Payroll Director

The Portfolio Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Portfolio Payroll is partnering with an award-winning SaaS business in central Manchester to appoint an experienced Payroll Director who will own the UK payroll function with a high degree of autonomy and executive backing.

You will shape the future of the payroll service through compliance, efficiency, scalability and innovation, with a genuine voice with senior stakeholders on strategic direction.

Qualifications

• Proven experience at Payroll Director, Head of Payroll, or equivalent senior leadership level.
• Extensive experience managing large-scale payroll operations and sizeable teams.
• Strong technical payroll expertise with understanding of legislation, compliance and governance.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver a payroll strategy aligned to the organisation's long-term commercial objectives.
• Lead a large payroll operation, developing and empowering the management team beneath you.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation, governance requirements, and internal control frameworks.
• Drive operational excellence through robust processes, systems, and service improvements.
• Lead transformation and change initiatives that improve efficiency, scalability, and customer experience.
• Identify and deliver opportunities for automation and technology enhancement, working closely with product and engineering.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and influence strategic decision-making across the business.
• Monitor service performance, risk, and compliance standards to maintain exceptional delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Payroll expertise

Compliance governance

Transformation

Automation

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Job description

Payroll Director | Manchester City Centre | Competitive Executive Package + Benefits

Portfolio Payroll are partnering with an award-winning SaaS business in central Manchester to appoint an experienced Payroll Director. Their platform streamlines payroll and people operations for SMEs, and is trusted by over 120,000 businesses worldwide.

This is a rare opportunity to join a technologically innovative business at a key stage of its growth. You will take full ownership of the UK payroll function, setting its strategic direction with a high degree of autonomy and the backing to deliver on it.

You will be responsible for the future vision of the payroll service: compliance, efficiency, scalability, and a culture where innovation is expected rather than encouraged. Working in a product-led, global organisation, you will have direct influence over how technology and automation are applied across the operation, and a genuine voice with senior stakeholders on where the business goes next.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and deliver a payroll strategy aligned to the organisation's long-term commercial objectives.
• Lead a large payroll operation, developing and empowering the management team beneath you.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation, governance requirements, and internal control frameworks.
• Drive operational excellence through robust processes, systems, and service improvements.
• Lead transformation and change initiatives that improve efficiency, scalability, and customer experience.
• Identify and deliver opportunities for automation and technology enhancement, working closely with product and engineering.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and influence strategic decision-making across the business.
• Monitor service performance, risk, and compliance standards to maintain exceptional delivery.

About You

• Proven experience at Payroll Director, Head of Payroll, or equivalent senior leadership level.
• Extensive experience managing large-scale payroll operations and sizeable teams.
• Strong technical payroll expertise, with an in-depth understanding of legislation, compliance, and governance.
• Demonstrable success delivering transformation, process improvement, and operational efficiency.
• Commercially astute, with the confidence to operate strategically and the credibility to influence at board level.
• Genuine interest in payroll technology and how it can be used to improve service and scale.
• Passionate about developing people and building a high-performance culture.