Head of Payroll & People Operations

Overview of Responsibilities

About us  

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.  

About the job

As Head of Payroll & People Operations, you’ll lead the delivery of an accurate, efficient and customer-focused payroll and people operations service for UKAEA and UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKFE). You’ll play a key role in shaping how people services are delivered, driving continuous improvement across systems, processes and service delivery while ensuring compliance with legislation and organisational policies. As a member of the People & Culture Management Team, you’ll help shape the strategic direction of the function and contribute to the delivery of UKAEA’s mission.

What You’ll be Doing

• Lead the delivery of accurate, compliant monthly payroll services for UKAEA and UKFE
• Manage the outsourced payroll contract, monitoring supplier performance, service quality, costs and value for money.
• Develop and continuously improve payroll and people operations services, systems and processes, including self-service, automation and AI opportunities.
• Set, monitor and improve service level agreements for people operations services, ensuring a high-quality customer experience.
• Provide expert advice on payroll and people operations, ensuring compliance with employment legislation, financial regulations and data protection requirements.
• Lead payroll and people operations projects, supporting wider organisational transformation and system change initiatives.
• Use payroll and people data to generate insights that support strategic decision-making and service improvement.
• Manage risk, audits, budgets and governance activities relating to payroll and people operations.
• Lead, develop and coach the Payroll & People Operations team, building capability, resilience and high performance.
• Represent the function across UKAEA, contributing to senior forums, committees and cross-functional initiatives.

What You’ll Bring

• Significant experience managing payroll services, including strong knowledge of payroll legislation, tax and National Insurance requirements.
• Significant experience leading People Operations and HR Information Systems within a complex organisation.
• CIPD Level 7 qualification, or equivalent significant HR knowledge and experience.
• Strong understanding of employment legislation, governance and compliance requirements.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, managing outsourced service providers and delivering continuous service improvement.
• Commercial and financial management experience, including budget management, forecasting and business case development.

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

Benefits 

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here) and highlights include:   

• A salary of £64115 
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus 
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution  
• 25 days annual leave, 2.5 privilege days and 8 Bank Holidays   
• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break  
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions  

Our commitment to ED&I 

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. 

Please email talent@ukaea.uk if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates. 

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.