Pay, Reward and Benefits Specialist | Islington

Islington HR has reshaped our service provision to put digital, learning and innovation at the heart of what we do. Through the creation of three new functions; HR Customer Delivery, Organisational Development, and Strategic HR Partnering, we intend to become a trusted professional partner, empowering our managers and people to thrive. By joining our team, you will play a vital role in enabling this, ensuring fairness and equality are at the centre of all that we do in our communities and our workplace.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Pay, Reward and Benefits Specialist in our Organisational Development team.

You will act as the council’s expert on remuneration, providing high quality consultancy advice to HR and others within the council on pay, reward and benefits ensuring practice is fair and equitable. You will lead and provide strategic direction to the development of pay, performance management, reward, recognition and benefits strategies, policies and systems, ensuring the adoption of best practice and alignment to the objectives of a high performing modern council. You will ensure the council’s reward and benefits offer is modern and competitive, aligns with the council’s objectives and sets Islington apart as an employer of choice.

You will start off by focusing on a pay and grading review so any experience you have with large scale reviews is advantageous.

A mix of office and hybrid working will apply.

If you think you have the skills to drive this agenda forward, then please apply now!

We're determined to make a more equal Islington. To create a place where everyone, whatever their background, has the opportunity to reach their potential and enjoy a good quality of life.

We also have an ambitious goal – to be the best council in the country – with every employee clear about the part they play and inspired, focused and supported to give their very best.

We want to build an organisation where employees feel valued, inspired and empowered to help us achieve our goals and provide the best services possible to our residents.

To provide strategic and technical subject matter expertise, advice, guidance and management on pay, reward and benefits practice.
To lead on the design and ongoing delivery of pay and grading structures, benefits strategy and reward and recognition schemes.
To lead on the provision and application of job evaluation, Labour Market Intelligence and recruitment and retention strategies for hard to fill roles, including use of Market Factors.
To lead and provide strategic direction to the development of pay, performance management, reward, recognition and benefits strategies, policies and systems, ensuring the adoption of best practice and alignment to the objectives of a high performing modern council.
To act as the council’s expert on remuneration, providing high quality consultancy advice to HR and others within the council on pay, reward and benefits ensuring practice is fair and equitable and in line with the reward strategy, local, regional and national agreements and e.g. HMRC regulations.
To lead on pay negotiations (as delegated) with the council’s trade unions, including reporting to the Executive and associated committees such as Audit and Scrutiny Committees as appropriate and production and presentation of e.g. the council’s pay policy statement, gender pay gap data.
To be the council’s expert on pay legislation, negotiating bodies and frameworks for e.g. equal pay, gender pay, minimum wage, London Living Wage, holiday pay, to protect the council from legacy or future risks, ensuring legislative and other case law changes are monitored and implemented in a timely way to minimise risk and cost.
To understand the market in order to lead on the provision and application of competitive benefits packages, specifying and procuring products and services, plus managing contracts that maintain Islington as an employer of choice
To be responsible within HR for collaborative work with payroll and pensions colleagues, driving take-up by ensuring benefits are clear and easily accessible including ability to sign up for schemes and consideration of total benefits statements.
To work collaboratively with the resourcing lead to develop recruitment and retention strategies for hard to fill roles, working closely with HR colleagues and managers and using regular benchmarking and labour market intelligence to enable the council to remain competitive.
To review the reward and benefits offer and ensure it is modern and competitive and aligns with the council’s objectives and priorities and to provide oversight of the council’s approach to job evaluation, maintaining consistency and fairness.
Working collaboratively with colleagues, partners and other stakeholders to help build an organisation that attracts and retains talents and develop our reputation as a successful council delivering great value for its residents.
Contribute to the development and implementation of ‘Be Islington’ to support the achievement of the council’s vision.
Develop and implement a flexible total reward strategy and approach for the Council that recognises the varying expectations of a modern, diverse and inclusive workforce, and better aligns reward with organisational values and performance.
To provide oversight of the council’s approach to job evaluation, maintaining consistency and fairness.
To explore opportunities and lead on the development and management of financial and non-financial recognition schemes and frameworks.
Work with colleagues to design and deliver a reward and recognition framework that supports the achievement of appropriate behaviours and high performance.

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