Head of Reward and Employee Relations

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Salary: Up to £100,000 per annum dependent on experience

Contract Type: Permanent - Full Time

Security Level: BPSS

Base Location: Aviation House, Gatwick - however regular travel to our Westferry Circus, London office will be required

Visa Restrictions: This position does not offer visa sponsorship.

The CAA has engaged a search partner, Miles Advisory to work on its behalf to fulfil its search for a Head of Reward and Employee Relations.

All applications MUST be made directly to Miles Advisory using the below links:

Please send your CV to CAAHR@miles-advisory.com or email June.Wang@miles-advisory.com for an initial discussion.

We are the UK's aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field. Our activities are diverse, enabling the aviation industry to meet the highest safety standards, and we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving aviation environment.

The Role

The successful role holder will act as a member of the CAA Senior Leadership Team and People and Culture leadership team, accountable for enhancing and delivering the CAA's reward strategy, known in the CAA as Reward Model, to ensure the CAA protects people and enables aerospace.

Leadership of the CAA's Reward Team and an Employee Relations Manager ensuring:

a. The CAA's Reward Model is fit for the future to attract and retain colleagues as well as being financially sustainable.

b. A trusted partnership with the CAA's two recognised trade unions.

Additional Core Accountabilities

People Strategy

• Partner with the Director of People and Culture and the People and Culture leadership team to ensure delivery of the overall People Strategy, including a regular drumbeat of communications to CAA colleagues.

Reward

• Enhance and improve the CAA's Reward Model to attract and retain the wide range of knowledge, skills and experience needed. Particular emphasis will be on the build and delivery of Phase 2 of the CAA's Reward Model. The CAA's pay bill is approximately 75% of its revenue.
• Work with Finance and the CAA's pension advisers and trustees for both the defined contribution and defined benefits schemes to ensure compliance with scheme rules, understanding options to reduce liability of the defined benefit scheme and ensuring employees are aware of the defined contribution scheme.
• Leadership of the CAA's annual pay negotiations with the recognised trade unions.
• Accountable for improving the pay governance within the CAA, ensuring improved equity and transparency of the Reward Model.
• Accountable for the effective operation and governance of all financial allowances in the CAA.
• Partner with other People and Culture colleagues and internal stakeholders to build job families / CAA professions to enable a more effective reward model and strategy as well as improved career pathways for colleagues.
• Accountable for the provision of the full suite of financial benefits afforded to CAA colleagues, including the development and maintenance of the CAA's benefit portal.
• Accountable for the effective operation and governance of the CAA's job evaluation framework.
• Partnering with Finance to build, develop and implement a medium-term financial plan for the CAA, including the creation and implementation of possible multi-year pay deal arrangements.
• Establish and embed a clear, transparent, regular pay benchmarking approach, connecting its operation to the pay negotiation cycle and our job evaluation approach.
• Deliver an annual (or longer if appropriate) gender and ethnicity report, being clear what actions the CAA will take to continue to improve its gaps. Consider what other pay gap reporting the CAA should undertake.
• Develop and build a reward dashboard which illustrates pay data in a way that allows the CAA executive to make decisions about the operation of the Reward Model and helps us identify the continuing improvements we need to make to recruit and retain great talent.
• Leadership of a team of four reward professionals, responsible for progressing a range of pay and benefits related projects.
• Improve the knowledge of senior leaders, managers and all colleagues about the operation of the CAA's Reward Model and the governance that must be attached to the operation of the model to ensure equity and consistency in its application.

Employee Relations

• Build, improve and maintain a trusted partnership with the CAA's two recognised trade unions, PCS and Prospect.
• In conjunction with the People and Culture Director, act as the management's key representative at the CAA's Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee (JNCC). Lead organisational level negotiations, consultations and information exchanges, ensuring a forward look calendar of items of between 12 - 18 months.
• Maximise the potential of the CAA's Employee Forum, building the capability of our employee representatives. Ensure all actions from these forums are delivered by CAA stakeholders, building trust in the employee representative framework.

Employment Law and Policy

• Accountable for horizon scanning employment law risks and issues including legislative changes and identifying workforce trends and risks that need to be converted into people policy and practice.
• Ensure the CAA's people policies are fit for the future, reflect the values of the organisation and can attract and retain a wide range of knowledge, skills, experience and diversity.
• Ensure the CAA adopts a framework for a rolling review of all its people policies, paying particular attention to ensuring the compliance of policy in light of changed employment legislation and any other relevant developments in employment law.
• If legally qualified, ensure the People and Culture function operates in a legally robust way and that People and Culture colleagues and / or other leaders receive appropriate confident employment law advice and support to ensure compliant management of individual employee relations cases.

People and Culture Communications

• Lead and coordinate the People and Culture's full suite of internal communications, partnering with the Internal Communications team to ensure our people work reaches all audiences through a variety of channels.
• Build the capability of the People and Culture team to include communications as an aspect in all of their delivery, whether business as usual delivery or project delivery.

Leadership

• Partner with Board, Executive Committee and Skyline Board colleagues to debate and improve the reward model and our employee relations climate and culture. Regular preparation of Board and Committee updates, using evidence and data to illustrate continuing improvement.
• As a member of the People and Culture Leadership Team, actively participate in the leadership of the wider People and Culture team. Ensure appropriate governance and risk management practices are in place. Accountable for learning and capability related budgets and accountable for the overall People and Culture department's expenditure.
• Leadership and professional development of a reward team and employee relations manager, ensuring personal development plans and succession plans are in place and delivered.

About You

To be considered for the role you will need to be an:

• Experienced Head of Reward, with significant experience of developing, implementing and refining organisational reward strategy.
• Demonstrable experience of leading trade union negotiation, consultation and information exchange, with experience of having managed industrial disputes and building / re-building trust.
• Experience of building an organisation's people policy capability, improving HR / People and Culture expertise to foresee, draft and amend people policies.
• Exceptional skills in managing a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, with evidence of having communicated well an organisation's reward strategy and governance arrangements, distilling complex reward concepts and positions into knowledge easily understood by all employees.
• Excellent experience of creating data dashboards, generating insights and ensuring leaders make decisions and take action based on data and evidence.
• Proven experience in leading and developing high performing reward and employee relations teams.

Desirable

• Qualified and practicing employment law solicitor.
• Defined benefit and defined contribution pension scheme knowledge and experience

Additional Information

For many appointments within the CAA, these roles require access to operationally sensitive infrastructure and/or Nationally Protected information. For these roles the post holders must undergo National Security Vetting and achieve the appropriate level of clearance.

To be vetted you must have the right to work in the UK so that meaningful checks can be undertaken.

If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.

For more information on BPSS clearance please visit - BPSS clearance

The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.

Relocation & Property

The CAA will be relocating from Aviation House (Our Gatwick Office) to new premises in a few years' time. Our move is driven by strategic, operational and environmental considerations.

We will be moving to a new local home, up to a 15-mile radius of Aviation House, to minimise disruption for our valued colleagues and customers.

We are now working with colleagues and visitors to understand what we need in our new office, before we start our property search. We will sell Aviation House and land, vacate the site and move to new premises, but we do not expect to move before 2028

Inclusive Recruitment

We are passionate about diversity and ensuring all are included at the CAA. We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

As a member of the Disability Confident scheme, applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a role with us will be guaranteed an interview. We use fair and inclusive selection approaches to hire the best person for the job based on merit alone. If you require an adjustment for any reason, please let us know.

Working With Us

We are on a journey towards being increasingly adaptable, where our colleagues collaborate as part of cross-functional teams. This approach ensures we never stop learning together. It also means that you may become involved in activities that take you out of your day-to-day role, providing you with opportunities to develop and grow your career with us.

We have embraced hybrid working and offer flexible working patterns, being open to having a conversation about what works for you. We know where and when we work is important in achieving a work-life balance.

We offer a range of excellent benefits such as flexible working arrangements, free onsite gym at Gatwick, discounted gym membership for London, 28 days annual leave, additional 5 days leave purchase scheme, a generous pension scheme and much more!

Our Values

Do The Right Thing, Never Stop Learning, Build Collaborative Relationships, Respect Everyone - For more information please Click Here

Closing Date: Thursday 9th October 2025

CV Sifting: Friday 17th October 2025

Interview Date: Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th October 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.