Head of Rewards and Performance

The Global Head of Rewards and Performance will lead Svitzer’s global agenda across rewards and performance, connecting business strategy, operational excellence, leadership accountability and employee experience.

This is a high-impact role with a direct line from strategy to execution. You’ll define standards while keeping a sharp eye on what delivers real-world impact, whether at sea or on shore.

About Svitzer

Svitzer is a leading global towage operator with 4,500 colleagues, of which 800 are based in our offices, and 3,700 work on our tugs. We have a fleet of 510 tugs across more than 35 countries, organised in four regions: Australia, AMEA, Europe, and the Americas. We provide sustainable marine services that make ports and terminals safer, more efficient and more climate friendly.

We’re built on deep technical expertise, a strong operational culture, and colleagues who take pride in their work. Our ambition is to cut unnecessary complexity, strengthen collaboration, and build an organisation that adapts as we scale, driven by leadership behaviours and culture.

The team you will join

Based in our Copenhagen office and reporting directly to the Chief People Officer, you will be part of the Global People & Culture Leadership Team and work closely with leaders across Global Functions and our Regions, Communications, Strategy, and the Executive Leadership Team.

Global functions based in our HQ are lean and focused on making a difference on the front line and on the bottom line. Therefore, we eliminate unnecessary hierarchy and bureaucracy.

The Global People & Culture Leadership Team shares a common agenda, even as regional priorities differ. The core of our common agenda is to develop strong leaders, thriving people and to ensure Svitzer is a safe place to work. Our Global CoEs work closely with our Regional P&C teams around the world to shape concepts and ensure new practices come to life. We have a healthy culture of listening and challenging each other, while having fun along the way.

Key Responsibilities

Your role will be to:

- Enable our growth ambitions and our operational priorities, through the functional leadership you provide to bring out a holistic rewards and performance philosophy.

- Advise the Executive Board and the Executive Leadership Team on reward governance, executive compensation, and pay/performance management

- Define and lead Svitzer’s global Rewards & Performance strategy in close collaboration with our Centres of Excellence and key stakeholders in the Regions.

- Translate business and people priorities into sustainable, and motivating solutions within areas such as compensation, incentives, benefits, mobility and performance management

- Take end-to-end accountabilities for all aspects of the Reward and Performance value chain, from ideation through implementation to execution. Sometimes hands-on executing, sometimes supervising, sometimes developing in partnership with relevant parties, to set global guardrails for adoption and governance for local variations.

·     Combine strategic leadership with hands-on ownership of selected technical areas and core processes, such as incentive design, annual cycles and continuous improvement projects.

·     Lead and develop a global team of experienced professionals to build strong partnerships with functions and regions, as well as develop the relevant capacity in the Regions.

By doing this, you provide a strong employee experience by enabling our leaders to set clear expectations, recognise contributions and make fair, differentiated performance and reward decisions across sea and shore.

Who we are looking for

You’re an experienced Rewards leader who can drive strategy and operational change through practical, people-focused solutions.

You bring:

- Global Rewards & Performance experience, ideally in a lean, hands-on environment, with frontline components.

. Pragmatism and adaptability. You understand that concepts and plans must navigate the grey zones of reality, and you are comfortable trading off perfection for impact.

- Ability to turn strategy into action. You do not enjoy bureaucracy or empire-building.

- Strong partnership mindset, collaborating across regions and functions to make things work.

- Commercial and analytical rigor, tying reward design to real business outcomes.

- Experience in adapting global standards to local realities without losing consistency.

- Technical depth in rewards. You are comfortable advising executives and rolling up your sleeves when needed.

- Operational curiosity: You bring a willingness and ability to understand how our business works, from tug through port to headquarters.

Could this be the right opportunity for you?

Standing out in a world of AI and established practices for what a CV and application look like is hard, so we invite you to think about these questions before you apply:

- Can you design solutions that provide global consistency, without perfect data?

- Do you enjoy working in a lean organisation where strategic leadership and practical execution go hand in hand?

- Are you curious how rewards motivate and incentivise in the practical reality of the frontline?

If yes, then include your reflections on this question in your CV/application:

- What makes you a good match for the challenge of building a common Rewards and Performance approach across a workforce spanning multiple geographies, sea- and shore-based roles, union contexts, and different cultures of performance and accountability?

How to apply

To ensure a consistent and fair recruitment process, please submit your application via the “Apply” button on our Svitzer Careers page. Applications submitted outside the system cannot be considered.

Deadline

The application deadline is 18 October 2026. We review applications on an ongoing basis and may close the job advertisement earlier if we receive a strong field of qualified candidates.

Questions

To ensure a fair and consistent experience for all candidates, we are not able to respond to questions in advance of interviews. Relevant questions can be addressed during the interview process.

Building a Diverse Workplace

In Svitzer we value the diversity of our talent and will always strive to recruit the best person for the job – we value diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to gender, age, nationality, race, sexual orientation, disability, or religious beliefs. We are proud of our diversity and see it as a genuine source of strength for building high performing teams.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that members from some under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t meet every single qualification. At Svitzer we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles, and we are excited about hearing from you!

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button and create a Candidate Home to manage your applications.