Compensation & Benefits Manager

Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people's lives with our high-quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all – a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values, we pride ourselves to be listed among the World´s Most Ethical Companies since 19 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do – acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation, and treating each other with trust and respect.

About the Role:
This role supports the compliance of our Reward programs and ensures alignment of our Total Reward proposition with complex local legislation, managing associated costs,and embedding best practices. The role supports the design of the company compensation and benefits programs and delivers practical solutions that are both market-competitive and aligned with our business needs.

A key responsibility is the management of the implementation of our Employee Benefits platform and the ongoing management of our Employee Total Reward Proposition, ensuring compliance with both legal requirements and local best practices.

The role reports into the Director Reward EMEA and partners the HR Associate Director based in Germany on rolling out Reward initiatives for our German based employees so may require some presence at our Darmstadt office. It supports the development of relevant
Betriebsvereinbarungen
(BVs – contractual agreements with the Works Council), offering best-practice insights and providing data to support negotiations.

This role is responsible for the execution of the annual salary review process as part of the AEMEA Compensation team and supports the ongoing management and administration of our Variable Pay plans—our Corporate Short-Term Incentive (STI) bonus plan,, local commission structures, reward and recognition program, and benefits for both tariff and non-tariff employees.

What you will do:

• Supports the development, manages the implementation and administration of compensation programs in line with local legislation, effectively deals with stakeholders. Ensures sourcing of market relevant pay data and evaluation of rolesSupports the design and delivers practical solutions to specific compensation-related programs and incentive plans. Monitors the effectiveness of existing compensation practices and recommends changes that are cost-effective and consistent with compensation trends and business objectives.
• Provides advice to HR Business Partners on pay decisions, policy interpretations, and job evaluations. Compiles and presents data in most suitable format for varying stakeholder groups.  Defines Market Data relevant for EMEA by business division, job family and geography
• Supports with data key pay analysis linked to legislative requirements – e.g. Gender Pay Gap, Equitable Pay, etc and relevant to the local markets
• Manages the development and deployment as well as the ongoing management of the Employee Benefits proposition across EMEA
• Ensures compensation is up to date , maintains the established Job structures and job family architecture. Supports the maintenance and ongoing enhancement of the compensation modules in Workday
• The role delivers through people but also as individual contributor. This role also partners closely with the Compensation Manager Americas and the Systems and Data Insights and Analytics Manager EMEA.

What you will need:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Mathematics, Business studies, Data Analysis and Strategy, Finance, MA or professional degree in Human resources management or related field and relevant work experience in compensation & benefits
• Experience in managing compensation for an international organisation with strong representation in EMEA and DACH will be beneficial, but not a must.
• Knowledge of the legislation and regulations in EMEA (AEMEA is a plus) as they apply to base compensation and incentive compensation programs, compliance policies and operations
• German Native OR German very fluent as a 2nd language a must
• Knowledge of EMEA regulations and compliance requirements related to employee compensation.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret and communicate data in a clear and concise way to a   variety of stakeholders.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and German. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong interpersonal skills in dealing with senior management and various stakeholders.
• Computer proficiency and technical aptitude with the ability to use Microsoft products, Advanced Excel skills. Familiarity with data structures and reporting.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to plan and set priorities. Ability to confidentially handle sensitive employee data
• Experience with a HRIS system, such as Workday. Experience with a business intelligence tools. rI. Experience in creating database pools / storage / infrastructure and solutions
• A curious and analytic mind that can find insights and spot trends using quantitative and qualitative data. An interest in a career in Human Resources or Business Intelligence. Interested in research, good with data requirements' collection that can be applied into the design and build of data pools and solutions

How we work:
Having been selected among the World´s Most Ethical Companies for 16 consecutive years, we are a company with a purpose and strong corporate values. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. At Kao, each employee can actively shape their job and their career. We work collaboratively to achieve our common goals, always aiming to deliver the best for our customers.

What we offer:
A friendly and flexible work environment with competitive salaries, benefits package, ongoing development and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.

Hiring Process:
Kao embraces the diversity and the individual personalities of its people because we believe it is diversity that makes us strong. This is why we welcome applications from all areas of the global community.

Want to learn more:
If you feel you are as unique as our products and want to find out why 33,000 people across the globe opted for a career with us please visit