Compensation & Benefits Specialist

Salary £40,000 - £45,000 PA depending on experience
Permanent, Full-time, 39 hours per week
Based in Handforth SK9 3RN

Hybrid working 2 days on site and 3 WFH.
 

Role’s purpose:

In order to be recognised as employer of choice in an ever-competitive employment market, we recognise the importance of continuously evaluating and developing our EVP and reward strategy in order to recognise and reward the contribution our colleagues make to the success of Pets.  We want to compensate our colleagues in the best way possible and in a way that is meaningful to each and every colleague.

We therefore have an exciting opportunity for a Compensation and Benefits Specialist join our Reward & Wellbeing Team, where the successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing and delivering a best in class reward offering to our colleagues which sets us apart from other employers.

Description

As a Compensation & Benefits Specialist, you will work closely with our Reward Manager and Head of Reward, to deliver all cyclical compensation activities such as pay review, benchmarking and job evaluation as well as contribute to the design and development of new and existing benefits and wellbeing initiatives. 

Collaboration and a desire to work with cross-functional teams is essential to the success of this role, alongside an ability to demonstrate confidence. You must be comfortable engaging with stakeholders at all levels across the organisation, displaying a high level of analytical intelligence. Bringing positivity, taking pride in your work, adopting an honest and straightforward approach, and wanting to continually improve. With the right support, we will ensure success within your role and career.
 

About your role and responsibilities

You will work with the Reward Manager and Head of Reward to:

• Plan and deliver all cyclical and ad hoc compensation activities for your area including; pay review, benchmarking and survey analysis, job profiling and architecture modifications;
• Prepare analysis and narrative for inclusion in Executive Board Papers, Annual Report and other key Pets publications;
• Ensure that our bonus and share schemes are administered in accordance with scheme rules and identify opportunities for improvement;
• Conduct research and analysis on compensation and benefit trends and produce reports and data tools for stakeholders to support the wider decision making process;
• Support and deliver where appropriate, key compensation and benefits project as outlined in the Reward road map and bring to the table ideas which incorporate communication, efficiency and automation as guiding principles for success;
• Manage and resolve complex ad hoc reward-related queries from stakeholders and colleague

About You:
This role would suit an individual who has the agility to work at pace and bring to the fore different skill sets they have developed through their career when required.

The right candidate will have at least 4 years’ experience working in a compensation and benefits environment and a proven track record of supporting the delivery of both cyclical and ad hoc and initiatives.  They will be able to demonstrate exceptional analytical skills with the ability to draw out key messages from large data sets and tell a story to stakeholders that will bring to life key information relating to compensation and benefits decision making.

This role will require an individual who is highly organised in their approach to their work and comfortable working with colleagues of all levels of seniority from retail colleagues in our Pet Care Centres to management colleagues on the leadership team.

Skills:

Essential

• Previous experience in Reward is essential, with an understanding of annual compensation cycles, job architecture and benchmarking;
• Ability to influence and build strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders as you will work with colleagues and also vendors who provides some of our benefits and advice;
• Advanced Excel skills are essential with experience working with Power BI, VBA and building analytical dashboards an advantage;
• Exceptional attention-to-detail and ability to work with complex data;
• High standards of professionalism, initiative, creativity and is able to work independently;
• Ability to solve new and complex problems where existing solutions may not be appropriate and challenge the status quo.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of company benefits, e.g. cycle to work scheme and private health care
• Vendor management;
• Understanding of share plans, including SAYE, LTIPs, Restricted Stock Plans and bonus deferral schemes;
• Experience working with SuccessFactors;
• Knowledge and experience of Willis Towers Watson job architecture and framework.

What we can offer you:

As well as a competitive base salary, we offer the following benefits to our support office Colleagues:

• Pension scheme with a 6.5% contribution made by Pets (minimum 2.5% contribution by You)
• Annual bonus participation with the potential award opportunity of up to 12% of your base salary
• 36 days annual leave; including bank holidays
• Private healthcare options for you plus family members at competitive premium rates
• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities to work part-time and from home to suit your lifestyle and personal needs
• Opportunity to bring your pet to the Support Office
• Life assurance (x4 salary)
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Holiday Purchase of up to 5 days
• Colleague Pets Discount- 20% discount for you and one family member
• Various retail discounts
• Birthday Leave - 1-day
• Pet-ernity leave – 1-day extra leave to welcome your new dog, horse or cat into your family

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!