Why join us 

Joining the team at Sainsbury's as the Head of Payroll offers a unique opportunity to lead a critical function that impacts over 2 million payments and £4.1 billion in value annually across various business units. As a key leader in the organisation, you will drive continuous improvement, maintain high service standards, and collaborate with diverse teams to ensure accurate and timely payment processing while upholding statutory compliance. With a focus on team development, stakeholder engagement, and strategic decision-making, this role provides a platform to showcase your expertise and leadership skills, within a dynamic and supportive environment. 

What you'll do 

You'll lead the overall Payroll team, ensuring the accurate and timely processing and control of payroll across the business. Working closely with cross-functional teams, you will be responsible for maintaining payroll on a weekly, periodic, or ad hoc basis, overseeing the preparation and reconciliation of payments to colleagues and third parties, and providing professional service and advice to the wider People and Finance teams. Your role will involve resource planning, continuous improvement initiatives, upskilling and training of team members, and ensuring that payroll processes align with company and statutory policies and procedures. Additionally, you will oversee validation of all remote input to the payroll system, collaborate with stakeholders to enhance the colleague experience, drive strategic decision-making, and maintain high standards of data confidentiality and compliance. 

Who you are 

You're a proven leader with deep expertise in all aspects of high-volume payroll service delivery, with experience gained from a similar-sized organisation, ideally in retail, or hospitality or other similar industry. Your ability to navigate complex HR procedures across diverse business units, coupled with your strong analytical skills and sound technical knowledge, enables you to identify trends, extract insights from data, and drive effective interventions to resolve issues. With your excellent communication skills, team leadership capabilities, and commercial acumen, you lead a high-performing team to deliver efficient, professional, and credible payroll services while ensuring colleague data confidentiality and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders. 

Essential Criteria 

Demonstrable expertise in payroll service delivery across large, multi-business environments, including statutory compliance, payroll controls, and financial reconciliation   Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams, with experience in resource planning, coaching, and managing performance in high-volume service operations   Evidence of using data to identify trends and drive improvements, including analysing service delivery metrics and implementing process enhancements   Experience managing payroll systems and integrations, ensuring data accuracy, authorisation controls, and compliance with HMRC and other regulatory requirements   Track record of building effective stakeholder relationships, including third-party providers, to support strategic decision-making and resolve complex issues 

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