UK Payroll Team Lead

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 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 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