Senior Reward Partner

At Xero, we're here to make running a business beautiful. By making small business more efficient every day, connecting them with big business technology and empowering a community behind them, their potential is limitless. When that happens, we're not only helping small business, we'll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.

How you'll make an impact

The Senior Reward Partner is the primary compensation advisor for a global business function. You own the reward relationship end-to-end for your client group — not as a service desk, but as the person senior leaders turn to before they make talent decisions. You'll be responsible for designing, implementing, and evolving reward programmes that align with Xero's strategy and support the attraction, motivation, and retention of key talent within your portfolio.

This role carries a planning horizon of up to one year. You'll be expected to move beyond solving problems on request toward proactively surfacing where reward strategy needs to shift. Your recommendations should account for organisational context and politics, and stakeholders should consider them authoritative.

What you'll do

Reward strategy and partnership

• Own the reward partnership for your client group globally. Build direct relationships with senior leaders (CxO, EGMs/SVPs, GMs/VPs) and serve as their primary point of contact on all compensation matters.
• Provide expert guidance on compensation structures, pay positioning, incentive design, and offer strategy — calibrated to the talent market dynamics and business context of your client group.
• Influence how senior stakeholders think about reward trade-offs. Reframe conversations where needed — e.g., shifting a cost discussion to a retention investment discussion.
• Proactively surface insights and bring forward recommendations before being asked.

Programme design and delivery

• Design new reward programmes end-to-end — equity refresh frameworks, incentive redesigns, retention mechanisms — including implementation playbooks, manager training across regions, and edge case planning.
• Lead implementation of the Annual Salary Review (ASR), Interim Salary Review (ISR), and applicable incentive plans for your client group, managing competing priorities across workstreams.
• Design change strategy for multi-stakeholder initiatives. Map the stakeholder landscape (champions, skeptics, blockers), sequence communications, and adjust approach based on feedback. Changes should land, not just launch.

Analysis, benchmarking, and modelling

• Benchmark roles using a consistent, defensible methodology. Evaluate survey data critically — recognise methodology differences across vendors and adjust for aging, scope, and effective dates.
• Design modelling frameworks and templates others on the team can adopt and extend. Incorporate scenario planning and sensitivity analysis where it adds value.
• Deliver analysis that goes beyond data. Craft narratives that anticipate stakeholder questions and translate statistical findings into business-relevant conclusions.

Autonomy and ownership

• Own programme areas or domains within the compensation function. You're accountable for outcomes across projects, not just task completion.
• Make decisions that set precedent. Involve leadership for enterprise-level policy changes; otherwise, decide and inform.
• Manage multiple related projects with competing priorities, coordinating across teams and making scope/timeline trade-offs without escalating.

Success looks like

Senior leaders in your client group treat you as their reward partner — they come to you before making talent decisions, not after. Deliverables going to the XLT from your client group are on time, on quality, and require minimal rework. Programmes you design are adopted by managers and understood by employees. Your manager learns about emerging issues in your client group from you, not from the business. When you present a recommendation, stakeholders debate the trade-offs, not the methodology.

What you'll bring with you

• Deep knowledge of compensation on a global scale — structures, incentive design, equity programmes, market pricing. You should be fluent, not still learning.
• Works independently to deliver projects and provides education to the business on compensation, tailored for the leaders and teams in your client group.
• Regularly collaborates with senior management and executives, providing specialist advice and influencing reward strategies. Comfortable pushing back constructively when the ask is misframed.
• Identifies key analysis requirements, completes complex analysis with in-depth evaluation and interpretation. Delivers findings, conclusions, and proposed recommendations — not just data.
• Strong project management skills. Manages programmes (not just projects) with competing priorities. Keeps stakeholders informed, identifies and resolves issues, adjusts without escalating.
• Communicates effectively, making complex ideas understandable. Adapts in real-time based on room dynamics. Escalates sparingly and when necessary.

Experience

• Experience in the technology industry is essential, with preference for experience in SaaS organisations.
• Significant experience in global compensation, benefits, and rewards programmes, with demonstrated depth in at least two of: base pay strategy, equity compensation, incentive design, or M&A integration.
• Experience managing multiple global stakeholders at senior levels.
• Demonstrated experience thriving in environments of significant change and evolution.
• Strong background in HCM systems (Workday an advantage) and compensation survey platforms (e.g., Radford, Mercer, WTW).
• Statistical literacy: comfortable with regression, pay equity analysis, and survey methodology. Knows when sophistication adds value versus false precision.

Compensation

• Base compensation for this role is expected to range from $205,000 to $225,000, and we expect to extend participation in our Employee Share Programme (ESP).
• Offers will be based on the skills and experience you bring, and we consider the overall package at Xero. From flexible working and wellbeing support to professional growth and meaningful perks, we help you do your best work — and feel great doing it. Learn more about our benefits here:

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

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