Head of Total Reward, Performance and Recognition

At Acenda Group, everything we do is driven by a clear purpose: to help our customers and their families live, save and retire with confidence.

We bring together some of Australia and New Zealand's most trusted life insurance brands. With over 176 years of combined heritage and deep expertise across our local markets, our Group includes Acenda Life, Resolution Life Australasia, and Asteron Life New Zealand.

Backed by the global strength of Nippon Life, we are one of the largest life insurance businesses across Australia and New Zealand. More than two million customers rely on us for life insurance, wealth protection and retirement solutions that support their confidence at every stage of life.

We're building an inclusive, dynamic and future focused business. Joining us means stepping into a period of integration and growth, where your work will help shape our future.

If you're energised by change and motivated by purpose, this is your moment to make an impact.

The role

Reporting to the Group Chief People & Culture Officer, the Head of Total Reward, Performance and Recognition role leads the enterprise-wide reward, performance and recognition strategy across Australia and New Zealand during a critical phase of organisational integration.

You will own the end-to-end design, governance and delivery of remuneration, incentive, benefits and recognition frameworks, ensuring alignment to business strategy, risk appetite and workforce needs within a regulated financial services environment.

As the Group's remuneration subject-matter expert, you will oversee executive reward, performance alignment and incentive structures, ensuring fair, transparent and compliant outcomes in line with regulatory requirements (including CPS 511).

You will act as a trusted adviser to the Board, Remuneration Committee and Executive Leadership Team, providing strategic insights, robust analysis and high-quality reporting to support decision-making.

The role also leads remuneration cost modelling, workforce investment and market competitiveness, balancing performance, affordability and internal equity.

You will build and lead a high-performing reward function, partnering across People & Culture, Finance, Risk and Legal to deliver commercially sound outcomes that drive engagement and accountability across the Acenda Group.

About you

You are an experienced, senior reward leader with extensive experience in highly regulated environment, bringing deep expertise in total reward, remuneration and performance strategy. You have a proven track record designing and governing enterprise-wide remuneration and incentive frameworks, including executive reward.

A trusted adviser at Board level, you are skilled in navigating complex remuneration matters and engaging with Remuneration Committees. You bring strong knowledge of remuneration governance, regulatory compliance and risk (including APRA CPS 511), alongside strong analytical capability across benchmarking, financial modelling and workforce investment.

You possess the ability to lead and influence, particularly at the Executive and Board level, and a proven people leader who builds high-performing specialist teams.

Lastly, you are comfortable operating in an environment through a period of significant change and ambiguity as our integration journey evolves.

Join us in building confidence- for our customers, our communities and each other.

• Your work makes a real impact. Everything we do helps our customers and their families live, save and retire with confidence, and your contribution will directly support that purpose.

• You'll help drive meaningful change. As an inclusive, dynamic and adaptable organisation, we offer a unique opportunity for you to grow while shaping the future of our organisation.

• You'll feel supported and included. Our team culture is flexible, collaborative and peoplecentred, with hybrid working to help you balance life and work.

• By making things simpler. We help our people operate efficiently, adapt easily and spend more time on meaningful work that drives personal and organisational growth.

• We celebrate success. Our incentive and recognition programs ensure great work is acknowledged and rewarded.

• Your wellbeing comes first. We offer tools, resources and benefits that support your whole self, including additional lifestyle leave.

We celebrate the diversity of our customers and community, and we embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into how we do business. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and identities.

Should an applicant be the preferred candidate, background checks (including Federal Police Checks, Employment checks, ASIC banned and disqualified persons and Bankruptcy checks) will be completed prior to the candidate's employment being confirmed. The outcomes of the background checks do not automatically bar candidates, however they will be assessed against the inherent requirements of the position.