Head of Compensation & Benefits - Belfast

Head of Compensation and Benefits Jobs

In the modern company, competition to land the best talent is almost as prized as it is to win market share in the sector. It has long been recognized that employees’ contributions to a company can make or break it, and that employees who feel undervalued – rightly or wrongly – will soon start looking elsewhere. It is the head of compensation and benefits’ job to use pull factors such as salaries, bonuses, pensions etc. to attract and retain employees.

The role requires a strategic mindset, as employees’ motivations change as they serve more time at a company and climb its ladder. A programme of review and assessment will need to be put in place or maintained, and liaison with employees’ managers will help guide the compensation and benefits decisions for individual employees. Essentially that will mean making cost-benefit analyses for each employee and rewarding them appropriately. While the role might be overseeing a compensation team in larger companies, in smaller ones, the task may be all down the head herself or himself.

The skills required

A strategic, analytical mindset is a key asset in the role of head of compensation and benefits. You will be assessing the value of employees but you also have a hand in motivating them through the use of perks and other incentives. As compensation is an expenditure to a company – and often its largest outgoing – the role will require a sense of balance, honest, unemotional assessment of an employee’s worth to the company. Reporting to the board, you will need to justify the compensation and benefits you decide on, and evidence of your case will need to be presented to get approval.

Experience in working with benefits and compensation at a management or executive level will be an important asset for this role. You must be able to demonstrate a deep understanding between employee motivation, productivity and profitability and how they interrelate. Evidence of schemes and initiatives you have previously put in place to that end will also be of great benefit.

Head of Compensation & Benefits Jobs in Belfast

As Northern Ireland's capital and largest city, Belfast offers a number of opportunities for those seeking Head of Compensation & Benefits positions.

The region was first settled during the Bronze Age and had become a thriving community by the 17th century.

During the Industrial Revolution, Belfast was known for producing a broad range of goods, including linen, rope and tobacco.

Meanwhile, its proximity to two large bodies of water - Belfast Lough and the River Lagan - made the city an ideal location for shipbuilding.

Over a period of 150 years, Harland and Wolff - once one of the city's most famous shipbuilders and currently fabricating equipment for the marine, offshore and renewable energy sectors - constructed numerous vessels. These included luxury liners like the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic, as well as the HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy light cruiser that is now permanently moored on the River Thames in central London.

Following the First World War, Belfast's economy began to slowly decline and by the 1960s and 1970s, the city's situation gradually deteriorated as civil unrest of the period known as The Troubles created a fragile financial situation and a community riddled with violence.

However, since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, Belfast has once again emerged as a city with a viable economy and there has been rapid redevelopment.

These days, Belfast is a centre for education and commerce and companies based here include Allstate NI, Moy Park, Bombardier Aerospace and Translink - Northern Ireland's main provider of public transport.

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Find Head of Compensation and Benefits Jobs with Cast UK

Throughout the UK, hundreds of companies are looking to fill executive and management level HR jobs, and thanks to Cast UK’s diligence and reputation, many of them come to us first to help them find their ideal person.

Similarly, thousands of managers and execs are at any time looking to take the next step in their careers and do something about their own compensation and benefits by moving to a company that can really reward their experience and ideas. Does this sound like you? Call us today on 0333 121 3345.

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