Payroll Manager

Are you ready to play a vital role in the effective end-to-end delivery, control and continuous improvement of high-volume payroll services in one of the most trusted UK providers of payroll services? This role will initially be on a 12 month contract basis, well suited to a senior payroll professional who can take ownership in the role from day one.

The Payroll Manager is responsible for the effective end-to-end delivery, control and continuous improvement of high-volume payroll services for a major clients, including two monthly payrolls for over 25,000 employees and a weekly payroll for over 700 employees. A key focus of the role is to provide strong leadership, direction and accountability across payroll operations, ensuring Team Leaders and payroll colleagues understand priorities, deadlines, quality expectations, controls and escalation requirements.

Salary and Benefits :
Competitive salary DOE Generous holiday entitlement Flexible working arrangements Hybrid working Initial 12 month Fixed-Term Contract

About you:

Essential:
Strong practical payroll knowledge gained through significant payroll leadership or senior payroll specialist experience. Evidence of continued professional development in payroll, people management, service delivery, compliance or systems/change activity. Significant experience managing or leading high-volume payroll operations within a complex service delivery environment. Strong understanding of payroll processing, controls, reconciliations, statutory requirements, audit evidence and payroll governance. Experience leading Team Leaders, payroll specialists or operational teams, including managing performance, priorities and service standards.

Strong understanding of payroll systems, data flows, interfaces, reporting, payment files and process controls. Desirable:
Recognised payroll qualification or professional membership, such as CIPP or equivalent relevant experience. Leadership, management, project/change management or systems implementation training. Experience supporting payroll transformation, system implementation, configuration, testing, parallel runs, cutover, go-live or hypercare activity. Experience working with public sector payrolls or large-scale outsourced/shared services environments.

Experience of using Oracle payroll systems, preferably Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM Payroll, including payroll processing, payroll validation/reconciliation, reporting and working with integrated HR/payroll data. What you'll do:
Lead, plan and oversee the successful delivery of weekly and monthly payroll cycles, ensuring payroll activities are completed accurately, on time and in line with agreed SLA/KPI requirements. Work collaboratively with other Payroll Managers to ensure consistent decision-making, workload planning, escalation handling and service delivery across the payroll function. Provide clear direction to Payroll Team Leaders and payroll colleagues on priorities, deadlines, quality standards, payroll controls and service expectations.

Line manage Payroll Team Leaders where applicable, setting clear expectations for delivery, quality, behaviour, attendance, conduct and performance. Hold regular 1:1s, performance discussions and review meetings to monitor progress, address issues and support development. Oversee the end-to-end technical execution of payroll processing, including input validation, calculation checks, exception handling, reconciliations, approvals, finalisation and post-payroll activity. Review payroll reports and outputs before sign-off, including variance checks, control totals, net pay movements, exception reports and unusual results.

Support the resolution of complex payroll cases, including arrears, over payments, deductions, pension-related items, statutory payments, taxable benefits and tax-related queries. Embed robust payroll controls across the payroll lifecycle, including input validation, approvals, segregation of duties, audit trails, reconciliations and sign-off evidence. Identify payroll risks early, assess potential impact, implement mitigating actions and escalate material issues through appropriate governance routes. Act as a payroll subject matter expert for payroll system processing, data flows, interfaces, pay elements, deductions, pension indicators, costing outputs and payment files.

Support data migration and data validation activity, including checking payroll master data, pay elements, deductions, pension indicators, year-to-date balances, costing structures and other payroll-critical data. For further information on this job, apply via the link or contact Jamie Gault for a confidential chat today. Follow VANRATH on Linked In for expert career advice, the latest jobs, industry news and much more IND
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Skills:

Payroll Manager Payroll finance Benefits:
Work From Home