Head of Payroll (XN10)

Leeds, Yorkshire
NHS
Overview An exciting and unique opportunity has arisen to lead the Payroll and Pensions function at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Due to the retirement of the current postholder we are looking to appoint a Head of Payroll to lead this vital service and build on the successes and excellent reputation it has already achieved.

The successful candidate will provide leadership to a 60 strong, highly motivated, experienced team who are dedicated to the principle of getting it right first time. Payroll sits within the Finance Directorate and the Head of Payroll reports to the Associate Director of Finance.

The Payroll Service operates within the Trusts Leeds Way value set and is looking to fully embed the continuous improvement ethos defined by our Leeds Improvement Method. The latter seeks to enhance efficiency by minimising waste and the Payroll team have demonstrated their willingness to embrace its principles. It is imperative that this enthusiasm is harnessed and channelled by leadership and professionalism of the highest order.

The successful candidate will fully understand all the complexities of NHS terms and conditions, HMRC reporting and interfacing with the requirements of pension providers; particularly the NHS Pension Scheme and NEST. They will be able to build effective working relationships and have a vision for future growth.

Main duties of the job To provide strategic leadership and direction for Payroll and Pension services and be responsible for the overall Management & Performance of the Payroll Department, which provides a Payroll, Expenses and Pensions Administration Service to LTHT and various client trusts and other associated NHS and non-NHS organisations.

To focus on growing the service with a view to becoming a regional / national centre of excellence for the provision of payroll services and to develop strategic plans to meet ongoing service provision.

To ensure efficient and effective procedures and policies within Payroll.

To provide Expert Specialist Advice to Client Trusts on matters relating to Payroll Systems, Payroll Procedures, Expenses, and NHS Pensions.

To ensure compliance for each Client, with Statutory Requirements and Statutory timescales, and to give advice on complex issues relating to Payroll & Employment Law. Also:

a) Responsibility for understanding, appraising relevant legislation and guidelines; developing and implementing associated policies and procedures within the Payroll Department.

b) Responsible for the long term strategic plans for the service by creating an operational framework that will enable growth, taking into account the needs of all current and future client organisations needs, as well as managing uncertainty within the clients current workforce.

c) Budget and line management responsibility. Current budget £2.8m.

About us The Payroll team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provides Payroll, Expenses and Pension Administration services to employees across:

4 Trusts, 1 ICB, 1 Wholly Owned Subsidiary, 1 Charity, 1 Hospice, 1 Regional Medical Payroll, 1 GP confederation and Pension service to charity.

All clients are served by the national ESR system. The Leeds Way value set and continuous improvement ethos are central to the service. Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to redeploying at-risk members of our existing workforce to new roles. All our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed.

Expected Shortlisting Date: 03/10/2025

Planned Interview Date: 16/10/2025

Job responsibilities

• Staff management of 6 Payroll and Pension Teams incorporating 3 Team Leaders (Band 6) and over 59 staff (bands 2-5).
• Responsible for processing payments to over 55,000 assignments.
• Within 11 trusts/organisations with payroll values averaging over £853,000,000 per annum (increasing with growth).

Policy and Service Development

• Responsibility for developing and implementing Policy and Procedures within the Payroll Department, many of which impact upon all departments in all client organisations, and affect working practices and procedures in client Trusts.
• Responsible for proposing policies and procedures to Client Trusts and assisting in the implementation of such proposals.
• Responsible for implementing National Policies and practices within payroll department, and give advice and assistance when necessary to client Trusts to assist in their implementation of such policies.
• Responsible for service development which impacts across multiple NHS and non NHS organisations.

Financial and Physical Resources

• Responsible for the long term strategic plans for the service by creating an operational framework that will enable growth, taking into account the needs of all current and future client organisations needs, as well as managing uncertainty within the clients current workforce.
• Responsible for budget for Payroll Department £1.34m per annum (increasing with growth) and for authorising spend against the budget.
• Responsible for authorising and signing off payrolls to a value of £883m per annum (increasing with growth).
• Responsible for ensuring legitimacy of authorised payment of Inland Revenue payments averaging £218m per annum.
• Responsible for ensuring legitimacy of authorised payment of NHS Pension scheme contributions averaging £114m per annum.
• Authorized signatory for payments to Inland Revenue, NHS Pension Scheme and third party agencies totalling several million pounds per month.
• Responsible for ensuring sufficient staffing levels to enable service provision and future growth.
• Responsible for ensuring all office equipment and furniture within payroll department is available and up to required standard.

Planning

• Responsible for the long term growth and expansion of the service to become a regional / national provider of payroll services.
• Negotiate new business contracts with prospective clients at Board level and set out terms of engagement by providing a written Service Level Agreement which may vary with different clients’ needs.
• Develop long term strategic plans (3-5 years) to ensure current and future service provision can be sustained and grown to meet increase in demand / client base.

Human Resources

• Responsible for full management of the Payroll Department, the Pensions Department and the Employee Expenses and Transactional Processing Department.
• Overall responsibility for training and professional development of payroll/pensions/expenses staff.
• Responsible for staff recruitment and retention, grievances and disciplinary issues, sickness absence monitoring, staff appraisals, resource allocation and planning for future growth.
• Participates in regional training for Payroll and HR staff across the North of England.

Information Resources

• Specialist in Computerised Payroll System; responsible for operation and management of payroll systems, data integrity, reporting and client-specific information representation.
• Responsible for developing IT systems within payroll department and regular complex reporting for client Trusts.
• Regularly review and design systems, procedures and policies within Payroll and client trusts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with Information Security Management System (BS7799) and confidentiality requirements (Data Protection Act 1998, NHS Code of Confidentiality, Human Rights).

Research and Development

• Regularly undertakes setup and testing of new items in the payroll system to ensure statutory compliance and meet client needs; testing of expenses system and interfaces to ESR (e.g. ERostering systems).
• Regularly researches statutory changes and completes statutory returns; conducts payroll audits and responds to audit reports.

Freedom to Act

• Work autonomously within policy; interpret National Policy and regulation; develop procedures and policies for staff and client Trusts; lead staff in payroll department.

Communication

• Regularly advise Directors of HR, Directors of Finance and other Senior Managers on complex payroll and pensions issues; meet client senior staff to review service quality; manage TUPE-related concerns; provide guidance to staff; participate in Regional/National Groups; deliver presentations; negotiate with client Trusts; respond to queries and complaints from employees and managers; handle complex payroll issues for non-native English speakers.

Please see the attached job description for further information.

Person Specification Skills & behaviours

• Ability to formulate policies and procedures and engineer process change with risk-based internal controls.
• Ability to communicate and advise staff and managers up to Director level across media; provide clear information.
• Ability to analyse and resolve complex problems and implement corrective actions.
• Ability to work independently, manage own workload and supervise others while staying flexible.
• Confident, approachable, and able to build strong working relationships with colleagues, clients, managers and Board/Senior management.

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Payroll Management or equivalent NHS payroll management experience; extensive NHS Payroll Office management experience.
• Evidence of managerial/HR short courses or qualifications. . click apply for full job details