Payroll Manager

ISS Facility Services UK; Bolton; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

ISS Facility Services UK is seeking an experienced Payroll Service Manager to lead our Payroll Service Team and deliver a high-quality payroll experience for our people across ISS.

This hands-on leadership role owns the day-to-day payroll query service, ensures queries are resolved within SLAs, and collaborates with the wider Payroll, P&C and Finance teams to drive process improvements and consistent service delivery.

Qualifications

• Five+ years of payroll experience with UK payroll legislation.
• Experience leading a payroll processing/service team.
• Experience managing internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in-house and outsourced payroll environments.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Experience with Time & Attendance (T&A) processes.
• CIPP qualification or equivalent experience.
• Strong knowledge of GDPR and data privacy requirements.
• Confident with payroll systems and IT platforms.
• Excellent communication, organisation and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, support and develop the Payroll Service Team to a high-performing culture.
• Oversee allocation and management of payroll queries within SLAs.
• Act as escalation point for complex or sensitive payroll queries.
• Monitor service performance and improve SLAs with senior payroll leadership.
• Identify recurring issues and trends, driving root-cause analysis to improve employee experience.
• Ensure payroll processes and controls are maintained and developed.
• Build relationships with P&C, Finance, Payroll, Risk & Audit and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with outsourced payroll partners (e.g., SD Worx) for seamless service.
• Support training, coaching and development of team members.
• Contribute to succession planning and payroll function development.

Skills

UK payroll experience

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Advanced Excel

Time & Attendance

GDPR knowledge

Payroll systems

Education

CIPP qualification

Tools

Payroll systems

Job description

Reporting to: Head of Payroll Service & Delivery

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced Payroll Service Manager to lead our Payroll Service Team and play a key role in delivering an exceptional payroll experience for our people across ISS.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you’ll take ownership of the day-to-day payroll query service, ensuring queries are effectively managed, resolved within agreed SLAs and escalated appropriately. You’ll also work closely with our wider Payroll, P&C and Finance teams to identify trends, improve processes and ensure we continue to deliver a high-quality, consistent service.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead, support and develop the Payroll Service Team, creating a high-performing and engaged team culture.
• Oversee the allocation and management of payroll queries, ensuring they are responded to and resolved within agreed SLAs.
• Act as a key escalation point for complex or sensitive payroll queries.
• Monitor service performance and work with senior payroll leadership to maintain and improve SLAs.
• Identify recurring issues and trends, working with the wider payroll team to understand root causes and improve the overall employee experience.
• Ensure payroll processes and controls are maintained and contribute to their ongoing development.
• Build strong relationships with P&C, Finance, Payroll, Risk & Audit and senior stakeholders across ISS.
• Work closely with our outsourced payroll partners, including SD Worx, to ensure a seamless service.
• Support the training, coaching and development of team members, including regular 1:1s and development plans.
• Contribute to succession planning and the ongoing development of the payroll service function.

What we’re looking for

You’ll bring strong UK payroll experience, excellent customer service skills and the confidence to lead a team in a fast-paced environment.

Ideally, you’ll have:

• 5+ years’ payroll experience, with strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation.
• Previous experience managing or leading a payroll processing/service team.
• Experience managing internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong experience managing workloads, allocating work and meeting SLAs.
• Experience working across both in-house and outsourced payroll environments.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Experience with Time & Attendance (T&A) processes is desirable.
• CIPP qualification is preferred, or equivalent experience.
• Strong knowledge of GDPR and data privacy requirements.
• Confidence working with payroll systems and relevant IT platforms.
• Excellent communication, organisation and problem-solving skills.

This is an opportunity to make a real impact within a large and diverse organisation, while playing a key role in shaping the way our payroll service is delivered.

You’ll have the opportunity to work with experienced payroll professionals and senior stakeholders across the business, develop your leadership capability and contribute to meaningful improvements across the function.

At ISS, we’re committed to developing our people and supporting career progression. Whether that means broadening your payroll expertise, taking up greater leadership responsibility or progressing in the wider People & Culture and Finance functions, we want to help you build a career with us.

If you’re an experienced payroll professional who enjoys leading people, solving problems and improving the customer experience, we’d love to hear from you.