Head of Reward - 12 month Fixed Term Contract - London

Hello, we’re Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We’re a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We’re a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,000 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices. 

Everyone at Starling gets the chance to own interesting things from day one, and we’re told one of the best things about working here is the ability to achieve a lot in a short space of time.

Our mission is to change banking for good. We can’t do that without our dedicated and passionate employees. Our People team deals with all aspects of our employee journey - talent acquisition, employee onboarding, talent management, total rewards and employee experience and culture.

We are now looking for a Head of Reward to join our People Team on a 12 month Fixed Term Contract.

Responsibilities will include:

Reward and benefits:

• Lead the annual compensation review process, including salary, bonus, and equity cycles, providing data-driven recommendations to leadership and the Remuneration Committee.
• Conduct regular market benchmarking and analysis to ensure our reward packages remain competitive within the Financial services and FinTech sectors.
• Manage Starling's benefits portfolio (e.g., pension, healthcare, life assurance), ensuring they are cost-effective, valued by employees, and compliant with UK legislation.
• Manage the company's equity and share-based compensation plans, working closely with Finance, Legal, Company Secretariat and external advisers.

PRA & FCA regulatory compliance:

• Serve as the subject matter expert on PRA and FCA remuneration rules.
• Partner with the Risk and Compliance teams to embed a strong risk-based approach into all reward policies and to ensure effective ex-ante and ex-post risk adjustments.
• Manage the annual process for identifying and classifying Material Risk Takers (MRTs) and ensure their remuneration arrangements comply with regulatory requirements, including rules on deferral, malus, and clawback.
• Prepare and submit all required regulatory reports on remuneration and manage any PRA and FCA interactions with the Regulatory Affairs team.

Governance:

• Prepare reports and materials for the Remuneration Committee and Board meetings, providing expert analysis and recommendations.
• Manage relationships with external reward consultants, benefits brokers, and other third-party providers.
• Ensure reward processes and procedures are aligned with internal risk and control guidance.

Leadership and management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the reward team, fostering a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
• Manage the reward budget and forecast.

Requirements

• Experience in managing or supporting Remuneration Committees.
• Comfortable working with senior stakeholders and presenting complex information in a clear and concise way.
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to manage sensitive data with discretion.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to work independently and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.