Payroll Officer – Ireland

Keynsham, Bristol, England Central Functions – Finance /Chocolate Factory, Keynsham [9025] /Hybrid Payroll Officer – Ireland & UKHealthy animals and happy owners – that’s the goal.

IVC Evidensia is proud to be one of the world’s leading veterinary care providers based in 19 different countries.  IVC Evidensia has revenues of over 3.4bn and network of more than 2,500 sites, including first opinion clinics, hospitals and out-of-hour centres and a number of pet crematoria and other ancillary businesses. IVC Evidensia operates a high growth model, typically looking to acquire around 300 sites a year across all countries.  

The Payroll Officer will be responsible for the accurate, timely and compliant delivery of the internal Irish payroll using Sage Payroll, while also providing support and resilience across UK payroll activities. The role requires strong payroll knowledge, excellent data capability and a clear governance and controls mindset.

The successful candidate will ensure payroll activity is well controlled, fully evidenced and audit ready. They will work closely with HR, Finance, operational leaders and the wider payroll team to improve data quality, strengthen reconciliations and support continuous improvement through automation where practical.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities:

Payroll delivery
* Manage the end-to-end processing of the Irish payroll using Sage Payroll, ensuring all payroll cycles are completed accurately and within agreed deadlines. Support UK payroll processing where required, including employee lifecycle changes, statutory payments, deductions, payroll adjustments, year-end activity and statutory reporting.

Variable pay and payroll inputs
* Review, validate and process variable pay, including overtime, bonuses, commissions, shift premiums, on-call payments, allowances, expenses and other payroll inputs. Confirm that supporting evidence and approval records are complete before processing, and investigate unusual payments, retrospective adjustments or one-off transactions before payroll approval.

Payroll controls and validation
* Validate payroll inputs received from HR, Finance and operational teams to confirm completeness, accuracy and authorisation. Complete pre-payroll and post-payroll checks, payroll variance analysis, duplicate checks and exception reviews.
* Maintain clear evidence for all payroll transactions, adjustments and control activities in line with internal governance standards.

Reconciliations and financial control
* Perform payroll reconciliations after each payroll cycle, reconciling payroll outputs to source inputs, approval records, payroll journals and General Ledger postings. Investigate reconciliation differences and ensure timely resolution.
* Support payroll-related balance sheet reconciliations, month-end close and year-end financial reporting.

Automation and continuous improvement
* Develop and maintain practical control tools, exception reports and reconciliation routines using Excel, Power Query and available reporting solutions. Identify opportunities to reduce manual effort, improve data quality and strengthen payroll controls. Support system testing, process improvements and enhancements to payroll reporting.

Compliance and governance
* Ensure compliance with Irish payroll legislation, Revenue requirements, pension obligations and statutory reporting standards. Support UK payroll compliance with HMRC requirements where required.
* Maintain payroll records in accordance with internal policy, data protection requirements and audit evidence standards.

Stakeholder management
* Build effective relationships with employees, managers, HR, Finance and operational stakeholders across Ireland and the UK. Respond to payroll queries professionally, explain payroll outcomes clearly and work collaboratively to resolve issues at source.
* Support the Irish leadership team through regular engagement and occasional in-person meetings.

Experience/

Qualifications:

Essential:
* Irish payroll delivery Confident end-to-end payroll processing, including inputs, calculations, approvals, statutory reporting and payroll close.
* UK Payroll awareness Practical understanding…