Payroll & hr operations manager

At Sally Europe, we’re passionate about creating great experiences for our people and ensuring our people services are efficient, compliant and employee focused. We’re looking for a Payroll &HR Operations Managerto lead our Operations team, driving excellence across payroll, administration, and people processes across the UK & ROI.

This is a key role for someone who enjoys improving processes, developing teams, and ensuring the smooth delivery of operational people services that support our colleagues and the wider business.

The Role

As Payroll & HR Operations Manager, you will lead a team responsible for delivering high-quality administration and payroll services. You'll ensure our people processes are efficient, compliant, and aligned to business needs, while driving continuous improvement across operations.

Working closely with People Business Partners, Finance, and business stakeholders, you'll play a critical role in enhancing the employee experience, maintaining compliance, and delivering operational excellence.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead, coach and develop the Operations team to deliver an exceptional colleague experience.
• Oversee payroll delivery across the UK and ROI, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and a positive employee experience.
• Manage administration across the employee lifecycle, ensuring processes are efficient, consistent, and compliant.
• Act as the escalation point for payroll and operational issues, driving effective solutions and continuous improvement.
• Maintain employee records and documentation in line with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, systems, and ways of working.
• Produce and analyse people and payroll metrics to support informed business decisions.
• Build strong partnerships with People Business Partners, Finance, and business stakeholders to ensure effective people practices.
• Support employee relations activity and provide guidance to managers when required.
• Lead and contribute to projects that enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines operational excellence with strong people leadership and a passion for continuous improvement.

You may be a great fit if you have:

• Experience leading an Operations, Shared Services, or Administration team.
• Strong payroll experience, ideally covering both the UK and Ireland.
• A proven track record of improving processes, systems, and service delivery.
• Experience managing administration across the employee lifecycle.
• Strong knowledge of payroll compliance and employment practices.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach with strong attention to detail.
• Employee Relations experience would be beneficial but is not essential.
• CIPD qualification or equivalent experience would be advantageous.

Why You’ll Love It Here

At Sally Europe, we live by our values:Be Yourself. Be Bold. Be An Owner. Be An Inspiration. Be Part of Something Bigger.

We believe that when people feel empowered to be themselves, they do their best work. We’ll support you to grow, challenge the norm, and help shape the future of our people operations.

We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated. As part of our culture to ’add colour to the world,’ we ensure fair treatment for all, regardless of age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Benefits

Competitive Salary, Pension, Staff Discount