Director Payroll Operations

Our Story In July 2019, Fourth joined forces with Hot Schedules to become the global leader in end-to-end restaurant and hospitality management technology solutions. Together, the merged company now represents the world’s largest and only provider of end-to-end restaurant and hospitality management solutions for customers across the globe and of all sizes, from a single location or franchisee restaurant to a global restaurant or hotel chain.

The combined company’s complete software-as-service (SaaS) solution suite including scheduling, time & attendance, applicant tracking, training, inventory management / procurement, HR / benefits and payroll services now serves customers in 120,000 locations worldwide and is supported by a dedicated, unified team across offices in the US, UK, Bulgaria, China, Australia, and UAE. Interested in joining our smart, fun, and talented team?

Position Overview Senior operational leadership role with full accountability for the quality, compliance, and performance of Fourth’s UK payroll service delivery. This is a strategic position — the Director sets the direction for how the function operates, continuously raising the bar on service quality, efficiency, and team capability.

Owns end-to-end payroll: accuracy, compliance, client service, technology, and team development

Member of the EMEA operational leadership team — contributes to cross-functional strategy

Senior point of contact for complex, escalated, or strategically significant payroll matters

Directly manages the Payroll Leadership team Primary Responsibilities Leadership & Team Development Lead and develop the Payroll Leadership team; ensure workload distribution and SLA delivery

Coach, mentor, and performance-manage at all levels; build succession depth

Set clear performance expectations tied to service quality and client outcomes

Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement

Lead the function through periods of change with minimal service disruption UK Payroll Compliance & Regulatory Governance Maintain Fourth’s UK payroll compliance framework: PAYE, RTI, NI, statutory payments, auto-enrolment

Oversee all year-end activities: P60s, P45s, P11

Ds, Apprenticeship Levy Manage auto-enrolment compliance across all client groups, including The Pensions Regulator obligations

Proactively monitor the regulatory landscape (HMRC policy, Employment Rights Act) and translate change into operational action

Maintain strong internal controls: segregation of duties, audit trails, error detection

Operational Excellence & Service Delivery Define, implement, and continuously improve payroll processing policies, procedures, and controls

Own the end-to-end payroll delivery model — ensuring it is robust, documented, and resilient

Monitor SLA performance across all client groups; use data to identify risk and drive intervention

Lead resolution of complex, escalated, or high-impact payroll issues

Develop departmental reporting that gives leadership and clients clear visibility of performance and risk Systems, Technology & Process Optimisation Provide operational leadership for payroll system implementation, maintenance, and enhancement

Ensure effective integration of payroll-adjacent applications (time & attendance, self-service portals, client interfaces)
Partner with Product and Technology to identify automation and standardisation opportunities

Lead or contribute to payroll technology migrations, maintaining service continuity throughout

Use system reporting to inform resourcing decisions and embed evidence-based management

Client & Stakeholder Engagement Build and maintain senior client relationships; act as operational point of contact for escalations and complex matters

Proactively engage clients to anticipate risk and ensure delivery meets or exceeds expectations

Serve as Fourth’s subject matter expert on UK payroll in client-facing conversations and commercial discussions

Maintain strong cross-functional partnerships across HR, Finance, Product, Technology, and Sales Strategic Contribution Contribute to EMEA operational leadership: business planning, commercial decisions, UK service strategy

Represent UK Payroll…