Payroll Team Leader

12-14 month FTC position
Central London
Hybrid Working

Our client is seeking an experienced Payroll Team Leader to join their busy team on a 12-14 month FTC basis
Duties include;

• Lead, motivate, and manage a payroll team to ensure high performance and engagement
• Set clear objectives, priorities, and performance expectations for team members
• Conduct regular 1:1 meetings, team meetings, and performance reviews
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and development opportunities for team members
• Foster a positive, collaborative, and accountable team culture
• Allocate workloads effectively across the team based on skills and capacity
• Monitor productivity and adjust resource allocation to meet deadlines
• Manage team schedules, holidays, and cover to ensure continuous payroll operations
• Track individual and team performance against KPIs and service levels
• Address underperformance through structured improvement plans
• Ensure consistent adherence to company policies and standards
• Identify training needs and design development plans for team members
• Deliver or coordinate payroll-related and soft skills training
• Support onboarding and induction of new payroll staff
• Encourage continuous learning and cross-training within the team
• Act as the primary escalation point for payroll team queries
• Assist with manual calculations and training on payroll legislation
• Build strong relationships with HR, Finance, and external stakeholders
• Communicate effectively with senior managers on payroll team performance and issues
• Lead and implement process changes or system improvements within the team
• Drive standardisation and best practices across payroll operations
• Support the team through organisational or system changes
• Ensure team adherence to payroll processes, policies, and compliance requirements
• Oversee audit readiness and support the team during audits
• Act as escalation point for complex payroll or team-related issues
• Make informed decisions to resolve operational or people challenges
• Maintain calm and effective leadership in high-pressure payroll cycles
• Report on team performance, service levels, and key metrics
• Communicate changes, priorities, and expectations clearly to the team
• Encourage innovation, feedback, and proactive problem-solving
• Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing within the team
• Lead by example in professionalism and values

You will have;

• Strong leadership & team motivation - inspires, guides, and builds a high-performing, engaged team
• Effective communication - clearly conveys information and manages relationships with team and stakeholders
• People management & coaching - develops team members, handles performance, and supports growth
• Organisation & decision-making - prioritises workloads, delegates effectively, and resolves issues confidently
• Resilience & attention to detail - maintains accuracy and stays calm under pressure, especially during payroll cycles
• Ability to complete manual calculations and strong payroll knowledge

If you have all of the above, and you are keen to support a dynamic team and can commit to a 12-14 month FTC position, then please apply now

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