Reward - Benefits Project Lead

Role: Benefits Project Lead

Location: Dunstable (LU5 5XE), hybrid working 3 days in the office, 2 days working from home/another location

Function: People (Reward)

Salary: £41,000 - £50,000 per annum, pro-rata dependant on skills and experiences + up to 10% matched pension + bens

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract until 27th November 2026

Help Shape the Future of Employee Benefits at Whitbread

At Whitbread, we're on a journey to create an even better experience for our people. We’re looking for a highly organised and delivery-focused Benefits Project Lead to play a pivotal role in transforming how our employees access, understand and engage with their benefits.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the implementation and launch of a brand-new employee benefits platform, creating a seamless and engaging digital experience for over 30,000 team members across our Support Centre and operational teams. Working at the heart of our Reward function, you'll collaborate with colleagues across IT, Internal Communications, HR and external partners to bring the platform to life and drive meaningful employee engagement.

Alongside leading this high-profile project, you'll also help ensure the smooth day-to-day delivery of our benefits offering, supporting programmes that genuinely make a difference to our people.

What you'll be doing

Leading the delivery and launch of our new Reward Gateway benefits platform

Managing project plans, stakeholder engagement and supplier relationships to ensure successful implementation

Creating engaging communications and awareness campaigns that drive adoption and usage

Supporting the operational delivery of key employee benefits, including healthcare, financial wellbeing, employee discounts and recognition schemes

Managing benefits arrangements for employees leaving the business under agreed programmes and policies

Analysing data and feedback to generate insights and improve employee engagement

Acting as an escalation point for benefits-related queries from colleagues, managers and HR teams

What we're looking for

We're open to candidates from a variety of backgrounds. More important than specific HR or Reward experience is your ability to deliver projects, influence stakeholders and improve processes.

You'll bring:

Communicates clearly and confidently with a wide range of stakeholders

Understands the role of benefits in driving employee engagement and can anticipate the needs of our employees

Has a proven track record of delivery

Demonstrates strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Can balance operational delivery with project execution

Why join us:

We’re proud to be a Top Employer for 14 consecutive years, a top apprenticeship employer, #10 in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, and a Top 25 Exemplary Employer in the Investing in Ethnicity Parliamentary Matrix.