As we move to our new hybrid model of working, we need to ensure our pay, reward and recognition approach reflects the changing way we will work. This role will have proven expertise in innovative approaches to pay, reward and recognition that support a high-achieving organisation culture, delivering programmes that reward and recognise key employee capabilities, skills, and behaviours, and are market-relevant, fair, and cost-effective.

The role

This is a specialist role leading on Pay & Grading (Policy, Governance & Guidance), Employee Benefits, Employee Recognition (Strategy) and Employer Pensions.

Part of our Business Partnering and Employment Practice team, this role will work closely with the Director of Organisation, Development and People and Service Transformation, at the centre of a wide business network.

Ambitious people who want to make a difference really fit in here so if you are a talented Employment Reward Specialist, who wants to make a real difference to Essex County Council in all things, not just how we approach reward and benefits we want to hear from you.

We're open to a chat about flexible working. No promises, but we would still like to hear from you if you would like to discuss potential options.

On a day-to-day basis

You will:

• Be responsible for taking the lead in advising the council on all pay, reward, recognition, and pensions approaches and delivering programmes that reward and recognise achievements and behaviours, in a market-relevant, fair, and cost-effective way.
• Be responsible for leading the design, development and implementation of innovative employee reward solutions that maximise the employee value proposition.
• Develop, deliver, and monitor the effectiveness of a reward framework that is aligned with our values, engages our people, and enables us to be recognised as an employer of choice.
• Build networks at both a local and national level across a broad range of organisations to identify and source best practice on ECC reward and benefits policies and initiatives.
• Take a proactive approach to identify future pay and benefits trends, lead, and influence on the development of reward and recognition policy and strategy for the Council fully aligned to business needs and the corporate plan.
• Support the Director of Organisation, Development and People and Service Transformation on senior pay reward and recognition and lead our annual pay review process.
• Showcase your expert knowledge of leading edge pay and reward mechanism and be an expert in pay benchmarking and Hay job evaluation.

You'll do great here if you have

• Experience of designing overall reward packages to attract, motivate and retain individuals and groups, with the ability to articulate complex reward and benefits information both verbally and in writing to meet business objectives and budget requirements in complex, unionised environments
• Proven experience in cross sector use of job evaluation, benchmark, market data and salary surveys, to determine pay and reward for critical and scarce skill and talent mobility
• Significant experience in managing business transformation and change programmes and projects, with the ability to develop business cases, identify risks and create appropriate mitigation plans.
• Have exceptionally strong networking and relationship building skills at all levels across and beyond the organisation.
• The ability to balance pragmatism with an understanding of leading-edge pay and reward approaches and deep professional insight.

Benefits of working for us

This is a great role in a vibrant and growing team. You'll find an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued. You can find out more about us and the work we do here: https://www.workingforessex.com/role/organisation-development-people-service-transformation/

The Council has developed a package of benefits that we hope resonates with you. You can find out more about our pay and reward offer on our https://www.workingforessex.com/working-here/pay-reward/

What you should do next

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.

This position will initially, in line with current government guidance be based from home, with an expectation of being home based for the foreseeable future. As government guidelines change the role will continue to operate in a flexible way with some requirement to attend our office base in Chelmsford.