Appointment of Reward Manager, ASX-Listed Retail Organisation

At a Glance

• Sector – Retail
• Location – Melbourne, VIC
• Workforce – 3,500 employees
• Service – HR Executive Search
• Engagement – Permanent Search

The Challenge

An ASX-listed retail organisation with 3,500 employees had been managing remuneration through a generalist HR Manager with no dedicated Reward specialist, a gap that became untenable once Australia’s gender pay gap reporting obligations required rigorous job architecture and market benchmarking the organisation didn’t have.

Our Approach

Civitas assessed candidates on direct technical fluency with job evaluation methodologies and market data tools, given the board-level visibility of pay gap reporting outcomes and the technical precision the role required.

The Solution

The appointed Reward Manager brought prior experience leading gender pay gap remediation at another ASX-listed employer, arriving with a tested methodology rather than building one from scratch.

Measured Impact

• Formal job architecture and levelling framework implemented ahead of the next reporting cycle
• Gender pay gap identified and a remediation plan presented to the board within 6 months
• Incentive plan design standardised across previously inconsistent business units
• Reduced reliance on external remuneration consultants for routine benchmarking

Client Reflection

Gender pay gap reporting turned Reward from a nice-to-have into a board priority overnight, we needed someone who’d actually done this before. 

Why This Matters

Pay transparency and reporting obligations have moved Reward from a quiet specialist function to one with genuine board exposure, this appointment reflects how quickly that shift has raised the bar for what a Reward Manager hire actually needs to deliver.

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