Payroll Controls & Compliance Associate Director
Permanent / Monday – Friday
Manchester / Stockport with Hybrid working with UK-wide travel
Up to £60,000 with benefits  

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Controls & Compliance professional to join a well-established national professional services organisation in a strategic leadership capacity.

This role would suit someone with a strong background in controls, governance, compliance, risk management, or operational process improvement.

Whilst payroll exposure would be advantageous, it is not essential — the key requirement is experience in implementing and managing robust controls and compliance frameworks within a complex operational environment.
Key Responsibilities

Working closely with senior leadership teams, you will play a key role in supporting and strengthening controls, compliance, and risk management processes across a large national function.

You will be responsible for reviewing procedures, identifying areas for improvement, mitigating operational risk, and ensuring best practice is consistently maintained across teams.

Duties will include:

• Supporting the development and maintenance of controls and compliance procedures
• Reviewing operational processes and recommending improvements
• Identifying and mitigating risk across service delivery functions
• Managing legislative and procedural updates
• Investigating incidents, identifying root causes, and implementing corrective actions
• Monitoring compliance and identifying areas of non-compliance
• Supporting wider risk and control management strategies
• Working collaboratively with stakeholders across multiple teams and locations
• Line management responsibility for members of the compliance function

Desired skills and experience

We are keen to speak with candidates who have experience within controls, compliance, governance, audit, operational risk, or process improvement environments.

You will ideally possess:

• Strong controls and compliance experience
• Experience implementing processes to mitigate operational risk
• Ability to identify weaknesses and recommend practical improvements
• Experience investigating incidents and implementing corrective actions
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability
• Previous leadership or management experience

Payroll experience is not essential for this role, candidates must be comfortable working within a regulated, process-driven environment.

In return

• Senior strategic opportunity within a global organisation
• Hybrid and flexible working
• Excellent career progression opportunities
• Supportive and collaborative environment
• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Excellent holiday package and opportunity to buy and sell holidays
• Life insurance 4 x salary

This is a fantastic opportunity for a controls and compliance professional looking to step into a highly visible role where they can genuinely add value and influence operational excellence across the wider business.

If you are ready to take the next step in your career, we would love to hear from you. Please apply now or contact Jo Thompson – for more information. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions about the role or the recruitment process.

Xpert Recruitment Ltd is acting as an employment agency on behalf of our client. By applying, you agree to register with us and consent to us holding your personal details on file. Due to the high volume of applications, we will only contact candidates who have been shortlisted for the role. However, we may also reach out regarding other suitable vacancies that match your profile.