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Head of Payroll
Senior Leadership Role | People‑Focused | Large‑Scale Operations
Are you an experienced payroll leader ready to shape the future of payroll services at scale?
We're looking for a Head of Payroll to provide end‑to‑end leadership of a large, complex Payroll Services operation supporting over 75, colleagues across multiple pay frequencies. This is a senior, high‑impact role where you'll combine operational excellence with strategic vision to deliver a best‑in‑class payroll and time & attendance service.
You'll take ownership of the colleague payroll experience, ensuring services are simple, reliable and efficient, while driving continuous improvement through digitalisation, automation and data‑led insight. Working closely with senior stakeholders and outsourced delivery partners, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping how payroll services operate now and in the future.
The Role
As Head of Payroll, you'll lead the delivery of Time & Attendance (T&A) and Payroll Services at scale, ensuring accuracy, compliance and service consistency in a fast‑paced environment. You'll also act as the senior operational lead for outsourced and offshore partners, holding them to account for performance, innovation and value.
Occasional travel to India may be required as part of offshore partnership leadership
Key Responsibilities
1. Provide end‑to‑end accountability for T&A and Payroll Services, including: Payroll and benefits processing TUPE mobilisation activity Statutory filings, compliance and cost distribution Employee and third‑party payments and reporting Overpayments management and recovery
2. Own and continuously enhance the colleague experience, ensuring services are responsive, efficient and reliable
3. Lead day‑to‑day operational performance including demand management, workflow optimisation and issue resolution
4. Build and govern strong relationships with outsourced and offshore suppliers, ensuring service quality, compliance and continuous improvement
5. Establish and maintain robust governance, controls and service standards
6. Drive process optimisation, automation and digital transformation using data and insight
7. Identify and manage payroll‑related risks, ensuring compliance with employment legislation, data protection and information security standards
8. Lead and sponsor payroll transformation initiatives and complex service transitions
9. Own the Payroll Services budget, balancing service quality, risk and cost
10. Collaborate with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal and other corporate teams to deliver seamless end‑to‑end processes
11. Develop, coach and lead payroll managers and teams, building a high‑performance, inclusive culture
About You
You're a confident, commercially minded leader with deep payroll expertise and the credibility to operate at senior level in a complex organisation.
You'll bring:
12. Extensive knowledge of UK employment legislation within large, regulated or unionised environments
13. Proven experience leading large‑scale T&A and Payroll operations
14. Strong people leadership skills, with a track record of building high‑performing teams
15. Experience managing outsourced or offshore payroll delivery models
16. A history of successfully delivering payroll transitions, including TUPE and acquisitions
17. Expertise in process redesign and continuous improvement, ideally using LEAN or similar methodologies
18. Strong stakeholder management skills and the confidence to challenge constructively
19. Sound commercial judgement, including budget ownership and investment prioritisation
20. A professional, detail‑driven approach with a strong commitment to confidentiality and data security
21. CIPP qualification or equivalent professional experience
Why Join?
This is a rare opportunity to step into a senior leadership role where you can genuinely influence and transform payroll service delivery within a large, people‑centric organisation. You'll have the scope, scale and support to make a lasting impact – both on colleague experience and on how payroll services are delivered in the future.
Our market-leading offering provides you with benefits that suit your lifestyle.
We have a virtual GP on hand for you and members of your household. So you can get expert advice by video or phone without having to leave your home. We offer financial wellbeing assistance through our Salary Finance scheme. For example, you could access 50% of your earned pay before payday for a small fee. Salary Finance also offers competitive loans.
When you join us, we’ll give you a link to our flexible lifestyle benefits platform, Choices. You might choose to purchase up to five extra days’ holiday each year. You might buy critical illness insurance, seek dental treatment or buy technology products at an affordable cost. There are many choices!
We give you access to high street discounts from thousands of well-known retailers, gyms and more through our MiDeals platform. And we have a cycle-to-work scheme. Life cover of up to four times your salary is available. We also offer enhanced pension contributions, a save-as-you-earn scheme, and a Mitie Matching Share Plan (you could even be awarded free shares in Mitie).
We award our employees with Mitie Stars as recognition for their hard work. There are cash prizes up for grabs each month and at the end of the year there’s a chance to scoop a top prize of £10,!
Our success is a direct result of the experience and quality of our people. Progressing your career is therefore a top priority for us. We offer a diverse variety of training and development avenues via a wide selection of learning resources to suit you.
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments, changes or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing Gemma Parry at .