Head of Payroll

Oakleaf Partnership; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Oakleaf Partnership is seeking a Head of Payroll on a 12-month fixed-term contract in London. You will lead a payroll team of five and manage end-to-end UK monthly payroll for 3,000+ employees across seven pay groups, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant delivery.

You will collaborate with senior stakeholders across Finance, HR, Reward and IT to transform processes, strengthen controls, and automate where possible.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading end-to-end UK payroll in a large org.
• Strong knowledge of UK tax, pensions and auto-enrolment.
• Experience managing payroll teams and stakeholder groups.
• Experience with SAP Payroll and Workday or similar systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a payroll team of five, ensuring deadlines and service standards.
• Oversee monthly payroll processing, reconciliations, gross-to-net reviews, BACS, HMRC reporting.
• Ensure compliance with UK payroll legislation and pension auto-enrolment.
• Be the escalation point for complex payroll queries with senior stakeholders.
• Drive process improvements, stronger controls, and automation opportunities.
• Support SAP/Workday usage and reporting improvements.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Stakeholder management

UK payroll knowledge

Team development

Process improvement

SAP Payroll

Workday

Education

CIPP qualification

Tools

SAP Payroll

Workday

Job description

Head of Payroll - 12-Month Fixed-Term Contract

• Contract: 12-month FTC
• Location: Baker Street, London
• Hybrid - 3 days per week in the office

Oakleaf Partnership is working with a leading global professional services organisation to recruit an experienced Head of Payroll on a 12-month fixed-term contract.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead an established UK payroll team of five during a period of transformation. With responsibility for a monthly payroll covering over 3,000 employees across seven pay groups, you will play a key role in ensuring accurate, timely and compliant payroll delivery while driving process improvements and strengthening controls.

You will work closely with senior stakeholders across Finance, HR, Reward and IT, taking ownership of payroll operations and supporting the continued development of systems and processes.

The Role

You will take full responsibility for the end-to-end UK monthly payroll, overseeing delivery, compliance, reconciliations and team performance.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and developing a team of five payroll specialists, ensuring deadlines and service standards are consistently met.
• Overseeing monthly payroll processing, reconciliations, gross-to-net reviews, BACS files, statutory deductions and HMRC reporting.
• Ensuring compliance with UK payroll legislation, tax regulations, pensions and auto-enrolment requirements.
• Acting as the key point of escalation for complex payroll queries and managing relationships with senior stakeholders and external providers.
• Optimising payroll processes, strengthening controls and reducing manual intervention.
• Supporting the effective use of SAP and Workday, identifying opportunities for automation and improved reporting.
• Partnering with HR Operations, Finance and IT to resolve issues and deliver continuous improvement.

Skills and Experience

• Significant experience leading end-to-end payroll within a large, complex organisation.
• A CIPP qualification or equivalent professional payroll qualification.
• Strong UK payroll knowledge, including tax, statutory deductions, pensions, compliance and reconciliations.
• Experience managing and developing a payroll team.
• Strong systems experience, ideally with SAP Payroll and Workday, or equivalent enterprise platforms.
• A track record of improving payroll processes, controls and systems.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the confidence to engage with senior Finance and HR leaders.

Why Work Here?

This is an opportunity to join a well-established international organisation with a strong reputation in its sector and a broad global presence.

You will have the opportunity to lead a high-performing payroll team, make a tangible impact during an important period of transformation, and work closely with senior stakeholders across the business.

The role offers the autonomy to improve processes, enhance system capabilities and strengthen payroll governance, making it ideal for an experienced Payroll Manager who enjoys combining operational leadership with continuous improvement.