Reward Manager

Job summary

UK Research & Innovation
Salary: £46,743 per annum.
Band: UKRI Band E.
Contract Type: Fixed Term. (12 months)
Hours: Full-time/ Part Time. (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available)
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire - Hybrid working available. (Min 2 days per week in the office)

Closing Date: Sunday 10th May 2026.

Job description

About the role

The HR function in UK Research and Innovation is vital to enabling the achievement of the organisational objectives. It delivers all HR services across a complex organisation working across the nine councils and with a vast array of professional areas and locations with diverse capabilities as part of the wider corporate services structure. HR is critical to ensuring that all people related services are robust, appropriately controlled and create appropriate workplace conditions.

UK Research and Innovation HR includes a Reward Centre of Expertise offering dedicated resource with a deep specialism in specific Reward disciplines at a strategic and operational level.

Purpose of the role:

The Reward Manager plays a pivotal role in shaping, delivering and continuously improving UKRI’s reward framework. They will provide experienced leadership on pay, grading, performance‑related pay and wider reward initiatives, ensuring that reward policies are fair, visible and aligned with organisational strategy.

Acting as a trusted adviser at all levels including Heads of HR, COOs and senior leaders, the postholder will lead complex reward projects, offer authoritative guidance on high‑impact issues, and drive consistent, evidence‑based decision making across the organisation.

The role also guides the effective operation of the reward function, builds strong stakeholder relationships and helps to create a reward environment that supports engagement, performance and organisational success.

Your responsibilities:

• Lead and deliver key reward projects such as Senior Pay, Performance Related Pay (PRP), harmonisation initiatives and wider pay framework development.
• Provide strategic insight into the design and evolution of the total reward package, promoting the value of both tangible and intangible reward elements.
• Act as a senior critical issue point for complex or specialist reward queries, offering experienced advice at all levels including HRBPs, Heads of HR, COOs and ExCo.
• Lead the reward team’s administration and operational delivery, ensuring efficient processes and high-quality outputs.
• Drive reward engagement, developing stakeholder‑focused communication channels to increase visibility and understanding of reward programmes.
• Deliver a high‑quality HR advisory service, providing authoritative guidance on pay, grading, reward, recognition and benefits to UKRI colleagues.
• Collaborate with corporate functions to develop and lead cross‑functional working groups supplying to senior‑level decision making.
• Create and maintain strong internal and external partnerships to share standard methodology, benchmark reward approaches and inform organisational strategy.
• Use reward analytics and workforce data to provide insights, model options and inform recommendations to senior leaders.
• Lead on pay and reward benchmarking activities, analysing market trends to make data-driven recommendations.

Person specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• CIPD qualified or equivalent professional experience (S).
• Strong knowledge of reward and pay and grading structures (S&I).
• Strong understanding of performance related pay (PRP) (I).
• Ability to handle opposing priorities and work at pace in a complex organisation (I).
• Presentation skills, including delivering briefings and leading workshops clearly to non‑specialists (S&I).
• Ability to advise senior leaders (Heads of HR, COOs, Directors) and Trade Unions on complex, sensitive and high‑impact reward matters (I).
• Strategic thinking — able to align reward approaches with organisational goals and workforce strategy (I).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,743, UK Research and Innovation contributes £13,541 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org.

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : UKRI Recruitment Team
• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org