Head of Employee Services

Altum Consulting; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Altum Consulting is partnering with a large organisation to appoint an Interim Head of Employee Services based in Newcastle, working 2 days per week onsite. The role leads HR Administration, Payroll, Benefits, Pension and OH for the UKBU, reporting to the Director of Shared Services and the CHRO.

You will drive standardised, efficient processes, governance, and data integrity across regions. You will shape strategy, lead a team of specialists, and partner with HR, IT and Finance to deliver

Qualifications

• Senior HR leader with experience heading Employee Services or HR Administration over multi-country/UK operations.
• Strong change-management and governance abilities to drive process transformation.
• Data integrity, HR analytics, and compliance focus are essential.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Payroll, HR Administration, Benefits, OH, Pension and data quality across UKBU.
• Lead a team of specialists; set KPIs and SLAs; manage governance and risk.
• Partner with IT, Finance and HR business partners to standardise processes.
• Deliver global process standards and drive automation and continuous improvement.
• Communicate changes, manage stakeholders, and support SLT on HR strategy.

Skills

Strategic HR leadership

Change management

Data governance

Tools

HRIS systems

Payroll systems

Job description

Location: Newcastle, 2 days per week onsite

Altum Consulting is partnering with a large, complex organisation to appoint an Interim Head of Employee Services to lead the function during a significant period of transformation.

Purpose of the Job

This role will report directly to the Director of Shared Services and, via dotted line, to the Chief HR Officer regarding all aspects of HR Administration, Data Management, Benefits & Occupational Health Administration, and Payroll for the UKBU. This individual will be responsible for ensuring that their teams work effectively together across the UK business, the wider HR organisation, and key stakeholders.

This role is a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) for the shared services organisation, who, in addition to leading Employee Services (HR Admin, Benefits Admin, Pension Admin, Payroll) and functions as the global process owner (GPO) for all employee services, will support, lead, guide, and develop the overall remit for the business. The remit of the SLT includes people and process at the forefront, with the following competencies: strategic vision setting, innovation/creative thinking, change management, analytics/problem solving, operational excellence, strong commercial acumen, customer orientation, fostering communication, continuous learning, and the ability to shift and change with the broader business.

Key Accountabilities

As Head of Employee Services, the individual plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth, compliant, and efficient delivery of core employee-related services across the business.

This role is responsible for leading and continuously improving the delivery of transactional and administrative HR services. This role ensures that services are standardised across the organisation, scalable to support growth or restructuring, compliant with legal and regulatory requirements, and customer-focused, delivering a positive employee experience. In terms of Leadership & Governance, you will lead a team of specialists and administrators across various service areas, develop KPIs and SLAs to measure service performance, drive continuous improvement and digital transformation, collaborate with HR business partners, finance and IT, and ensure alignment with organisational goals and employee needs.

Service lines include

Payroll: Oversee accurate and timely payroll processing for all employees, ensure compliance with tax laws, HMRC regulations, and internal control, manage relationships with payroll vendors or systems (as required), lead audits and resolve discrepancies

HR Administration:Manage employee lifecycle processes (onboarding, changes, exits), maintain accurate HR data and records, ensure GDPR compliance and data integrity, support policy implementation and process automation, liaise with HR operational staff and HR leadership team

Benefits Administration:Oversee enrolment, changes, and queries related to employee benefits, liaise with Benefits Centre of Expertise, providers (e.g., healthcare, insurance), as required

Occupational Health Administration: Coordinate health surveillance, assessments, and referral, ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, support wellbeing initiatives and absence management, liaise with OH providers and internal stakeholders

Pension Administration:Manage pension scheme enrolment and contributions, ensure compliance with auto-enrolment and pension regulation, function as a point of contact for pension queries and escalations, liaise with Pension Centre of Expertise team, providers and trustees

As GPO, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that HR-related services are delivered consistently, efficiently, and effectively across all regions, taking employee experience into account. The following is a breakdown of the key responsibilities associated with this role:

Strategy & Governance: Define the global vision and strategy for employee services processes (e.g., onboarding, offboarding, payroll interface, benefits administration, employee data management).Establish governance frameworks to ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations across all geographies.Align process goals with broader HR and business objectives.

Process Design & Standardisation: Design and maintain global process standards, ensuring consistency while allowing for necessary local adaptations.Document end-to-end processes, including roles, responsibilities, inputs, outputs, and KPIs.Drive simplification and harmonisation of processes across business units and regions.

Continuous Improvement:Monitor process performance using metrics and dashboards. Identify inefficiencies and pain points, and lead initiatives to improve quality, speed, and cost-effectiveness.Leverage technology and automation (e.g., HRIS, RPA, AI) to enhance service delivery.

Stakeholder Management: Collaborate with regional HR teams, Shared Services, IT, and external vendors to ensure smooth execution of processes.Function as the escalation point for process-related issues and exceptions.Engage with senior leadership to report on performance and initiatives aimed at improvement.

Change Management & Communication: Lead change initiatives related to process updates, system implementations, or organisational restructuring.Develop communication plans to ensure stakeholders are informed and engaged. Train and support teams on new processes and tools.

Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure processes comply with global and local labour laws, data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR), and internal audit requirements.Conduct regular audits and risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential issues.

Technology & Data Integration: Partner with IT and HRIS teams to ensure systems support process requirements.Ensure data integrity and integration across platforms (e.g., SAP SuccessFactors, etc).Support analytics and reporting needs for HR and business leaders.

Outcome, Results and Key Performance Indicators:

To support outcomes, results, and KPIs, the individual will continually review and measure activities against targets, standards, and service levels, agreeing on and taking actions to improve capability and performance to achieve maximum potential across the team.

Dimensions of Job:

• Member of HR Leadership Team
• Direct management of two to eight managers/senior managers and leads
• Manage relationships with key stakeholders, including three heads of Centres of Expertise, three HR Directors,
• Support ~13,500 employees with monthly payroll
• Manage 10 payroll companies, 9 pension plans, and tens of contract types
• Major transformation projects 2026-2027/8: implement HRIS, implement new payroll solution, implement new time & attendance solution, etc.

Key Relationships:

Internal: Shared Service leadership team, CHRO and HR Directors, Finance, Accounting Services, Treasury administrators, Central IT, Tax team, Employment legal team

External: Software & service providers, including Leighton, Occ Health, background checks (as required), consultancies (as needed)