UK Payroll Senior

Location: Cape Town (Remote) | UK Payroll Expertise | Team Leadership | Employment Type: Full-Time

GCO Partners connects high-calibre South African professionals with leading accounting firms across the UK. We are partnering with an established UK accountancy practice to build a dedicated payroll team in Cape Town, and we're looking for an experienced UK Payroll Team Lead to lead the team and oversee payroll delivery across a portfolio of UK clients.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a growing payroll function, work closely with UK-based payroll leadership, and help establish the processes and standards needed to deliver accurate, compliant and timely payroll services.

If you're an experienced UK payroll professional who enjoys leading people, solving technical challenges and building efficient processes, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Why This Role Matters

You will act as a key link between the Cape Town payroll team and the UK practice, ensuring that multiple client payrolls are processed accurately and on time. Beyond overseeing day-to-day delivery, you'll review complex payroll calculations, support your team's development, and establish effective controls and processes as the function grows.

This is not a payroll data-capturing role. It requires someone with strong technical UK payroll knowledge, the confidence to review others' work, and the ability to identify potential issues before they affect clients or deadlines.

You'll need to be available during agreed UK business hours and around key payroll deadlines.

What's In It for You

• The opportunity to lead and develop a new UK payroll team in Cape Town
• Direct collaboration with UK-based payroll leadership and client teams
• Ownership of payroll quality, review processes and operational standards
• The opportunity to improve systems and processes as the team grows
• Exposure to a diverse portfolio of UK clients and payroll requirements
• The chance to make a meaningful contribution to an expanding international payroll function

What We're Looking For

• At least 5 years of recent UK payroll experience
• At least 2 years of experience supervising, reviewing or leading a payroll team
• Experience within an accountancy practice, payroll bureau or outsourced payroll environment
• Strong experience managing multiple UK client payrolls with varying frequencies and deadlines
• In-depth knowledge of PAYE, National Insurance and Real Time Information (RTI) submissions
• Practical experience with statutory payments, including Statutory Sick Pay and statutory family leave payments
• Experience with workplace pensions, auto-enrolment and contribution submissions
• Experience with UK payroll platforms such as Sage 50 Payroll, BrightPay, IRIS Payroll or Xero Payroll
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for payroll reviews, reconciliations and reporting
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage workloads across competing deadlines
• Availability during agreed UK business hours and around key payroll deadlines

A CIPP qualification or an IPM Payroll & Tax Practitioner qualification would be advantageous. Experience with Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) payrolls, P11D reporting, benefits in kind, and UK owner-managed businesses or SMEs would also be beneficial.

Who Thrives in This Role

Candidates who are:

• Confident leaders who enjoy coaching, supporting and developing others
• Technically strong and comfortable taking ownership of complex payroll matters
• Highly organised and able to manage workloads across multiple clients
• Proactive in identifying risks and resolving issues before deadlines
• Comfortable building processes, setting standards and improving team performance
• Clear communicators who can work effectively with UK-based stakeholders
• Trustworthy, detail-oriented and committed to confidentiality and accuracy

Why GCO Partners

GCO Partners connects talented South African and African professionals with meaningful international work, without requiring relocation. We partner with high-performing client teams to create opportunities built on trust, accountability and professional growth.

You'll be supported by our engagement and people teams throughout the process, as part of a growing community of professionals working with global clients.