People Operations & Payroll Manager; Maternity Cover

People Operations & Payroll Manager (Maternity Cover)

Clinical Partners is one of the UK's leading providers of mental health and neurodevelopmental services, delivering high-quality assessments and treatment services across both NHS and private healthcare pathways.

We are looking for an experienced People Operations & Payroll Manager to join our People Team on a 12-month fixed-term contract covering maternity leave. This is an exciting opportunity for a Payroll and People Operations professional who enjoys leading teams, driving operational excellence and ensuring the delivery of a seamless colleague experience.

This role has a strong focus on payroll management, governance and compliance, with responsibility for overseeing the end-to-end payroll cycle and ensuring payroll is delivered accurately and on time. Working closely with our managed payroll provider, Finance team and key stakeholders across the business, you will play a critical role in maintaining robust payroll controls while leading a high-performing People Operations team.

Alongside payroll leadership, you will oversee the delivery of core people operations activities, including employee lifecycle administration, onboarding, compliance processes and continuous improvement initiatives. This role offers the opportunity to influence service delivery, improve processes and help shape the future of our People Operations function.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who combines excellent payroll expertise with strong leadership skills and a passion for delivering outstanding internal customer service.

• Lead, coach and develop the People Operations team, ensuring high levels of performance and service delivery.
• Oversee the end-to-end monthly payroll process, ensuring accuracy, compliance and timely completion.
• Act as the primary point of contact for payroll matters, working closely with our outsourced payroll provider and internal stakeholders.
• Manage payroll inputs including starters, leavers, contractual changes, salary amendments, sickness, family leave and statutory payments.
• Ensure payroll controls, approvals, reconciliations and audits are completed in line with company requirements.
• Maintain compliance with payroll legislation, HMRC requirements, GDPR and internal policies.
• Oversee employee lifecycle processes, ensuring all administration is completed accurately and efficiently.
• Monitor service levels and team workloads to ensure an excellent colleague experience.
• Analyse people and payroll data to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Support system enhancements, process optimisation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with Finance, People Partners, Talent Acquisition and other business stakeholders.
• Contribute to projects that support organisational growth, efficiency and operational excellence.

• Significant experience managing payroll processes and payroll governance.
• Previous experience leading a People Operations, HR Administration or Payroll team.
• Strong understanding of payroll legislation, compliance requirements and payroll controls.
• Experience working with outsourced payroll providers.
• Strong knowledge of HR administration and employee lifecycle processes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience using HR, payroll and people systems.

• Experience using HiBob, Salesforce, Credentially or similar HR systems.
• CIPD qualification or equivalent experience.
• Experience supporting HRIS…