Job Description

Purpose of the role

To develop, implement and maintain compensation programmes and provide advice to resolve any related issues. 

Accountabilities

• Development (including design and related analysis), implementation and delivery of compensation programmes aligned to the organisation’s strategy and applicable regulations, including the provision of advice throughout the employee lifecycle and during the annual pay review, advising on related services and the resolution of reward and compensation issues from employees, people leaders, or regulators.
• Communication and engagement to educate employees and people leaders on the compensation offering and structure including in relation to salary, bonus, and allowances recognition schemes.
• Review the competitiveness and relevance of the compensation programmes including salary, bonuses and allowances, as appropriate.
• Administration and delivery of compensation services, including the planning of cyclical activities, developing and testing relevant processes and systems, and managing external vendors/stakeholders and engaging with other HR teams where relevant to ensure effective delivery of these.
• Compensation reporting, analytics and forecasting to support management decision-making during compensation programme development and the annual pay review, utilising internal and external data.  .

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer and forming part of the People Leadership Team, this is a unique opportunity to build and scale a Reward & HR Services function from the ground up.

You will lead the design and delivery of the company's Reward strategy whilst establishing a modern, scalable HR Services model across HR Operations, Payroll and HR Technology. As a key leader through a significant organisational transformation, you will create the infrastructure, processes and governance that enable growth, deliver an exceptional colleague experience and support the future ambitions of the business.

This role requires a strategic thinker who is equally comfortable rolling up their sleeves and delivering in a fast-paced, lean environment. You will partner closely with the CPO, Executive Leadership Team and Finance to shape the people agenda, build capability and ensure seamless execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Reward and HR Services workstreams across a major carve-out and business transformation.
• Design and implement scalable compensation frameworks, including job architecture, salary bands, incentives and executive reward.
• Build and embed the company's Reward philosophy, ensuring market competitiveness and alignment to business performance.
• Establish Payroll, HRIS and HR Operations capabilities, delivering seamless implementation, governance and service excellence.
• Lead annual Reward activities, including benchmarking, pay reviews, bonus cycles, promotions, retention and offer management.
• Develop a compelling benefits and wellbeing proposition that strengthens the employee value proposition.
• Create and continuously evolve Reward and HR Services policies, frameworks, controls and operating models.
• Build a modern, digitally enabled HR Services function leveraging automation, self-service and data-driven insights.
• Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, workforce planning and people cost optimisation.
• Own Reward governance, regulatory reporting, Board and RemCo submissions, ensuring robust compliance and risk management.
• Develop meaningful people metrics and reporting to support executive decision-making.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing Reward & HR Services team capable of delivering at pace in a scaling environment.
• Act as the trusted advisor to the CPO on all Reward, HR Services and people infrastructure matters.

Essential skills:

• A proven track record of leading and scaling Reward and HR Services in a high-growth FinTech, startup, or scale-up environment.
• Experience building modern, scalable people operations that support ambitious growth and business transformation.
• Deep expertise across Reward, including executive compensation, STI/LTI design, pay and bonus frameworks, remuneration governance, and regulatory reporting.
• Strong knowledge of payroll, HR technology, and employment contracts, with a passion for driving efficiency through automation, AI adoption and simplification.
• A strategic yet hands-on leader who thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments and enjoys building from the ground up.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the credibility to advise and partner with executive leadership, providing guidance and support to wider management and colleagues.
• A commercial mindset, strong resilience, and a commitment to creating an outstanding employee experience.

Why you'll succeed:

You'll be energised by the opportunity to shape, scale, and modernise Reward and HR Services in a business where your impact will be visible from day one.

Location:

London (7 Westferry Circus - new BPL office) or Northampton.

We support a hybrid working pattern with 4 days per week office-based presence expected.

Risk and Control:

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

About BPL:

Barclays’ payments acceptance business provides critical infrastructure to the UK economy, processing billions of pounds of payments annually for both small businesses and domestic and international corporate clients.

In April 2025, we announced a long-term partnership with Brookfield Asset Management to grow and transform the payments acceptance business by broadening the range of services offered, enhancing the experience for both existing and prospective clients. Leveraging extensive client relationships and deep experience of UK payments, we will create an environment of continuous innovation - activated by Brookfield’s global private equity expertise in payments, technology, operational transformation and corporate carve-outs - to ensure the business is strategically positioned for long-term growth.

Barclays will invest approximately £400m in the new business, the majority of which will be incurred during the first three years. Performance-linked incentives will drive greater alignment between the partners, underpinning the long-term commitment to the transformation. Barclays and Brookfield will work to create a standalone entity over time, continuing to use the Barclaycard Payments (BPL) brand and acting as the sole payments acceptance services provider to Barclays’ clients for a minimum of ten years. 

For more information on our partnership with Brookfield, please visit Barclays.com.