UK Payroll Team Lead — Remote (Cape Town)

GCO Partners; Cape Town; Remote; ZAR 750,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

GCO Partners is building a dedicated UK payroll team in Cape Town and seeks an experienced UK Payroll Team Lead to guide delivery across a portfolio of UK clients. You will own payroll quality, review complex calculations, develop processes, and collaborate with UK leadership.

Strong technical UK payroll knowledge and leadership skills are essential; availability during UK business hours is required. The role offers the chance to shape a growing function, drive process improvements, and ensure

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of UK payroll experience.
• At least 2 years supervising, reviewing or leading a payroll team.
• Experience within an accountancy practice, payroll bureau or outsourced payroll environment.
• Strong experience managing multiple UK client payrolls with varying frequencies and deadlines.
• In-depth knowledge of PAYE, National Insurance and Real Time Information (RTI) submissions.
• Practical experience with statutory payments, including Statutory Sick Pay and statutory family leave payments.
• Experience with workplace pensions, auto-enrolment and contribution submissions.
• Experience with UK payroll platforms such as Sage 50 Payroll, BrightPay, IRIS Payroll or Xero Payroll.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for payroll reviews, reconciliations and reporting.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage workloads across competing deadlines.
• Availability during agreed UK business hours and around key payroll deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Cape Town UK payroll team.
• Oversee payroll delivery across UK client portfolio.
• Review complex payroll calculations and ensure accuracy.
• Establish controls and scalable processes.
• Collaborate with UK payroll leadership and client teams.
• Identify risks and resolve issues before deadlines.
• Ensure compliance with UK payroll regulations.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Organisation

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

CIPP qualification or IPM Payroll & Tax Practitioner qualification

Tools

Sage 50 Payroll

BrightPay

IRIS Payroll

Xero Payroll

Excel

Job description

GCO Partners is building a dedicated UK payroll team in Cape Town and seeks an experienced UK Payroll Team Lead to guide delivery across a portfolio of UK clients. You will own payroll quality, review complex calculations, develop processes, and collaborate with UK leadership.

Strong technical UK payroll knowledge and leadership skills are essential; availability during UK business hours is required. The role offers the chance to shape a growing function, drive process improvements, and ensure