Head of Payroll Services

Posting date:	25 November 2025
Salary:	£64,455.00 to £74,896.00 per year
Additional salary information:	£64455.00 - £74896.00 a year
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	09 December 2025
Location:	Reading, RG1 5UZ
Company:	NHS Jobs
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	C9193-25-0930

Summary

Strategy Interpreting statutory legislation and providing authoritative advice to all staff across two Trusts on specialist payroll and pension matters Ensure that the Payroll department resources are aligned with the Trust business strategy Ensure that services are provided in accordance with agreed levels of service and the required standards of probity and in an efficient manner and provide value for money Liaise with directors to ensure the services being provided are aligned with the operational requirements of the Trust Formulate long-term strategic payroll plans for the Trust and for the component parts of it, allowing for variations in internal and external circumstances Present senior managers throughout the Trust with expert interpretation and analysis of their Payroll and Pension information Carry Corporate responsibility for the development and implementation of payroll and pension advice to all Trust personnel To understand the business fully, enabling the Payroll function to drive change such that the Trust fulfils its strategic objectives utilising lean methodologies and planning Develops payroll and pension policies for the organisation, working jointly with other organisations to create a consistent approach. Corporate responsibility for the implementation of all national policies and practices Management Prepare and maintain a rigorous standards-based approach to all core activities, to ensure that work throughout the Department is quantified and that outputs are measured to inform continuous improvement Ensure that all staff within the Department are engaged in measuring the quality of their work, that core processes are coherent and are well understood and that the input of department staff and stakeholders is routinely sought in pursuit of enhancement to service levels Prepare a detailed schedule of all key dates for Payroll reporting and ensure that the data input streams are organised to feed in to those and that staff are organised and capable of making the necessary contributions Holds the budget for both pay and non-pay for the Payroll department servicing two Trusts Responsibility for the management of several independent payroll departments. This would typically include training, continuing development, performance reviews and disciplinaries Performance To develop, monitor and report against a robust Service Level Agreement with Key Performance Indicators between all organisations serviced by the post holder To interpret and communicate complex payroll, pension and statutory information to Directors of Finance and HR across several organisations Design, maintain and develop pay scale, allowances and deductions databases for all client organisations Absolute ability to analyse a very complex series of pension and redundancy situations and by interpreting this data, provide a range of options for comparison To ensure that all information held is of the highest possible accuracy and secured according to Caldicott Principles To direct the provision of payroll information to fulfil each organisations accounting requirements To ensure accurate accounting treatment of payroll information To interpret overall Trust strategy to develop goals and standards for the department To manage the Payroll services of all client organisations ensuring all employees are paid accurately and on time To be responsible for the maintenance of the Trust authorised signatory listing relating to Payroll To be responsible for the collection and payment of monies due to third parties including legal bodies e.g. CSA, Courts etc To communicate at all levels and to a wide variety of organisations, providing highly complex and sensitive information in an understandable format. Communication may involve one to one meetings or to large groups of staff. On occasion, the delivery of such contentious information may be to an extremely emotive audience Monthly auditing of all payroll transactions to provide executive information and recommendations accordingly Ability to deal with frequent exposure to distressed employees when faced with redundancy or long term sickness situations Planning To lead the development of payroll systems and processes on behalf of all client organisations To ensure the Payroll and Pension service is at the forefront of developments and is line with the National Payroll Strategy To implement the development of new corporate policies and procedures within the department to meet the changing needs of the client organisations, together with ensuring that all existing policies adequately meet all legislative tax, payroll or pension requirements To communicate efficiently and effectively all financial implications of pension and early retirement scenarios To manage the provision of pension services including computation of and reporting of early retirement, redundancy and ill health calculations and implications. This also involves making recommendations to employees and employers to aid their decision making Professional/Technical Lead in the development and implementation of new financial processes that are required for best practice Payroll services Continual professional development via a series of technical system training and statutory regulations underpinned by expanding on a post-graduate level knowledge base Introduce modifications to existing computer systems and/or introduce new systems, to enhance the availability and operability of Trust-wide Payroll services Direct responsibility for the implementation of new information systems, such as on line expenses, including processing, generating, updating and storing information for the organisation as a whole Contract Negotiation To manage the relationships with the external organisations serviced by the post holder To actively seek out additional relationships with other external organisations with a view to providing Payroll services for said organisations Staff Management and Development To lead the functional teams in delivering the Directorate objectives. In particular to ensure that the appropriate support and development is given to the staff to achieve the necessary process changes and improvements Other To actively promote diversity, including race diversity, both in the delivery of the Directorates services and in the recruitment, management and development of staff within the Directorate To ensure the management of resources within the allocated annual pay &/or non-pay budget(s) The role will require prolonged periods of intense concentration to undertake detailed and complex financial analysis, involving uninterrupted computer keyboard work KEY SUCCESS FACTORS Generate new business-management ethic throughout the Trust Setting the programme of long-term strategic service and planning decisions, and forging partnerships for the whole organisation by implementing and developing an appropriate range of programmes Contribute to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the department and its performance management systems Functions are efficient and effective and demonstrate continuous improvement