Interim Payroll Manager

Cedar; Telford; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Cedar is seeking an experienced Payroll Manager for an initial 3‑month contract to oversee the UK payroll for circa 900 employees, working with an external provider to ensure timely, accurate payroll delivery.

You will be the main liaison between the organisation, People Operations, Finance and staff, owning payroll governance, resolving escalations and driving improvements in controls and efficiency. This urgent requirement starts at short notice.

Qualifications

• Experience as Payroll Manager, Payroll Specialist or senior payroll role.
• Strong UK payroll experience for ~900 employees.
• Experience with outsourced payroll provider.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and statutory payments.
• Payroll reconciliation, validation and reporting experience.
• Excellent Excel skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to handle confidential information and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly UK payroll process for ~900 employees.
• Manage day-to-day relationship with outsourced payroll provider and SLAs.
• Ensure accurate submission of payroll inputs (starters, leavers, changes).
• Review outputs including gross-to-net, deductions, pension and exceptions.
• Complete reconciliations, reporting, journals and audit evidence.
• Ensure compliance with UK legislation, PAYE, NI and pensions.
• Escalate and resolve payroll queries with stakeholders.
• Maintain payroll governance and drive process improvements.
• Identify opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Skills

UK payroll

Outsourced payroll management

Stakeholder management

Excel

HRIS systems

Attention to detail

Payroll reconciliation

Education

CIPP qualification or equivalent

Tools

Excel

HRIS

Job description

We are currently supporting a leading organisation with the appointment of an experienced Payroll Manager on an initial 3-month contract.

This is a hands-on payroll role with responsibility for overseeing the end-to-end UK payroll process for approximately 900 employees, working closely with an external payroll provider to ensure payroll is delivered accurately, compliantly and on time each month.

You will act as the key point of contact between the organisation, its outsourced payroll provider, People Operations, Finance and employees, taking ownership of the payroll process and ensuring robust controls are in place throughout each payroll cycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the monthly UK payroll process for approximately 900 employees.
• Manage the day-to-day relationship with the outsourced payroll provider, ensuring deadlines, SLAs and issues are effectively managed.
• Ensure accurate and timely submission of all payroll inputs, including starters, leavers, contractual changes, absence and variable pay.
• Review and validate payroll outputs, including gross-to-net calculations, statutory deductions, pension contributions and payroll exceptions.
• Complete payroll reconciliations, reporting, journals and supporting audit evidence.
• Ensure payroll activity complies with UK legislation, HMRC requirements, PAYE, National Insurance and workplace pension obligations.
• Act as a point of escalation for payroll queries and resolve issues with internal stakeholders and the external provider.
• Work closely with People Operations and Finance to maintain strong payroll governance and controls.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, controls, accuracy and efficiency.

You will ideally have:

• Previous experience in a Payroll Manager, Payroll Specialist or senior payroll position.
• Strong experience managing UK payroll, ideally for a similar-sized employee population.
• Experience working with an outsourced payroll provider.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and statutory payments.
• Experience with payroll reconciliation, validation and reporting.
• Strong Excel skills and excellent attention to detail.
• The ability to manage confidential and sensitive employee information.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working with HRIS and payroll systems.
• CIPP qualification or equivalent would be desirable.

Important

This is an urgent requirement, so candidates with a one-month notice period are unlikely to be suitable. We are looking for someone who can start at short notice and immediately take ownership of the payroll process.