Permanent opportunity, 39 hours per week
Location: Handforth, with hybrid working (2 days in Handforth per week),
Salary: Up to £55k basic salary, 36 days holidays plus benefit package

About Us:

“We put pets first” is our number one value at Pets at Home. Every colleague has a part toplay to ensure that we deliver on this value every day. Our love and understanding ofpets led us to develop our long-term goal to improve the life of every pet in the UK.

This covers not only the pets in our care, the pets of owners that use our products and services but also the pets that we can help through our charity work and through educating and advocating forchange in society and the wider pet care and veterinary industry.

We have an overarching purpose“To create a better world for pets and the people who love them”and a key part of delivering this in a sustainable way will beour most cherished assets: our People and our Culture

About the role:

The Senior Reward Specialist at Pets at Home plays a pivotal role in steering strategic reward initiatives that align with our overarching vision of building the world’s best pet care platform. This position is integral to the development, execution, and management of competitive compensation and benefits programmes that support our business goals.

Working directly within the People Team, the Senior Reward Specialist collaborates with senior leaders, People Partners, and cross-functional teams, lending their expertise to ensure that our reward strategies are competitive, compliant, and drive organisational success. The role involves leadership in project management while mentoring junior team members, making a significant impact on both individual career growth and the broader business strategy.

What you’ll be doing:

Strategic Reward Planning

• Developing and implementing strategic reward initiatives, ensuring that compensation structures are both competitive and aligned with market trends. Leading the design and continuous improvement of comprehensive compensation and benefits programmes, focusing on attracting and retaining top talent.

Project Management

• Owning and managing the annual business as usual reward processes such as pay reviews, bonus payments, share grant and vests and Annual Report. Managing complex reward projects from beginning to end, ensuring successful delivery by setting clear goals, timelines, and deliverables. Collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive projects that enhance organisational effectiveness and align with our values of putting pets and their owners first.
• Providing expert guidance to People Partners and senior leaders on all matters related to reward, ensuring informed decision-making through in-depth data analysis. Monitoring and interpreting compensation data, creating insights that influence strategic business decisions. Operating at the forefront of the Reward field both commercially and with the external landscape.

Policy Development and Compliance

• Owning, developing and periodically updating reward policies and procedures to align with best practices and regulatory requirements, ensuring organisational compliance. Monitoring regulatory changes and assessing their impact on current reward programmes, guiding necessary adjustments.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Building and maintaining robust relationships with key stakeholders, effectively communicating reward strategies and initiatives across the organisation. Engaging People Business Partners and senior management through clear and transparent communication, enhancing understanding and alignment with reward strategies.
• Creating and leading job evaluation panels and assessments and effectively communicating assessment outcomes to key stakeholders. Leading the benchmarking strategy, interpreting trends from data and leveraging an established reward network to maintain competitive compensation structures. Ensuring accurate benchmarking efforts that inform strategic decision-making and support fair job grading across the organisation.
• Leading high-stakes or sensitive reward cases, offering expert guidance to senior leaders and People Business Partners to align reward practices with organisational values.

What you’ll bring to the role:

Expertise

• Extensive experience in reward management or a related field, with proven expertise in strategy development and project leadership.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of managing complex projects to successful outcomes.
• Excellent analytical skills, coupled with strategic thinking abilities.
• Relevant professional qualifications such as CIPD, WorldatWork, or equivalent.
• Experience of operating in a PLC environment.
• Experience of attending Reward networking events and establishing connections within the external Reward network.
• Experience within the retail, veterinary or pet care industry, with a strong understanding of its unique reward challenges would be highly desirable.
• Proficiency in data analysis tools and compensation software.
• Expertise in job evaluation and reward modelling.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Proven ability to mentor and develop junior team members.
• Strong organisational skills with a focus on detail and accuracy.

By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to take on an exciting and challenging role and grow your career in a supportive and dynamic environment.

Pets just see people. They aren’t biased and they don’t discriminate. We take our inspiration from pets, and we value and respect difference in all its forms. Our aim is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and every colleague can help us achieve this. We encourage our people to be themselves so even if your skills and experience don’t perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!

Please note that if you are NOT a passport holder of the country for the vacancy you might need a work permit. Check our Blog for more information.

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Created on 12/07/2025 by TN United Kingdom