Head of Reward - International

Head of Reward – International

Southern Europe | Italy, Spain, Portugal or France strongly preferred

Permanent

€100,000 - €130,000 + Bonus + Equity

Middlemore have been retained to support a highly acquisitive, international financial services organisation in the appointment of a commercially focused Head of Reward for their International regions (Europe and APAC)

Positioned as the successor to the Global Head of Reward, this leadership role will lead Reward activity across a growing international portfolio, with Europe representing the primary strategic focus. The successful candidate will partner closely with senior business leaders to ensure reward strategy, incentive structures and broader compensation frameworks align with commercial growth objectives and support continued growth which is primarily driven by acquisition.

This is not a traditional technical reward role centred solely around governance and process. Whilst strong reward expertise is essential, the organisation is seeking an individual with the commercial credibility, and communication skills to influence senior stakeholders operating in highly incentivised, revenue-generating environments.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading cyclical reward activity across international markets
• Designing and evolving variable pay and incentive frameworks
• Supporting M&A activity from a Reward perspective, including due diligence and post-acquisition alignment
• Advising on senior hire offers and bespoke incentive arrangements
• Supporting reward transformation and harmonisation activity across multiple jurisdictions
• Building trusted relationships with senior business, HR and Finance stakeholders internationally

The successful candidate will need to bring:

• Experience of leading reward in an acquisitive, high-growth and/ or Private Equity-backed organisations
• Strong commercial acumen and stakeholder management capability
• Exposure to complex international reward environments with deep experience across Europe
• Experience supporting incentive-heavy or sales-led populations
• The confidence and credibility to challenge and influence senior stakeholders constructively
• English language fluency is mandatory, but additional European language capabilities would be highly advantageous
• Financial Services experience would be advantageous but is not essential.

This role offers genuine long-term growth potential for an ambitious reward leader seeking broader international exposure within a commercially dynamic environment. Location is flexible across Southern Europe, with preference for candidates based in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France or Germany. The role will operate largely remotely with periodic international travel.

If this is something of interest then please apply or reach out directly to