Head of HR Applications Support

Associate Director – Head of HR Applications Support

Job Summary

You will lead the service, support, governance and continuous improvement of Mace’s HR applications portfolio, including Oracle Fusion HCM, Zellis ResourceLink, Benify and related integrations. Sitting at the intersection of People, Payroll, Finance, IT and external vendors, you will ensure the HR systems landscape is stable, compliant, secure, well controlled and capable of giving the business reliable, timely people data. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can combine strong IT service management disciplines with practical HR systems knowledge, stakeholder partnership and a clear focus on business outcomes.

You’ll be responsible for:

· Act as the senior application owner for the HR applications portfolio, ensuring systems are configured, supported and governed in line with business needs, audit requirements and enterprise IT standards.

· Lead service delivery across HR applications and integrations, defining, monitoring and improving service KPIs, support processes, incident resolution, problem management and escalation routes.

· Partner with stakeholders across People, Payroll, Finance, IT Security, Enterprise Architecture, Digital PMO, business operations and third-party delivery partners to prioritise demand, shape roadmaps and deliver controlled improvements across the application estate.

· Own the change roadmap for HR applications, including release management, configuration changes, regression testing, UAT, stakeholder communications and transition into support.

· Ensure HR data integrity by promoting strong data ownership, regular audits, issue resolution and clear processes that maintain trusted employee data across systems.

· Oversee interfaces and integrations between HR systems and related platforms, including payroll, finance, benefits, recruitment and reporting solutions.

· Drive automation and process improvement, reducing manual effort and improving consistency, user experience and operational control.

· Maintain strong vendor relationships, leading service reviews, managing performance, tracking actions and holding suppliers to account for delivery and continuous improvement.

· Lead compliance activity across the HR applications estate, supporting ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, finance audit, internal controls, access reviews and wider risk management requirements.

· In partnership with relevant stakeholders, ensure system configuration and data handling comply with UK GDPR, including appropriate access controls, retention rules, security posture, employee data handling standards and data subject request support.

· Ensure documentation, knowledge articles, support guides, process maps and reference materials are maintained and accessible for support teams and business users.

· Support delivery of HR technology projects, module rollouts, system upgrades, integration changes and business transformation initiatives, ensuring appropriate governance and transition processes are followed.

· Provide leadership and direction through internal colleagues, delivery partners and/or managers, creating clarity on priorities, standards and accountabilities.

You’ll need to have:

· Strong application support and IT Service Management background, ideally with ITIL or equivalent practical service management experience.

· Hands-on experience supporting and improving enterprise HR, payroll or people systems, ideally including Oracle Fusion HCM, Zellis ResourceLink, Benify or comparable SaaS applications.

· Good understanding of HR processes, payroll interfaces, employee data structures, access controls and the operational impact of system configuration decisions.

· Experience managing releases, upgrades, testing cycles, change control and transition into live support environments.

· Working knowledge of integrations across multiple systems, including APIs, file feeds and functional process dependencies.

· Proven ability to manage vendors and third-party delivery partners, including service performance, risks, issues, delivery plans and improvement activity across a complex application landscape.

· Strong analytical capability, with confidence using data, reporting and insight to identify issues, inform decisions and improve service outcomes.

· Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical teams, functional HR stakeholders and senior leaders.

· Sound understanding of governance, audit, data protection and security principles as they apply to HR systems and employee data.

· Methodical, detail-focused and comfortable working independently while leading others through ambiguity and competing priorities.

· Positive, collaborative and outcome-focused, with the ability to challenge constructively and drive continuous improvement.

Mace is an inclusive employer and welcomes interest from a diverse range of candidates. Even if you feel you do not fulfil all of the criteria, please apply as you may still be the best candidate for this role or another role within our organisation.