All about the Role 

This is a fantastic opportunity to take on a permanent team leader role at the heart of the Council.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Payroll Team Leader to lead and shape our payroll function, ensuring accurate, timely and fully compliant payroll services for colleagues across the organisation. You will play a vital role in maintaining trust and confidence across the workforce, ensuring every employee is paid correctly and on time.

This is more than a technical payroll role. It is an opportunity to lead a valued corporate service, drive continuous improvement and influence how payroll operates as the organisation continues its improvement and transformation journey.

Key responsibilities include:
• Leading, motivating and developing a compact but high-performing payroll team
• Managing end-to-end payroll processing, including emergency manual payments and year-end returns
• Ensuring full compliance with statutory requirements, council policies and audit standards
• Resolving complex payroll queries with confidence and professionalism
• Identifying and implementing process improvements and efficiencies
• Working collaboratively with HR, Finance, Internal Audit, HMRC and pension providers
• Coaching and mentoring team members through regular one-to-ones and team meetings



All About You

You are an experienced payroll professional with strong technical expertise and a collaborative, confident leadership style.

You will ideally hold a CIPP qualification (or be working towards one), or bring equivalent experience, alongside GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Maths. Experience within local government payroll is essential.

We are looking for someone who can:
• Lead and inspire a payroll team, setting clear standards and expectations
• Confidently manage full end-to-end payroll processes
• Resolve complex payroll issues with sound, practical solutions
• Build strong working relationships with senior leaders, operational managers, HR professionals and auditors
• Demonstrate detailed knowledge of PAYE, NI, statutory payments, pensions and HMRC regulations
• Maintain exceptional attention to detail and accuracy, even under pressure
• Use Microsoft Excel and payroll systems effectively (experience with Unit4 HRP is desirable)
• Bring a proactive, flexible and customer-focused approach

Most importantly, you will take pride in delivering a service colleagues can depend on: accurate, compliant and professional.


If you are ready to take the next step in your payroll leadership career and make a lasting impact within a forward-thinking local authority, we would love to hear from you.

All about our Benefits 
We value our colleagues and have developed a number of benefits in addition to our generous annual leave starting at 25 days + bank holidays, sick pay and local government pension scheme… 

• Access to a range of benefits via our Employee Benefits Platform, including in-store and online discounts as well as our Cycle to Work and Home & Electronics schemes 
• Buy up to 10 days additional annual leave (pro-rata)  
• Access to car lease scheme 
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances 
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared Cost AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings 
• Access to development opportunities including apprenticeships to support your personal and professional growth 
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day 
• Access to our equality, diversity and inclusion network 
• Opportunities to receive Employee Recognition Awards 

All about our Commitments 
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to fostering diversity, advancing equity, and building an inclusive workplace for everyone. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and particularly encourage those from underrepresented groups, including disabled people, care leavers, and individuals from minority ethnic communities. Your unique perspectives and experiences are encouraged and valued and will play a vital role in our success. 

We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible. If you are disabled and require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please contact pccrecruitment@peterborough.gov.uk  we will work with you to meet your needs. 

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you've already applied and completed the recruitment process for this position within the last three months, there's no need to reapply. We really appreciate your interest and thank you for considering us.