Head of Total Reward & Payroll (Maternity Cover)

About SEGA

SEGA is one of the leading interactive entertainment companies in the world, with our European HQ based in West London and development studios spanning the UK and Bulgaria. Known for quality and creativity above all else, our studios include Sports Interactive, Two Point Studios, Hardlight and Creative Assembly. At the heart of SEGA is our publishing team based in London, where we help the studios bring their creative vision to life. Together, we drive the continued success and evolution of our Western business through living our company values of being product focused, embracing true partnerships and always having fun so that we can strive to come together as One SEGA.

Role Summary

We are looking for an experienced Head of Total Reward to join us on a 15‑month maternity cover contract. Reporting into the VP, HR, this role will operate as the senior Reward lead for the organisation. You will be comfortable working autonomously and with ambiguity, using your knowledge and experience to continue progressing the development of our central Total Reward function which provides expert guidance and support to our European business of 1,300 employees.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance across the areas that make up Total Reward at SEGA: compensation, benefits and payroll
• Lead, coach and develop a small team of three (our Payroll & Benefits Manager, Compensation Manager and Total Reward Analyst)
• Own governance of our SEGA Job Architecture, identifying areas for improvement and embedding it in both Total Reward and HR processes
• Review, develop, improve and document processes and practices across Total Reward
• Lead on pay transparency initiatives, particularly with respect to the EU Pay Transparency Directive
• Embed the Total Reward function within the business, partnering with senior leadership and HR leadership to provide guidance on reward best practices
• Foster strong collaboration with the wider Central HR teams (HR Systems, HR Operations, Learning & Development) and Finance teams to improve reward processes and decision‑making
• Accountable for our cyclical reward processes, including the annual compensation planning cycles, bonus cycles, benefits renewals, UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting, benchmarking submissions and more
• Ensure high‑quality execution of all cyclical and BAU processes throughout the team

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Strong attention to detail, highly analytical and highly organised
• Professionally qualified (e.g. CIPD, CIPP or equivalent)
• Strong knowledge of compensation, benefits and payroll practices
• Knowledge and understanding of the EU Pay Transparency Directive
• Previous experience building out a Total Reward function
• Previous experience working in the gaming or technology industry
• Previous experience managing in‑house and international payrolls
• Previous experience working with our external benchmarking providers (Croner, Radford and Willis Towers Watson) and job evaluation methodology (Mercer IPE)
• Previous experience working with Workday HRIS systems

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package that includes life assurance, income protection, private healthcare & dental insurance schemes and an enhanced contributory pension scheme
• Competitive salaries and a fantastic bonus scheme
• Flexible working hours
• Wellness programmes: access to discounted gym membership, ride‑to‑work scheme, workout area, bootcamps, weekly yoga classes and in‑house massage therapy
• Gaming opportunities: lunchtime gaming sessions in our games lounge, Club SEGA, regular gaming tournaments and free SEGA games on Steam
• Regular lunch & learn sessions, company updates at venues in Central London and Christmas parties
• Access to fresh fruit and cereal every single day

All applicants are welcome!