Rewards Consultant

Principal – Total Reward (Public Sector)

Public services across the UK and Europe are standing at a crossroads. Governments are reshaping how departments operate, how public servants are rewarded, and how the workforce adapts to a world defined by agility, digital capability and accountability. Pay flexibility is increasing, performance‑linked reward is under active exploration, and departments are being encouraged to modernise their reward strategies to build a more productive state.

Against this backdrop, Korn Ferry is looking for a Principal who can help public institutions rethink what reward should look like — not just what it has been.

The Role

As a Principal in our Total Reward practice, you'll partner with public bodies navigating deep structural and workforce change. Civil service reform agendas include digital transformation, AI‑enabled efficiency programmes and workforce rescaling supported by a £3.25bn government fund, all influencing how organisations think about reward, skills and performance.

Your work will be central to helping clients build reward systems that reflect transparency, fairness, competitiveness and long‑term sustainability.

You’ll lead engagements that cover:

• Designing modern, fit‑for‑purpose pay structures
• Reworking job architecture to match evolving organisational strategy
• Developing reward principles that support high performance and role clarity
• Implementing pay transparency, pay equity and gender pay analysis
• Building governance models that can withstand scrutiny
• Advising leaders on sensitive reward decisions during organisational reform

You’ll shape ideas, guide clients through ambiguity, and act as a trusted expert in a sector where small changes have big impact.

Who We're Looking For

This role is ideal for someone who already has a strong grounding in public‑sector reward — someone who understands both the complexity and the purpose behind government pay frameworks.

You may be:

• A management consultant specialising in Total Reward with hands‑on experience supporting government, councils, health bodies, agencies or ALBs
• A public‑sector reward professional from within central government, local government, civil service, NHS, a regulator or another public institution

And you’re skilled in:

• Job evaluation, benchmarking and career architecture
• Reward design and strategic compensation planning
• Translating complex data into actionable insight
• Navigating union engagement, political sensitivity and high‑visibility environments
• Leading teams, mentoring others and influencing senior stakeholders

If you can bring clarity to ambiguity and structure to transformation, you’ll thrive here.

Why Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry combines the scale of a global advisory firm with the depth of an organisation obsessed with people, performance and purpose. You’ll be part of a team that:

• Works across all sectors while developing deep subject expertise
• Leverages world‑class data, frameworks and intellectual property
• Offers autonomy and flexibility in how you deliver impact
• Invests heavily in personal development through the Korn Ferry Institute
• Supports diverse career pathways, international opportunities and collaborative working

This is a place where Total Reward expertise is valued, amplified and constantly developed.

The Moment to Join

The public sector is re‑imagining itself — from the structure of government workforces to the expectations placed on public employees. Departments are navigating new pay flexibilities, confronting long‑standing inequalities in pay systems, and exploring more innovative, responsive reward approaches to reduce churn and strengthen retention.

This is a rare chance to help shape that evolution.

Ready to Influence the Future of Public‑Sector Reward?

If you’re driven by meaningful work — and you’re ready to help governments and public institutions modernise how they reward their people — we’d love to hear from you.