Head of Payroll and HR Administration

Teamdash; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Circa 70K salary package

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Company Pension Scheme

Life Assurance

Death in Service Insurance

Wellbeing benefits incl. GP access

Employee discounts

Job summary

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

The role requires strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, end-to-end payroll processes, and experience delivering payroll across multiple entities.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading UK payroll operations, ideally across multiple entities or business units.
• Experience implementing or upgrading an HRIS/payroll system.
• Experience with payroll data migration, testing, reconciliation and go-live.
• Strong attention to detail and payroll controls.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end UK payroll across multiple Group businesses, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Lead monthly payroll cycle, data validation, processing, reconciliation, approvals and post-payroll activities.
• Ensure robust controls to minimise payroll errors and ensure compliance.
• Manage payroll payments, deductions, benefits, bonuses, and other variable pay elements.
• Oversee PAYE, National Insurance, pension contributions and year-end reporting.
• Escalation point for payroll queries and customer service.
• Lead/drive HRIS and payroll system implementation and data migration.
• Develop and maintain payroll procedures, workflows, and guidance.
• Support change management and adoption across the group.

Skills

UK payroll legislation

End-to-end payroll

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Payroll data analytics

Process improvement

Education

CIPP qualification

Tools

Sage

Moorepay

Zellis

MHR People First

Hibob

Bamboo HR

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, including seven business units serving large clients in different sectors including Commercial offices, healthcare and educational facilities. Under private equity ownership since 2020, Mecsia has expanded to approximately 2000 employees, including 900 engineers. 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 & 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

Circa 70K salary package

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

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.

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