Head of Payroll

Do you want to be a part of a growing, successful business where no two days are the same?

Where we are always putting children’s education and futures at the heart of our solutions? Then read on!

‘Fusing HR Services and software’ – we are Fusion Education People Solutions

Brand new role! Head of Payroll

Salary & Benefits

·       Salary range £60,000 - £70,000 depending on experience

·       25 days annual leave (plus 8 days Bank Hols)

·       Your birthday off

·       BUPA Healthcare Cashback plan – following successful completion of probation

·       Pension Scheme

·       Ongoing professional development opportunities – we can offer supported study and potential funding for external qualifications

·       A cracking team to work with!

·       Hybrid working – you can work from home or from the office (we have a fab office at Calder Grove, Wakefield)

Who are Fusion Education People Solutions (FEPS), what do we do?

We are Education people specialists; we have a team of leaders who have all worked in education for many years and understand the business challenges that schools and MATs have to deal with day in and day out. We have developed cloud based software for schools to give them a one-stop shop for their people management.

Our Payroll & Pension Bureau removes the admin burden for schools, allowing us to provide a flexible and reliable payroll solution tailored to accommodate their needs, ensuring peace of mind that their staff will be paid accurately and on time, every time.

FEPS has a long-standing history of supporting the education sector with all aspects of people management, including HR services, HR software and more recently, payroll. Although, we have worked very successfully with payroll partners to provide a payroll service to our valued customers for several years, in 2023 we made the decision to launch our in-house FEPS payroll bureau. The launch was extremely successful, and we now support many schools, colleges and Multi Academy Trusts, with their end-to-end HR solution from hire to retire. 

The demand for our customers to add our payroll bureau to their HR software (SAMpeople) is really high, hence our newly created Head of Payroll role. 

So, if you’re a forward-thinking payroll expert who can work at pace and effectively manage a growing team then this could be just the role for you!

Could you be what we are looking for?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced payroll professional who is commercially savvy and a confident communicator, to lead our Payroll Team and to drive a managed payroll service growth strategy.

This new role will continue to drive the delivery of an exceptional payroll bureau service, specifically tailored for the education sector. The successful candidate will manage a fast-growing team of payroll professionals ensuring growth is managed whilst mitigating risk to the business through strong quality control management.  

The successful applicant will be leading a recently established payroll team, where many within the team are seeking opportunities for professional growth and development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Take a lead role in supporting the payroll service growth strategy including the commercial overview and statistics for leadership reports. 
• Be a skilled and confident presenter who can support the wider team with payroll related tender submissions, sales presentations and payroll messaging/branding.
• Further establish a forward-thinking team of payroll professionals and their growth and development, plus management of the recruitment strategy for growth.
• Operate and further shape a comprehensive payroll strategy focusing on optimising payroll processes, ensuring compliance with regulations, and enhancing overall efficiency, whilst minimising risks.
• Further enhance robust policies and procedures for payroll management including payroll and pension processing, data security, compliance with tax laws, and employee compensation.
• Ensure the payroll team remain in line with regulatory compliance, customer requirements and its managed payroll operations accordingly.
• Audit payroll transactions to ensure all amounts and payment dates are accurate including PAYE, Pensions and other salary sacrifice benefits.
• Ensure the timely and accurate delivery of payroll services to customers.  Enhance quality control measures and performance metrics to monitor service delivery and address any issues promptly.
• Overseeing the process for all pension scheme administration including enrolment, contributions and changes across multiple pension schemes and associated audits. 
• Liaise closely with internal teams including People Software and Product Development teams, to drive improvements and efficiencies.
• 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.
• Oversee customer satisfaction and customer retention and KPIs.
• Gather customer data and produce report for submission to the company’s senior team/Directors.
• Liaise with key partners to ensure the best service provision for our customers, this includes payroll software, BACS, partner providers etc.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Proven payroll experience in a fast-paced operation, Education sector experience would be desirable but is not essential
• Operated at a senior leadership level within payroll operations previously 
• Operated within a commercial environment utilising sales forecasts and budgets with a strong focus on sales and retention targets.
• Up to date payroll and pension knowledge and full awareness of upcoming legislative changes that affect pay
• Extensive knowledge of computerised payroll systems including experience of payroll system build, processing, 3^rd party returns including pension returns and reporting
• Excellent people management skills with a proven ability to effectively manage and coach employees including experience of appraisal, performance concerns and navigating HR processes
• Previous experience of effectively managing customer payrolls in their entirety including pension management  
• Solid understanding of payroll related compliance including audit
• Demonstrated payroll project management skills  
• 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

If this sounds right up your street, then we can't wait to hear from you!