Head of Payroll and HR Administration

Mecsia; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Family friendly pay

25 days holiday

Company Pension

Life Assurance

Death in Service Insurance

GP access

Employee discounts

Recognition program

Fertility treatment support leave

Maternity leave

Paternity leave

Job summary

Mecsia is seeking an experienced Head of Payroll & HR Administration to lead the Group's payroll and HR administration across the business, supporting around 2,000 employees. You will manage a team of HR/Payroll Administrators and drive the implementation of a new Group HRIS and payroll platform for consistency and data integrity.

The role requires deep UK payroll knowledge, strong compliance, and a track record of process improvements.

Qualifications

• Hands-on leadership of UK payroll across multiple entities.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll laws, NIC, PAYE and pensions.
• Experience implementing or upgrading an HRIS/payroll system.
• Proven ability to drive process improvement and automation.
• Experience in a PE-backed or multi-company environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end UK payroll for multiple group entities on time and accurately.
• Lead monthly payroll cycle, checks, validation, reconciliation and approvals.
• Ensure payroll controls and data integrity across all payrolls.
• Manage payroll-related payments, deductions, benefits and bonuses.
• Lead HRIS/payroll implementation and ongoing optimisation.
• Coach and develop the Payroll & HR Administration team.
• Collaborate with Group HR, Finance, IT and senior leaders.

Skills

UK payroll leadership

Payroll accuracy & controls

Team leadership

HR administration

Stakeholder management

Payroll data governance

Process improvement

HRIS implementation

Payroll automation

Education

CIPP qualification

Payroll certification

Tools

Sage

Moorepay

Zellis

MHR People First

Hibob

BambooHR

Staffology Iris

Job description

Mecsia is a leading UK provider of technical inspection, maintenance, and engineering services, aiming to transform the industry with a 'Local Service, National Reach' approach. The company has grown significantly through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Under private equity ownership since 2020, Mecsia has expanded to approximately 1,900 employees. In 2024, Mecsia was acquired by Synova, recognised as PE house of the year for four of the last seven years, who supports an ambitious growth strategy through service excellence and further acquisitions.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and hands-on Head of Payroll & HR Administration to lead the Group's payroll and HR administration function, you will lead a team of HR/Payroll Administrators working across the business, supporting a headcount of 2,000 and growing.

This is a key role responsible for ensuring the accurate, compliant and efficient delivery of payroll and core HR administration across our Group (currently 10 separate businesses and payrolls).

The role will also play a critical part in the implementation and ongoing optimisation of a new Group HRIS and payroll platform, helping to establish consistent processes, data standards and ways of working across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll leadership & processing

• With the team, oversea the end-to-end UK payroll process across multiple Group businesses, ensuring payrolls are delivered accurately, on time and in accordance with statutory and contractual requirements.
• Lead the monthly payroll cycle, including pre-payroll checks, data validation, payroll processing, reconciliation, approvals and post-payroll activities.
• Ensure appropriate controls and checks are in place to minimise payroll errors and maintain high levels of payroll accuracy.
• Manage payroll-related payments, deductions, benefits, bonuses, commissions, overtime, expenses and other variable pay elements.
• Oversee statutory payroll requirements, including PAYE, National Insurance, pension contributions, statutory payments and year-end reporting.
• Escalation point for payroll queries ensuring employees and managers receive a responsive and professional service.

HRIS & payroll implementation

• Play a leading role in the implementation and rollout of the new Group HRIS and payroll system.
• Act as the subject matter expert for payroll and HR administration throughout the implementation.
• Support the design and configuration of payroll and HR processes within the new system.
• Define and document business requirements, workflows, controls and approval processes.
• Support data cleansing, migration and validation activities, ensuring high-quality employee and payroll data.
• Lead or support parallel payroll testing, UAT and reconciliation, identifying and resolving issues before go-live.
• Develop and maintain payroll and HR administration procedures, process maps and user guidance.
• Support the transition of businesses onto the new platform, ensuring consistent adoption and effective change management.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes and improve the employee and manager experience.
• Own the ongoing optimisation of the HRIS and payroll processes following implementation.
• Lead, coach and develop the Payroll & HR Administration team,
• Build strong relationships with Group HR, Finance, IT, business leaders, HR Business Partners and managers across the organisation.
• Act as the escalation point for complex payroll and HR administration issues.
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels and provide clear updates on payroll, HRIS implementation and service performance.

Key skills and experience

• Significant experience leading UK payroll operations, ideally across multiple entities or business units.
• Strong understanding of UK payroll legislation and statutory requirements.
• Experience managing the end-to-end payroll cycle.
• Experience leading or managing HR administration
• Strong understanding of employee lifecycle processes, particularly onboarding and offboarding.
• Proven experience implementing or upgrading an HRIS and/or payroll system.
• Experience with payroll data migration, testing, reconciliation and go-live.
• Strong process improvement and systems capability.
• Experience managing and developing a team.
• Excellent attention to detail and a strong understanding of payroll controls.
• Comfortable working with Finance, HR, IT and senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to work confidently with HR and payroll data.
• Experience working within a Group, multi-company or PE-backed environment.
• Experience consolidating or transitioning payrolls into a shared service model.
• Experience with [Sage, Moorepay, Zellis, MHR People First, Hibob, Bamboo, Staffology Iris] is desireable
• CIPP qualification or equivalent payroll qualification.
• Experience introducing payroll automation and employee/manager self-service.

What we offer

• Family friendly pay
• Enjoy 25 days of holiday, plus bank holidays
• Contribute to the Company Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance
• Death in Service Insurance
• Wellbeing benefits include 24/7 access to a GP
• Employee discounts i.e. gym memberships, high street shops
• Individual recognition schemes with rewards
• Fertility Treatment Support Leave
• Paid Maternity Leave
• Paid Paternity Leave

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, colour, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability.