback and modify/adjust where necessary.
• Build and own effective relationships with third party providers to help with the overall delivery of the reward, pensions and benefits strategy and programmes.
• Develop a network of colleagues and external advisers, keeping abreast of regulatory / legislative developments and benchmark practice to influence policy and strategy development and share best practice.

Experience required

• Significant reward experience including executive compensation in a financial services environment.
• In-depth understanding of commercial strategy and ability to shape executive reward strategies that result in measurable and commercially relevant solutions.
• Detailed knowledge of UK and international governance and regulatory requirements related to remuneration.
• Sound knowledge of the tax implications and legal compliance requirements of reward, including salary sacrifice schemes.
• Some experience of international reward is beneficial (Rothesay have offices in New York and Sydney, in addition to the UK where most of the workforce are currently based).
• Good understanding of key statutory elements such as National Living Wage, Gender Pay Reporting and GDPR.
• Experience of creating and implementing reward policies and managing successful implementation.
• Good knowledge of developments and expertise in reward and benefits and able to develop new approaches to resolve complex problems.
• Project Management Skills (setting direction, maintaining disciplines and focus, managing consultants and stakeholders). Proven track record of working to tight deadlines, efficiency in multiple priorities and delivery of a professional approach to HR.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to present qualitative and quantitative data and management information clearly and in an insightful way.
• Degree level education, or equivalent professional experience.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Well-developed diplomacy, listening and influencing skills. Excellent communication (written/verbal), collaboration and interpersonal skills to be able to engage with senior stakeholders.
• Advanced excel and financial modelling skills.
• Able to communicate with impact and make complex things clear, to enable a way forward.
• Resilience to balance competing demands under pressure.

Key skills

• Ability to deliver timely results; demonstrates strong attention to detail which is replicated in the quality and accuracy of the information and papers they produce. Comfortable working without the luxury of large resource, willing to ‘roll sleeves up’.
• Commercial orientation; is a creative and pragmatic problem-solver who finds solutions which are cognisant of the business’ commercial goals – commercially savvy but operates within agreed frameworks.
• Executive credibility; builds trust and credibility through delivery, personal impact and clear, concise communication. Able to influence senior stakeholders through an engaging style, a deep understanding of the business and the ability to present complex technical information in a clear and digestible way. A warm, engaging and straightforward style will fit well with this business.
• Strategic thinking; demonstrates intellectual curiosity and the ability to apply insights from other sectors and businesses and use these insights to influence and shape remuneration policy. Stays at the forefront of the evolving remuneration debate.
• Change agent; able to influence behaviour and contribute to an organisation’s growth and evolving culture – understands how to use reward as a lever for business improvement, growth and culture change. Able to consult, coach and build rapport to ensure people buy-in to new proposals and work together to deliver change.
• Flexible and pragmatic approach; resourceful style and able to focus on the practical – "how do we get this done".

Disclaimer This position description is intended to describe the duties most frequently performed by an individual in this position. It is not intended to be a complete list of assigned duties, but to describe a position level.  The role shall be performed within a professional office environment. Rothesay has health and safety polices that are available for all workers upon request.  There are no specific health risks associated with the role.

Inclusion Rothesay actively promotes diversity and inclusivity. We know that our success depends on our people and that by nurturing a culture that values difference, we create a stronger, more dynamic business. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.