Payroll Director

About us

At Inizio, we're a global team driven by a shared purpose: to reimagine health. Formed in 2022 through the coming together of Ashfield and Huntsworth, we unite decades of experience with cutting-edge capabilities to deliver impactful solutions across the commercialization journey - from discovery to post-launch. Our global network of over 10,000 experts operates across 50 countries, supporting clients with strategic insight, medical excellence, creative engagement, and real-world delivery. We work with the world's leading health and life sciences businesses to solve complex challenges and drive meaningful outcomes for our clients and patients.

What sets Inizio apart is our people - and we believe everyone should have the opportunity to thrive. Here, you're encouraged to reimagine your possibilities: to grow, to be curious and to make real change happen. It's a place where your individuality is valued, your development is supported, and your ambition is celebrated. If you're ready to push boundaries and accelerate your career, Inizio is the best place to be.

About the role

We are seeking a commercially astute and strategically minded Director, Payroll – International Markets to play a pivotal leadership role within our Global Finance Services function. This is an opportunity to shape and strengthen a multi-country payroll operation within a growing, global organisation, ensuring governance maturity, operational excellence and scalable infrastructure to support continued expansion.

As a key member of the global payroll leadership team, you will influence operating model evolution, drive control and compliance excellence, and partner closely with senior Finance and People leaders to ensure payroll delivery supports broader organisational objectives. This role offers high visibility, strategic impact and the opportunity to build a resilient and future-ready payroll function across international markets.

You will be a senior leader within our Global Finance Services function, accountable for the strategic and operational delivery of payroll across the UK, Ireland and additional international markets (including Greece, France and the Philippines), with scope to expand in line with the evolving global payroll model.

You will provide Director-level oversight of payroll governance, risk management, service excellence and transformation across assigned jurisdictions. Leading both internal payroll teams and external payroll providers, you will ensure compliant, scalable and acquisition-ready payroll infrastructure while acting as a trusted advisor to Finance and People leadership.

Operating within the global payroll governance framework, you will have full accountability for performance and control across assigned markets, with enterprise-wide functional oversight retained by the Head of Global Payroll.

This is a hybrid role based out of our Manchester office, and reports to our Head of Global Payroll.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Operating Model

• Lead execution of the global payroll strategy across assigned jurisdictions.

• Contribute to the design and evolution of the global payroll operating model, including insource/outsource alignment and cross-regional coverage.

• Drive standardisation and harmonisation of payroll processes while respecting local regulatory requirements.

• Provide strategic insight to senior stakeholders on payroll risk, compliance exposure and optimisation opportunities.

• Ensure payroll infrastructure supports organisational growth, acquisitions and geographic expansion.

Payroll Operations & Service Delivery

• Hold full accountability for accurate, compliant and timely payroll delivery across assigned markets.

• Lead, develop and performance-manage an internal payroll team, fostering succession capability and high service standards.

• Oversee third-party payroll providers, ensuring contractual compliance, service quality, KPI performance and continuous improvement.

• Establish and govern SLAs, performance dashboards and vendor review forums.

• Own escalation management and resolution of complex payroll matters impacting employees or senior stakeholders.

Compliance, Risk & External Governance

• Act as senior liaison with HMRC, Revenue Commissioners and relevant tax authorities across jurisdictions.

• Ensure full compliance with employment tax, statutory reporting, PAYE/NIC, PSA, P11D and equivalent international obligations.

• Lead payroll-related audits, regulatory enquiries and compliance reviews.

• Anticipate legislative changes and implement proactive policy and process enhancements.

• Embed and strengthen payroll governance frameworks, ensuring SOX-compliant and audit-ready controls (where applicable).

• Maintain robust disaster recovery and business continuity planning across markets.

Pension Governance & Compliance

• Provide executive-level oversight of pension governance from a payroll operational perspective across jurisdictions.

• Ensure compliant execution of auto-enrolment requirements, eligibility assessment and contribution accuracy.

• Maintain strong controls over pensionable pay calculations, provider submissions and monthly reconciliations.

• Partner with Total Rewards on scheme design changes, ensuring payroll operational readiness and risk mitigation.

• Provide assurance to Finance leadership on pension-related financial accuracy, regulatory adherence and control effectiveness.

Business Partnership & Reward Alignment

• Partner with People Services to establish strong upstream data governance and accountability frameworks.

• Collaborate with Total Rewards to operationalise pensions, benefits, executive share plans and bonus schemes.

• Provide payroll expertise to support remuneration governance and reward strategy implementation.

• Build strong relationships with senior Finance and People stakeholders to ensure payroll alignment with broader organisational objectives.

Transformation & Continuous Improvement

• Lead payroll transformation initiatives, including system optimisation, automation and process re-engineering.

• Evaluate and enhance vendor technology capabilities to improve efficiency, control and scalability.

• Drive continuous improvement programmes across both internal and outsourced delivery models.

• Develop and monitor payroll KPIs to inform performance management and strategic decision-making.

About you

• CIPP qualified (full, fellow or chartered membership required).

• Significant multi-country payroll leadership experience within complex, international environments.

• Demonstrated experience managing both internal payroll teams and external payroll providers.

• Strong technical expertise in employment tax, payroll compliance and reward governance.

• Experience overseeing pensions, employee benefits, PSA and executive share plans.

• Proven ability to operate within a controlled financial environment (US GAAP/Local GAAP preferred).

• Demonstrated experience leading payroll transformation and operating model evolution.

• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to influence senior stakeholders globally.

• A strategic mindset combined with operational depth, analytical rigour and high attention to detail.

Our Pledge

At Inizio, we value inclusivity, recognise the power of diversity and inspire the next generation of change-makers. We are an equal opportunities employer. We believe in creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion. We aim to recruit from a diverse slate of candidates and foster an environment that provides the right conditions for long-term success. We welcome all applications regardless of race, color, religion or belief, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, marital status, military veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation and physical or mental disability.

Artificial Intelligence

Inizio may use AI technologies to support certain aspects of our recruitment process, but all hiring decisions at Inizio are made by our human recruiting team. We are committed to fair, inclusive, and human-led hiring practices.

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Don't meet every job requirement? That's okay! Our company is dedicated to building an inclusive and authentic workplace. If you're excited about this role, but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others.