Full job description Role/Team overview
Our HR team is all about making Sky a great place to work that’s both fair and inclusive for our people. We do OUR best to help everyone be at THEIR best. From hiring fantastic people to offering great benefits, from supporting learning and careers to making sure everyone gets paid on time – it all makes a difference. We want our people to have everything they need to design awesome products, create amazing TV, deliver the best customer service and much, much, more.

We are looking for an experienced senior professional to lead critical workforce compliance, employment tax and payroll activity across major business integration and transformation programmes. The role will support key projects, working alongside Sky’s existing Employment Tax and Payroll subject matter experts.

The successful candidate will combine strong technical judgement with practical delivery capability. They will lead complex, data-driven reviews of contractor and contingent workforce arrangements, develop process, governance and controls, and help ensure that new businesses and workforce populations can be integrated into Sky in a compliant and sustainable way.

What you’ll do :

M&A integration and due diligence
* Lead employment tax, payroll and workforce compliance workstreams supporting acquisitions, integrations, separations and other corporate change.

* Assess risks identified through due diligence and translate findings into clear integration, remediation and assurance plans.

* Develop practical and scalable approaches for bringing acquired businesses into Sky governance frameworks, controls and operating processes.

* Partner with Legal, Finance, People, Payroll, Procurement and external advisers to manage dependencies, decisions and risk mitigation.

* Provide clear, evidence-based recommendations to programme leaders and senior governance forums.



Worker population, data and payment analysis
* Establish complete and accurate populations across employee and non-employee worker categories, including self-employed workers, PSC directors, freelancers, agency workers and Statement of Work arrangements.

* Lead data gathering and reconciliation across Workday, Accounts Payable, payroll, procurement, contract records and other relevant systems.

* Build a reliable view of worker identity, engagement route, payment history, contractual basis and hiring manager ownership.

* Undertake payment profiling, ranking and risk segmentation to support targeted sampling and further review.

* Validate data completeness and accuracy, identify discrepancies and maintain a clear audit trail of sources, assumptions and decisions.

* Escalate promptly any previously unidentified populations or gross payments operating outside expected processes.



Contractor and off-payroll compliance reviews
* Lead reviews of engagement and onboarding arrangements for off payroll workers, including freelancers, self-employed individuals, PSCs, agency workers and Statement of Work suppliers.

* Design proportionate, risk-based sampling approaches, including selection of higher-value or otherwise higher-risk engagements.

* Coordinate the collection and review of contracts and supporting evidence to confirm alignment with the basis on which workers are engaged and paid.

* Work with technical specialists to assess compliance with employment status, off-payroll working and relevant HMRC requirements.

* Bring practical understanding of TV, production or media workforce models, or quickly develop this sector knowledge.



Employment tax and payroll governance
* Review and strengthen governance and controls across key employment tax and payroll risks, including PAYE and NIC, PSA and P11D reporting, travel and expenses, share schemes and payroll controls.

* Identify process gaps and design sustainable policies, control frameworks, roles and responsibilities, approval routes and monitoring arrangements.

* Ensure integration plans consider data, systems, process, ownership, documentation and ongoing assurance requirements.

* Support internal audit, external audit and HMRC enquiries where required.



Essential Criteria :
* Significant experience in workforce compliance, employment tax, payroll compliance, internal audit, risk and controls, workforce advisory or a closely related field.

* Experience gained in a large in-house function, professional services firm or specialist consultancy.

* Strong understanding of contingent workforce and worker engagement models, with sufficient employment tax and payroll knowledge to identify risks and work effectively with technical specialists.

* Proven experience leading complex, data-driven compliance, governance or transformation reviews.

* Strong data analysis and reconciliation capability, with confidence working across fragmented HR, finance, payroll, procurement and contract data.

* Ability to design and execute risk-based sampling, evidence gathering, controls testing and remediation activity.

* Excellent project management, stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.

* Ability to operate independently, structure ambiguous problems and deliver at pace with a high degree of technical credibility and practical judgement.

* Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain complex issues simply and make actions and decisions explicit.



Desirable skills and experience:
* Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, carve-outs, separations or business integrations.

* Workday experience and familiarity with Accounts Payable, procurement, payroll or contingent workforce systems.

* Experience of UK off-payroll working, employment status, PAYE and NIC, PSA/P11D, travel and expenses or share scheme compliance.

* Experience in media, broadcasting, production, entertainment or another sector with significant freelance and project-based populations.

* Experience supporting HMRC reviews or other regulatory enquiries.

A relevant professional qualific