Senior Reward Business Partner

Role details

Location: Lingley Mere, Warrington (Hybrid Working 3 days onsite)
Salary: Competitive + £5,000 Car Allowance + Up to 20% Bonus

Shape the future of reward at a FTSE 100 organisation

At United Utilities, our purpose is to deliver great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West. Behind this ambition are talented people who help drive our success, and we're looking for an experienced reward professional to play a key role in evolving our reward strategy and supporting the delivery of an exceptional colleague experience.

This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned reward expert to join our highly respected Reward team. Working closely with the Head of Reward and wider team, you'll help shape and deliver reward programmes that attract, retain and motivate talent across the business, while providing expert advice on executive remuneration, governance and regulatory reporting.

As an experienced practitioner you’ll already be aware of the evolving landscape for reward in the UK, and the opportunities this presents to really make a difference. And with specific and significant change in the water sector right now and in the years ahead, this an especially interesting time to join our ambitious, curious and high-performing team. You'll have the opportunity to influence high-profile reward projects, contribute to executive reward developments and play a key role in ensuring our reward offering is appealing, competitive, compliant and future-focused.

What you'll be doing

This is a broad and impactful role, combining strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.

You'll be responsible for:

• Supporting the development and implementation of United Utilities' reward strategy and reward frameworks
• Leading annual salary review, bonus and recognition processes
• Relationships with external benefit providers, with a focus on ensuring quality, value for money and high levels of customer service
• Providing expert advice and reporting on executive remuneration and senior leadership reward matters
• Supporting the production of high-quality remuneration papers, reports and analysis for senior leaders, the Executive Team and Remuneration Committee
• Managing reward governance activities to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and corporate governance requirements
• Delivering external reward reporting including directors’ remuneration reports, Gender Pay Gap reporting, pay transparency requirements and other statutory disclosures
• Managing and interpreting external market benchmarking data to ensure reward remains competitive and aligned to market trends
• Leading job evaluation and grading activities, using Willis Towers Watson's Global Grading methodology
• Strong understanding of share schemes, incentive arrangements and flexible benefits programmes
• Developing business cases and reward proposals that influence decision-making at senior levels
• Building strong relationships with HR colleagues, Finance, senior business leaders and external reward partners
• Contributing to reward transformation projects and continuous improvement initiatives across the function
• Acting as a trusted deputy and strategic partner to the Head of Reward

What we're looking for

We're looking for an ambitious, curious and commercially minded reward professional who combines strategic capability with a strong delivery focus.

You'll bring:

Essential Experience

• Significant experience within Reward, Compensation and Benefits or Executive Reward roles
• Experience operating within a large, complex corporate setting, ideally in a listed environment (e.g. FTSE 100 or FTSE 250)
• Strong executive remuneration experience, including governance, reporting and stakeholder management
• Experience preparing papers, analysis and presentations for Executive Committees, Boards and/or Remuneration Committees
• Experience leading or supporting Gender Pay Gap reporting, pay transparency initiatives and external reward disclosures
• Extensive experience of salary benchmarking, job evaluation and grading structures
• Experience administering incentive plans, flexible benefits and salary sacrifice arrangements
• Strong analytical capability and advanced Excel skills
• Experience translating complex reward data into clear recommendations and compelling business cases
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the confidence and credibility to influence at senior levels

Desirable Experience

• Familiarity with Willis Towers Watson Global Grading methodology
• Experience of share schemes and long-term incentive arrangements
• Experience delivering and supporting reward change and transformation programmes
• Experience working in a regulated environment
• Experience working closely with communications/public relations colleagues on external messaging

You'll be someone who is:

• Strategic yet highly delivery-focused
• Curious, proactive and solutions-oriented
• Comfortable operating in a changing environment
• Collaborative and relationship-focused
• Resilient, adaptable and able to manage competing priorities, especially if the unexpected happens or relationships become challenging
• Commercially aware with strong business acumen
• Credible and influential, with the gravitas to engage senior stakeholders

Qualifications

• Graduate calibre
• CIPD qualified (or equivalent)

Why join us?

You'll be joining a supportive, specialist team that is highly regarded across the organisation. We pride ourselves on working collaboratively, challenging constructively and delivering meaningful outcomes that make a real difference to our colleagues and the business.

Alongside a competitive salary you'll receive:

• 26 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days with service, plus bank holidays
• Up to 14% employer pension contribution
• £5,000 car allowance
• Up to 20% annual bonus
• Family friendly working options, including enhanced parental leave and flexible working
• Private healthcare
• Wellbeing programmes and support
• Voluntary flexible benefits
• Voluntary share scheme

Ready to make an impact?

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced reward professional looking to broaden their exposure to executive remuneration, governance and strategic reward projects while developing towards future leadership opportunities within a progressive FTSE 100 organisation.

Join us and help shape reward for the future at United Utilities.