Payroll Delivery Manager

RGIT Australia; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Williams Stanley is recruiting a Payroll Delivery Manager to lead the payroll bureau function with a focus on quality, governance and client experience. The role requires strong leadership, deep UK payroll knowledge and the ability to optimise processes.

The role is hybrid with occasional travel to London or Manchester and offers salary in the £42,000–£45,000 per annum range. You will work closely with the Head of Payroll to shape the function and develop the team.

Qualifications

• Significant payroll bureau experience and leadership of payroll teams.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and compliance.
• Ability to handle complex payroll calculations and client escalations.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills with a collaborative leadership style.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day payroll bureau delivery with responsibility for accuracy and quality.
• Coach and develop Payroll Officers and Administrators, ensuring high performance.
• Manage client relationships and deliver exceptional service throughout the payroll lifecycle.
• Maintain and improve standard operating procedures and governance.

Skills

Payroll leadership

UK payroll legislation

Complex payroll scenarios

Organisational & planning

Collaborative leadership

Education

CIPP qualification (desirable)

Job description

Full-time Permanent Associate

Posted 04 Aug 2026

Description

Reports to:Head of PayrollDirect Reports:Payroll Officers / AdministratorsLocation:Hybrid (London or Manchester)Salary:£42,000 - £45,000 per annumApplication Deadline:Sunday 16 AugustInitial Screening Calls:Week commencing 17 August

About Williams Stanley

Williams Stanley is one of the UK's leading hospitality advisory firms, supporting hundreds of businesses across payroll, accounting, tax, company secretarial, finance advisory services.

Our payroll bureau supports hospitality businesses ranging from independent operators through to national multi-site groups, processing thousands of payslips every month.

The Role

The Payroll Delivery Manager is responsible for the operational leadership, quality assurance and continuous development of the Payroll Bureau. This is both a delivery and managerial role requiring structured planning, visible ownership and accountability for payroll standards.

You'll lead the day-to-day operation while helping shape the future of the function. One moment you may be supporting a complex HMRC query, the next coaching a Junior Payroll Officer, redesigning a process, analysing operational performance or visiting a client. You'll work closely with the Head of Payroll to ensure the team delivers an exceptional client experience whilst continually improving how we operate.

Williams Stanley is not looking for someone to simply manage a payroll team. We're looking for someone who wants to help shape what a modern payroll bureau should look like.

Over the last year we've transformed our Payroll function and built the foundations for long-term success. The next phase is different. It's about developing people, refining processes, improving client experience and creating a payroll function that can be recognised as one of the UK's leading payroll bureau teams.

This is an opportunity for an experienced Payroll Manager who enjoys balancing technical excellence with leadership. Someone who is comfortable getting into the detail when required but equally capable of stepping back, identifying opportunities and leading meaningful change.

We're looking for someone who enjoys coaching people just as much as solving complex payroll problems. Someone who naturally builds capability, raises standards and leaves every process, client and colleague better than they found them.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Delivery & Operational Control

• Lead the timely and accurate delivery of all assigned bureau payrolls.
• Ensure robust pre-payroll and post-payroll validation controls are consistently applied.
• Maintain clear payroll schedules, workload planning and operational visibility.
• Ensure payroll documentation, client records and audit trails remain accurate and compliant.
• Monitor workload allocation and time recording to protect delivery capacity.
• Ensure compliance with HMRC legislation, pensions, statutory payments, attachment orders, National Minimum Wage and tronc arrangements.
• Identify operational risks early and implement effective solutions before issues escalated.
• Support the resolution of complex payroll calculations and technical queries.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team of Payroll Officers and Payroll Administrators.
• Create a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, coaching sessions and performance conversations.
• Deliver structured training, mentoring and knowledge sharing across the team.
• Carry out quality assurance reviews and provide constructive feedback.
• Set clear expectations around organisation, client communication, productivity and professional standards.
• Identify capability gaps and create development plans for individuals.
• Lead by example during peak delivery periods whilst maintaining a calm and positive environment.

Client Relationship Management

• Act as the primary escalation point for complex payroll queries.
• Build trusted relationships with clients through professionalism, responsiveness and technical expertise.
• Support client meetings, payroll reviews and implementation projects where appropriate.
• Communicate complex payroll matters in a clear, confident and commercially appropriate manner.
• Protect the Williams Stanley reputation through exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Ensure clients receive an outstanding service experience throughout the payroll lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate and improve payroll processes.
• Contribute to Standard Operating Procedures, documentation and operational governance.
• Support onboarding, payroll transitions and implementation projects.
• Help shape future technology, product and operational initiatives.
• Use operational data and insight to improve productivity, quality and client experience.
• Champion a culture where improvements are continually identified, tested and embedded.

Commercial & Operational Awareness

• Understand payroll capacity, utilisation and operational performance.
• Ensure time recording accurately reflects workload and supports commercial decision-making.
• Support resource planning and operational forecasting alongside the Head of Payroll.
• Recognise the wider commercial impact of payroll quality, client retention and operational efficiency.
• Balance service excellence with commercial awareness and sustainable delivery.

What We're Looking For

We're less interested in someone who's simply processed payroll for years. We're looking for someone who enjoys leading people, solving problems and improving organisations.

You'll ideally bring:

• Significant payroll bureau experience and experience leading or supervising payroll teams.
• Strong technical knowledge of UK payroll legislation.
• Confidence handling complex payroll scenarios and client escalations.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills.
• A collaborative and approachable leadership style.
• CIPP qualification (or working towards it) is desirable but not essential.

Most importantly, you'll know when to dive into the detail and when to zoom out to see the bigger picture.

Hybrid Working

This role is hybrid, with an expectation of approximately4-8 days per calendar monthin either London or Manchester. Our expectation is purposeful presence and those office days should create value.

• Coaching and developing the team.
• Client meetings and relationship building.
• Collaborative planning sessions.
• Team training and workshops.
• Process improvement initiatives.
• Cross-functional collaboration.

Applicants must beUK-basedand able to travel to either our London or Manchester offices when required.

Recruitment Process

We are ideally looking for someone who is available to join us in the near future, ... Initial screening conversations will take place during theweek commencing 17 August, ...

Company Overview

Williams, Stanley & Co is a leading accountancy firm catering to a diverse range of clients in the hospitality industry, from high street chains to family-run cafes. Our company began with a mission to provide accurate and actionable financial insights to businesses, drawing from our founders' own experiences in managing multiple rapidly growing ventures. Driven by a commitment to customer-first accounting, we've assembled a team of experienced and trusted accountants who share our vision for excellence. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and expertise, our team operates seamlessly across different locations, including the UK, US, Philippines, and Dubai.