Payroll Implementation Manager

3 billion people across the world work in frontline jobs. Yet, despite rising costs and staff shortages, frontline organisations are still left to choose between paper, Excel, and WhatsApp, or decade-old workforce management solutions to take care of the most important part of their businesses - their people. Enter Sona: the next generation of AI-native, frontline workforce management. We’ve built an end-to-end platform covering Scheduling, HR, Payroll, and Communications that gives the largest frontline organisations everything they need to staff more intelligently and empower their teams. In under 5 years, we've already made a deep impact on the lives of over 100k frontline workers and the operation of their organisations, grown the team to 160+, and secured over $100M in funding from notable VC's, including our Series B led by N47 alongside Felicis, Northzone, and Gradient Ventures (Google). It’s a hugely exciting time to be joining the team as we’re still small enough that you’ll have a significant impact on the company’s growth trajectory and culture, yet large enough to have a great structure, experienced leaders and world-class benefits in place. About the Role As a Payroll Implementation Manager at Sona, you'll take end-to-end ownership of onboarding customers onto our payroll platform, from initial discovery and system configuration through to parallel runs, training, and go-live. You'll work hands-on with the software itself, not just alongside it, partnering closely with the wider implementation team, product engineers, and payroll bureau colleagues to get every customer live cleanly. Attention to detail and end-to-end ownership matter more here than in most roles, and you'll need to be comfortable double-checking your own work and speaking up early when something doesn't look right. This role sits within a growing customer function that's still finding its shape. You'll have direct influence over how Sona's payroll implementation process and product evolve, with a level of access to the product team that's unusual for an implementer. It's a startup pace: no bureaucracy, high-caliber colleagues, and fast-moving development, so you'll need to be comfortable operating without everything being fully defined. Responsibilities - Own end-to-end payroll implementations: discovery, system configuration, parallel runs, training, and go-live - Configure and troubleshoot UK payroll setups, including GL and pensions configuration and RTI processing - Identify opportunities for process improvement and take ownership of seeing them through - Partner with Project Managers and Solutions Architects to support the wider implementation journey - Provide ad hoc on-site customer support for training and launch, alongside remote delivery - Use AI tools confidently in your day to day work, from reconciliation to communication Requirements - Proven, hands-on experience implementing UK payroll systems end-to-end, not just coordinating others who do - Deep working knowledge of UK payroll legislation and processing - Genuinely curious, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity - things won't always be fully defined - High attention to detail and a strong sense of accountability - Comfortable using AI in everyday tools like spreadsheets, communications, and reconciliation - Bonus: CIPP (or equivalent) qualification, or working towards one Benefits - Salary: £50,000 - £60,000 - London, hybrid - 2 days a week in the office, with occasional travel to customer sites for training and launch support - Share options - 35 days annual leave (25 days standard plus 10 flexible public holiday days) - Extra day of leave for every year of service - Pension contributions matched up to 5% - Comprehensive health insurance - Enhanced parental leave & pay - Workplace nursery salary sacrifice scheme - Annual all expenses paid team retreats - The latest Macbook and equipment budget for your home office - Professional development budget - Unlimited free books Note…