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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