Payroll Team Leader


Company:	Hays Specialist Recruitment
Salary:	£35,000 to £38,000 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Dalkeith, G2 7AT
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	2 Nov 2026
Closing date:	2 Dec 2026

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Summary

Your new company

Hays is delighted to be partnering exclusively with a well-established organisation based in Dalkeith to recruit an Employment & Reward Team Leader.This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced payroll professional who enjoys combining hands-on, end-to-end payroll expertise with people management. The position offers excellent flexibility, with hybrid working and office attendance required only a couple of times per month. Core working hours operate between 7am and 7pm, providing considerable flexibility around start and finish times.

Your new role

Reporting to the Employment & Reward Manager, you will take responsibility for the day-to-day delivery and reconciliation of a key payroll while leading and supporting part of the wider payroll team.

This is a varied role covering both operational payroll delivery and people leadership. Key responsibilities will include:

Leading and supporting a team delivering a range of employment, payroll and reward services across the organisation.

Overseeing accurate and timely end-to-end payroll delivery, including starters, leavers, pension information and contractual changes.

Managing workloads, priorities and service delivery, ensuring quality, accuracy and key deadlines are consistently achieved.

Leading on service improvement and transformation projects, reviewing existing processes and introducing more efficient ways of working.

Supporting the implementation of legislative, policy and system changes, ensuring processes and procedures remain compliant and up to date.

Providing advice and guidance to managers, trade union representatives and other stakeholders on employment procedures, terms and conditions, payroll, tax and pensions.

Supporting payroll reconciliations, statutory reporting, year-end processes and audit requirements.

Working closely with internal teams on system developments, testing and process improvements.

Developing and maintaining procedures, guidance and documentation, while supporting the training and development of team members.

Contributing to the wider development of Employment & Reward policies, procedures and service delivery.

Building relationships with internal and external stakeholders, sharing best practice and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

Delivering briefings, presentations and training to stakeholders where required.

What you'll need to succeed

You will ideally bring:

Strong end-to-end payroll experience within a busy payroll environment.

Experience of payroll and/or HR systems and associated operational processes.

Good working knowledge of tax, National Insurance, pensions and payroll legislation.

Previous experience of supervising, leading or supporting colleagues.

Strong reconciliation, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder-management skills.

A proactive and adaptable approach, with the ability to manage competing priorities.

Confidence working with data and identifying opportunities to improve processes and service delivery.

You will ideally hold relevant HR and payroll qualifications, such as a Certificate in HR Practice and Payroll Technician qualification, or equivalent. CIPD Intermediate Diploma and/or CIPP National Payroll Certificate qualifications would be advantageous.

What you'll get in return

Salary: £35,000- £38,000

Hours: 36 hours per week.

Flexible working: Core operating hours between 7am and 7pm, offering considerable flexibility around your working pattern.

Hybrid working: Office attendance in Dalkeith is required only a couple of times per month.

The opportunity to lead and develop a payroll team while contributing to wider systems and process transformation.

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk

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