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UK Payroll Team Lead

Hiring from
United Kingdom
Work type
Hybrid
Posted
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As a UK Payroll Team Lead, you’ll play a pivotal role in overseeing the day-to-day operations of our payroll function, ensuring the accurate and timely delivery of payroll services across a diverse client base. You’ll lead by example — combining technical expertise with people leadership to drive service excellence, support team development, and contribute to continuous improvement across the department.

In addition to leading the team, you’ll also manage a selection of payrolls directly, maintaining hands-on involvement and ensuring service quality

On a typical day you’ll be…


  • Leading and coordinating a team of payroll administrators to deliver accurate, compliant, and timely UK payrolls
  • Managing a portfolio of payrolls directly, ensuring high standards of accuracy, timeliness, and customer service
  • Acting as an escalation point for complex payroll queries and client issues, ensuring swift and effective resolution
  • Overseeing the allocation of client portfolios and workload across the team to ensure balanced capacity and consistent service delivery
  • Supporting and coaching team members, providing regular feedback, mentoring, and development opportunities
  • Hosting and contributing to client governance meetings, reviewing performance and identifying areas for improvement
  • Reviewing and signing off payrolls, governance reports, and documentation to ensure accuracy and compliance
  • Monitoring service delivery KPIs and SLAs, identifying risks and proactively implementing mitigations
  • Driving process improvements and supporting the implementation of new systems, tools, or ways of working
  • Fostering a positive, inclusive, and high-performing team culture

Does this sound like you?


  • Strong experience in UK payroll processing, ideally with a CIPP qualification and experience in a leadership or supervisory role
  • Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop a team in a fast-paced, service-driven environment
  • Deep understanding of UK payroll legislation, compliance, and best practice
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — confident in handling both client and internal conversations
  • High attention to detail and a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues
  • Strong systems and Excel skills, with the ability to analyse data and drive insights
  • A collaborative mindset, with a passion for continuous improvement and delivering exceptional service
  • Comfortable balancing leadership responsibilities with hands-on delivery of payrolls






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