Payroll & Benefits Team Leader UK

The Payroll & Benefits Team Leader UK will lead a team of 3 Payroll & Benefits Specialists and will be accountable for the operational delivery quality compliance controls and continuous improvement of UK Payroll & Benefits activities.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining people leadership UK payroll expertise operational ownership vendor/service management and transformation support.

Well count on you to:

Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead coach and develop a team of 3 Payroll & Benefits Specialists.

• Establish clear roles accountabilities priorities and performance expectations.

• Manage workload and ensure appropriate coverage across payroll cycles.

• Build team capability through coaching cross-training and knowledge sharing.

• Ensure appropriate backup arrangements and business continuity.

• Conduct regular 1:1s performance reviews and career development discussions.

• Foster a culture of accountability ownership collaboration and continuous improvement.

Payroll & Benefits Service Delivery

• Own end-to-end operational Payroll & Benefits delivery for the UK.

• Ensure payroll is processed accurately compliantly and on time.

• Manage payroll calendars cut-offs input readiness validation and approvals.

• Oversee payroll reconciliations controls payroll accounting and post-payroll activities.

• Ensure statutory reporting and year-end activities are completed accurately and on time.

• Oversee Benefits-related payroll inputs and processes.

• Ensure payroll exceptions and employee-impacting issues are resolved promptly.

• Maintain complete and current SOPs work instructions and process documentation.

Compliance Controls & Risk

• Ensure compliance with UK payroll legislation tax requirements company policies and internal controls.

• Ensure payroll controls are consistently executed and supported by appropriate evidence.

• Identify payroll risks proactively and implement mitigation actions.

• Support internal and external audits and ensure remediation actions are completed.

• Ensure appropriate User Access Management and segregation-of-duties controls.

• Support compliance requirements arising from collective agreements and local employment practices.

Issue & Root-Cause Management

• Take ownership of operational issues through resolution.

• Lead root-cause analysis for material or recurring payroll errors.

• Ensure corrective and preventive actions are implemented and tracked to closure.

• Identify recurring trends and eliminate root causes rather than repeatedly correcting symptoms.

• Ensure the team escalates issues with a clear problem impact root cause recommendation and decision required.

Vendor & Service Management

• Manage the day-to-day relationship with Payroll Time Benefits and other relevant providers.

• Monitor vendor performance against SLAs and KPIs.

• Challenge service-quality issues and ensure providers take accountability for errors.

• Monitor ticket volumes aging recurring issues and resolution quality.

• Support monthly service reviews and performance reporting.

• Escalate material vendor issues to the Regional Payroll Lead with clear recommendations.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to simplify standardize and automate Payroll & Benefits processes.

• Reduce manual activities reconciliations and unnecessary handoffs.

• Improve controls documentation and operational ways of working.

• Coordinate improvement opportunities with Global Payroll Experts HRIT and providers.

• Ensure lessons learned from payroll issues result in sustainable process improvements.

Payroll & Time Transformation

• Represent UK Payroll within Payroll & Time initiatives.

• Provide UK business statutory CBA and operational requirements.

• Support future-state process and solution design.

• Participate in testing parallel payroll reconciliation cutover and hypercare.

• Support implementation of the future Time-to-Payroll solution.

• Ensure local requirements are appropriately incorporated without unnecessary customization.

• Support transition to the future Payroll Operating Model.

You Will Bring :

• 5 years of UK payroll experience preferably within a complex organization.

• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation taxation statutory requirements and year-end processes.

• Experience leading coordinating or coaching payroll professionals.

• Experience working with outsourced payroll providers.

• Strong understanding of payroll controls reconciliations and payroll accounting.

• Experience supporting hourly/manufacturing populations and complex Time-to-Payroll processes is preferred.

• Experience working within a union/CBA environment is advantageous.

• Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving capability.

• Ability to take ownership of issues through resolution.

• Strong stakeholder and vendor-management skills.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a payroll-critical environment.

Must-Have Skills

• UK payroll expertise

• Payroll operations and statutory compliance

• People leadership and coaching

• Payroll controls and reconciliation

• Vendor/service management

• Root-cause analysis

• SOP and process documentation

• Continuous improvement

• Strong stakeholder management

• Fluent English

Nice-to-Have Skills

• SAP Payroll/SAP SuccessFactors

• Time Management / Time-to-Payroll experience

• Manufacturing payroll

• Payroll transformation or implementation experience

• CIPP qualification or equivalent

You will get:

• The UK-based annual base salary reasonably expected to be paid for this new hire is 51440 to 64000. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills experience qualification and internal equity and can ultimately be more or less than the posted salary range.

• Benefits package

• 16 or more weeks of maternity/paternity and co-parenting leave according to local regulations

• Training platform for all employees

• Free well-being sessions (physical and psychological)

Additional information:

• Location: Wrexham UK

• Working model: Hybrid working model possible (3 days per week)