Reward Manager

At AVK, we are on an exciting journey of growth. Three years ago, our revenue was £66m, and we were a team of 140. Last year, our revenue grew fivefold to £325m, and we now have a headcount of over 375 people alongside vacancies across our teams to meet our growing and evolving projects. As we scale across new geographies, we’re also shaping a future where growth is sustainable, inclusive and responsible. From cleaner power systems to educational outreach, we’re committed to leaving a positive environmental and social footprint.

Role Summary To support this next phase of growth, we are creating a new Reward Manager role to build a robust and sustainable compensation and benefits infrastructure, allowing for us to retain and attract the talent which are critical to our success. A particular focus for this role will be job evaluation, market benchmarking, a benefits review and establishing a competitive total reward approach in all the markets where we operate.

What you’ll do Reward infrastructure, processes and market benchmarking: Establish a consistent and relevant job architecture, ensuring alignment across multiple job families including Engineering, Sales, Project Delivery, Operations and Corporate Functions. Lead the design and implementation of compensation and benefits frameworks, including salary structures, pay bands and grading methodologies aligned to market conditions, geography and industry sector.

Develop and maintain a job evaluation methodology that supports organisational growth, workforce planning and internal equity. Build and manage partnerships with external reward providers and benchmarking partners to ensure access to accurate and sustainable market intelligence. Conduct regular market benchmarking reviews and provide recommendations to ensure our reward offering remains competitive and commercially appropriate.

Use reward data and analytics to inform decision-making, identify emerging trends and support workforce planning initiatives. Operational Reward Excellence: Own and continuously improve core reward processes including annual pay reviews, bonus cycles, salary benchmarking and promotions. Ensure reward practices are fair, compliant and aligned with relevant legislation, governance requirements and company policies across all operating markets.

Develop clear reward policies, frameworks and guidance to support managers in making consistent and equitable pay decisions. Partner closely with People Partners, Talent Acquisition and Finance teams to deliver a seamless and data-driven approach to reward management. Lead the review, redesign and ongoing management of employee benefits programmes, ensuring they meet employee needs whilst delivering value for the business.

Monitor reward effectiveness through metrics, reporting and employee insights, identifying opportunities to enhance engagement, retention and overall employee experience. Maintain reward data integrity within HR systems and establish robust governance around compensation processes. Support the preparation of reward-related reporting for senior leaders, providing insights and recommendations that inform strategic decision-making.

Strategic Reward Partnering: Act as the organisation's subject matter expert for compensation, benefits and reward strategy. Partner with senior leaders to develop reward solutions that support business objectives, organisational growth and talent priorities. Contribute to the development of a compelling Employee Value Proposition through the design of a competitive and differentiated total reward offering. Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to modernise reward practices, increase efficiency and enhance the employee experience.

Requirements What you’ll bring Experience partnering in data centre, construction or engineering settings, bringing sector awareness and a strategic approach to enabling growth. Significant HR partnering experience in fast-paced, scaling, or international environments. Strong understanding of UK employment law with working knowledge of EU jurisdictions. Comfortable with ambiguity and change, able to prioritise and adapt quickly.

Collaborative, pragmatic, and resilient, building trust and relationships through transparency and credibility. CIPD Level 7 or equivalent industry experience A commercial mindset; connecting People initiatives to business outcomes. Why join us? Be part of an exciting team that’s growing fast and collaborating to figure things out. Shape the next phase of AVK’s growth journey across the UK and Europe. Partner closely with the Executive team, senior leaders and the People team to deliver impactful, integrated People solutions.

Be part of a high-performing business where your expertise will make a visible difference.