Head of Payroll

Head of Payroll

Location: Worcester area, hybrid working

Closing date: 10 July 2024

Salary: Up to £50,000

Who are we? 

Parkwood Leisure manage leisure facilities on behalf of local authorities. We employ over 4,000 people across our leisure centres, golf courses, theatres and visitor attraction centres. Our mission is to create and maintain sustainable, lasting partnerships to help build happier and healthier local communities.

What are we looking for?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced payroll professional to lead our Payroll Team to deliver an accurate and effective payroll system. The successful candidate will manage a team of five, overseeing the employee payment process for approximately 4,000 employees in the UK.

Some of the key results for the role include: 

• Play a lead role in supporting the strategic direction of the company by supporting our payroll operations team.

• Create a comprehensive payroll strategy that aligns with the organisation's goals and objectives. Focusing on optimising payroll processes, ensuring compliance with regulations, and enhancing overall efficiency.

• Establish robust policies and procedures for payroll management across all sites. These should encompass aspects such as payroll processing, data security, compliance with tax laws, and employee compensation.

• Drive and promote a customer centric approach to our internal stakeholders.

• Remain abreast of regulatory compliance and its influence on payroll operations; initiate proactive measures for compliance. Mitigate risks associated with non-compliance through proactive measures and regular audits.

• Audit payroll transactions to ensure all amounts and payment dates are accurate including PAYE, Pensions and other salary sacrifice benefits

• Interact with and influence HR and Finance teams. Foster strong partnerships to facilitate seamless payroll delivery.

• Lead efforts to enhance the skills and capabilities of the payroll team. Provide training, mentorship, and resources to enable them to effectively execute their roles.

• Ensure the timely and accurate delivery of Payroll services to employees across the different Company’s. Implement quality control measures and performance metrics to monitor service delivery and address any issues promptly.

• Overseeing all pension scheme administration including enrolment, contributions and changes across multiple pension schemes.

• Take a proactive approach to shaping the evolution of the payroll function. Identify opportunities for innovation, process improvements, and strategic initiatives to drive continuous enhancement and growth.

• Manage the payroll processes for multiple entities.

• Implement and drive improvements across the department

Experience:

• Proven payroll experience in a fast paced multi-site operation

• Up to date payroll knowledge 

• A sound knowledge of People XD or other computerised payroll systems

• Due to the nature of this role, previous experience of managing large (1,000+) payrolls in their entirety whilst also managing and developing staff is essential.

• Operated at a senior level within payroll operations previously 

• Excellent people management skills

• Solid understanding of Payroll related compliance

• Proven ability to effectively coach employees and management through complex and difficult issues

• Demonstrated project management skills

• To succeed in this role, you will have the ability to engage and influence a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, and to communicate complex information to a variety of audiences in an understandable way. 

What can we offer you?

• Competitive salary
• Free gym membership for you and a nominated person at one of our centres
• Employee health cash plan
• Employee discount portal - discounts on travel bookings, high street vouchers, gift cards, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities and your day to day spending
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Pension Scheme
• Company sick pay
• Career progression
• Training and development
• Flexible Working

We pride ourselves on our agility and diversity, and we welcome requests to work flexibly. For most roles, flexible hours and/or an element of remote working are usually possible. Please talk to us at the interview about the type of arrangement that is best for you. We will always try to be adaptable wherever we can.

How to apply: Please apply online by sending a full CV. 

If you are interested in applying for this role, please do so at the earliest opportunity as interviews will be held throughout the process. If you have not received correspondence within 21 days of the closing date then please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are proud to be Equal Opportunity employers and are committed to inclusion and diversity.