We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
Lead Operations and Payroll Manager
Department: Advisory & Operations, People Solutions.
Contract type: Indefinite (permanent) contract.
Hours: 36 hours per week, Monday to Friday.
Pay band: 8
Salary: £38,820 plus £3,300 London Market Allowance for those in the London area only.
Location: London, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh or Belfast Only. (The UK).
Benefits Include, but are not limited to:
• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme
Requirements:
• Candidates must have the pre-existing (permanent) legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.
• Visa Sponsorship and relocation assistance is not provided.
Closing Date: 23rd January 2025 at 23:59 UK time.
The Team:
The British Council Professional Services are undergoing significant transformation. For the People function, this means significant change to the delivery of people services to business leaders, line managers and employees.
The British Council has entered into a contract with a professional services partner to provide HR services covering areas such as HR Admin, Learning and Development, Pre-Appointment Screening, and Pre-Payroll administration.
The Lead Operations and Payroll Manager will work with our partner to offer leadership and direction in terms of the development of their services in accordance with the strategic objectives of HR and to design and improve the policies and practices implemented to deliver those services.
Services that have not been transferred to the professional services partner, including payroll and HR master data, will fall under the direct responsibility of this role.
The Lead Operations and Payroll Manager is a member of the People Services and Solutions (PS&S) team, which exists to enable business leaders to make good decisions within policy and process frameworks and to ensure that the fundamentals of people administration are delivered efficiently and effectively for all colleagues.
The role reports to the Head of People Services and Solutions.
The Role:
The purpose of the British Council’s Lead Operations and Payroll Manager is to work with HR senior leadership to design, implement and develop HR and Payroll operations to meet the strategic objectives of the People function and the developing needs of the businesses and functions it supports.
The role will make key contributions to the continuous improvement of our people policies and practices. This role therefore requires a strategic and detail-oriented professional with a strong understanding of HR processes, payroll systems, employment law and tax regulations within the UK.
The successful candidate will ensure excellence in end-to-end operation services, including operations and payroll services which have been outsourced to a professional services company and those which are delivered in-house. You will manage a team of four, responsible for delivery of people operations and payroll services and will work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and the professional services company to plan and execute HR processes and practices and to drive a culture of continuous operational improvement.
Accountabilities:
Leadership & management:
• Drive excellence in service delivery, aligning team members to new ways of working and embedding capability to improve process performance.
• Lead, manage, motivate, and engage the team. Managing capacity, promoting personal development and professional expertise to build capability and embed a culture of continuous improvement.
Relationship & stakeholder management:
• Manage relationships with senior People function and business colleagues and with the professional services external partner, influencing and providing direction to drive behavioural change and continuous process improvement.
Professional services expertise:
• Work in conjunction with People function colleagues and the professional services partner to manage and oversee all aspects of the payroll function, including payroll processing, payroll taxes, year-end tax reporting, and compliance with all regulations.
• Oversee the successful provision of all end-to-end people operations including onboarding, offboarding, employee records management, and HR systems administration.
• Actively contribute to service excellence by identifying opportunities for process and service improvement and embedding them throughout the service provision. • Ensure accurate and timely payroll and HR reports for management, as needed.
Service improvement:
• Use data analytics and people insight to identify trends, anomalies and opportunities and to propose and implement service improvements as a result.
Requirements of the role:
• Analysing data and problems (level 3). Analyses patterns: Seeks out and examines a range of information to identify patterns, trends and options, to solve multifaceted and complex problems.
• Experience in Human Resource operations and payroll in a managerial capacity.
• Strong knowledge of HRIS.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and experience with process improvement.
Closing Date: Applications will close at 23:59 on 23rd January 2025 UK Time.
Interviews will be held around the beginning of February 2025.
You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement:
The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.
We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.
Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you have any problems with your application please email askhr@britishcouncil.org.
Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.
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