UK People Support Team Lead

UK People Support Team Lead

Contract: Permanent, Full-time, 35 hours per week

Salary:  £57,415 - £60,436 per annum with excellent benefits

Location: London, UK.

UK hybrid working – at least 40 % of working time is spent face-to-face (London office, external meetings or travel).

The 40% equates to 2 days per week for a full-time employee, one of those days must be a Thursday when the entire UK People Team are office based.

Change starts with water. Change starts with you.

Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.

About WaterAid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The UK People Team play a critical role in helping WaterAid realise its goals. We lead on the development, deployment and application of strategies, policies and guidance that ensure that WaterAiders are aligned and engaged, and that they have the skills and opportunities to maximise the impact they can make to our mission.  A small, impactful team, at the forefront of our delivery is the service we give to the organisation and central to that is our employee experience to support WaterAiders and the maintenance of a high-performing environment. 

About the role

A key leadership position in the UK, responsible for leading a dynamic and talented team who delivers the highest standards of operational support to WaterAiders in country. The role will need to plan, prioritise, and deliver to a high standard what we promise in order to deliver our ambitious mission.

Responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of UK payroll, pension, and the annual reward process. You will support and coach your team for the development, review and application of UK policies and procedures and be a key stakeholder to our people system Administrator.

You will be working in a matrix environment across the UK People Team and the wider People and Organisational Development function.

In this role, you will:

Team Leadership

• Manage, coach and build the capabilities of the People Support Team, their performance and development in line with our values and people promise.
• Expertise and ownership of UK People Team policies, processes and procedures, ensuring that they meet legislative requirements, are fit for purpose and in line with best practice and organisational priorities under the umbrella of our employee value proposition.
• Lead the delivery of the programme of work so that service standards at met, solutions are pragmatic and driven by our values, minimising risk.

Payroll, Pension and Reward

• Accountable for the delivery of the UK monthly payroll and pension processes, providing oversight and support to the work of the in-house Payroll Officer and being a back-up to their role, to ensure payroll is run accurately each month.
• Implement the annual pay award operationally ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timeliness of payment to all UK based staff.
• Implementation of a new payroll system for the UK.

Systems and Reporting

• Primary super user in the UK of HR Information System, PeoplePlace, ensuring effective and efficient use of the system. Responsible that the country's employee data is correct and in compliance with data protection.
• Drive the importance of data and people analytics and create a culture of data-based decision-making and insight across the team.
• Ownership of maintaining the monthly UK headcount establishment data with key stakeholders in Finance.
• Annual analysis and statutory reporting of the Pay Gap in the UK.

Compliance and Contract Management

• Act as the UK Team specialist on areas of HR compliance, working with 3rd parties and specialist advisors, to ensure that our policies, processes and practices are compliant and meet legal requirements.
• Responsible for data protection in the People Team, provide senior expertise and build capability across the wider people function.

Other

• Ownership of salary calculations in the event of employee termination and/or redundancy.
• Monthly payroll and pension sign off.
• Budget management and invoice approval.

Requirements

To be successful, you will need:

Functional skills

• Proven experience in leading, managing and developing a high-performing people operations team in a matrix, fast-paced organisation.
• Proven experience in managing and running in-house payroll for at least 250 staff or more.
• Excellent understanding of HR policy development; and proven experience in developing and embedding HR policies, processes and procedures that are fit for purpose.
• A qualified and robust HR Practitioner who has sound and up-to-date knowledge of employment law, tax and legislative requirements affecting a wide spectrum of HR policies and practice, i.e. payroll, pension, reward and benefits, together with their application in the context of the employee experience.
• Working knowledge and experience of HR and Payroll systems, to maximise the functionality and create efficiencies.
• Demonstrate project management capability.
• Proven experience in contract management and managing a wide range of third-party service providers.

Personal qualities

• A self-starter who is focused on delivery and execution: proactive in bringing solutions and recommendations to resolve problems and continuously improve HR practices.
• Able to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity: comfortable working at pace. Resilient and able to work under pressure.

Desirable capabilities

• Degree-level education or equivalent.
• Associate (or higher) membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or equivalent work experience.
• An interest in and/or knowledge of development issues and the work of INGOs.

Closing date: Applications close 12:00 PM UK time on 28 October 2025. Availability for the First interview (online) is required for 10 November 2025, and the second interviews will take place in person at Canary Wharf on 19 November 2025.

How to apply: Click Apply to upload your CV and a short one-pager Cover letter.

Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in my application?

At WaterAid, we strongly advise against using AI technology at any stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that provides every applicant with an equal opportunity to succeed. We value hearing about your unique experiences and perspectives in your application, and, if shortlisted, during the interview as well.

Pre‑employment screening

To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre-employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy. All UK based roles require a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Benefits

• 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays) - Please refer to the note below for clarification
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10 %
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

As part of our annual leave policy, all employees receive three additional days of annual leave on top of their standard allocation of X days. These days are designated to cover the period when our UK office closes between Christmas and New Year, allowing all UK WaterAiders to take a well-deserved break.

These days are automatically scheduled and cannot be changed or moved. Annual leave is accrued based on your start date. If sufficient leave has not been accrued by the time of the closure, the 3 days will be taken as unpaid leave or pro-rated, depending on your circumstances.

Our Global Commitment:

Our people promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change !