Payroll Manager

Johnston Carmichael; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnston Carmichael is seeking a Payroll Manager to lead our payroll service delivery for a diverse client portfolio. This role will shape the future of our payroll offering, ensure accuracy, timeliness, and compliance, and drive continuous improvement.

Based in Edinburgh or Glasgow, the role emphasises leading a team, maintaining governance standards, and building strong client relationships. A hybrid/flexible working approach is offered with a focus on quality and professional excellence.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of managing and developing teams.
• Strong subject matter expertise in UK payroll legislation and compliance.
• Excellent communication skills with clients and stakeholders at all levels.
• Confident in overseeing team workflow to meet deadlines.
• Skilled in supporting effective dispute resolution.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• CIPP qualification (or working towards) desirable but not essential.
• Experience with IRIS Payroll Professional/Pay Circle payroll software advantageous but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop the payroll team, including performance management and mentoring.
• Build a high-performance culture focused on quality and professionalism.
• Stay up to date with payroll legislation and industry trends for best-in-class service.
• Contribute to strategic growth opportunities with clients and payroll offerings.
• Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and workflow.
• Conduct regular quality reviews to meet governance standards.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships and lead service meetings.

Skills

Team leadership

UK payroll legislation

Client relationships

Workflow management

Dispute resolution

Attention to detail

CIPP (desirable)

IRIS Payroll/Pay Circle

Tools

IRIS Payroll Professional

PayCircle Payroll

Job description

As a Payroll Manager, you will be a key member of our Management team, leading our payroll service delivery function to ensure accurate, timely and fully compliant payroll services for a broad and diverse client portfolio. You will play a central role in driving quality, enhancing efficiency, and shaping the future of our payroll offering.

Location: Edinburgh orGlasgow.

Your responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, and develop the payroll team, including performance management and mentoring to support continuous growth
• Build a high-performance culture focused on quality, accountability, and professional excellence
• Stay up to date with payroll and taxation legislation and emerging industry trends to ensure best-in-class service delivery
• Contribute to strategic growth opportunities with both new and existing clients, helping shape the evolving direction of our payroll service
• Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and workflow within the payroll delivery process
• Conduct regular quality reviews to ensure governance standards are consistently met and exceeded
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, offering proactive insights and leading regular service meetings to collaborate, resolve issues, and celebrate success

Skills & Experience:

• Proven track record of managing and developing teams
• Strong subject matter expertise in UK payroll legislation and compliance
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with clients and key stakeholders at all levels
• Confident in overseeing team workflow to ensure strict deadlines are met
• Skilled in supporting effective dispute resolution
• Highly organised, with excellent attention to detail
• CIPP qualification (or working towards) desirable but not essential
• A leader of your work and your professional learning
• Relevant experience in this or a similar role is preferred
• Previousexperience of working with IRIS Payroll Professional/Pay Circlepayroll software would beadvantageous,although not essential

Why JC?

Johnston Carmichael helps to build success stories that change lives - whetherit’sour clients, our communities, or most importantly, our people, who now numberover900 across the UK.

Wework with individuals and businesses all over the country and ourexpertisecoversalmost everyindustry sector.We’realso an independent member firm of Moore Global Network Limited, a global accounting and advisory network of over 37,000 advisers across more than 114countries.

Everything we do at Johnston Carmichael is underpinned by our four core values – DoingTheRight Thing, StandingInOther People’s Shoes, Leading Our Future and Remaining Relevant.We’vecreated a range of ways to support our people to make sure every voice is heard, including our People and Culture Forum, and we encourage each of our sharp minds to be leaders of their work and learning.You can read more about our culture and values here.

In the last 10 yearswe’veraised more than £450,000 for charity and continuously evolved our commitment to sustainable business practices. We areGoldsponsors of the Kiltwalkand alsopartner with Netball Scotland and England Netball,creating an enduringimpact on the ground in our communities.

Why Payroll?

Payroll is one of the quiet heroes of business functions – every month, employees trust their employers to pay them on time and accurately.That’swhere we come in.

For organisations of all shapes and sizes across the UK, we provide peace of mind that employees will be paid so the leaders of the business can focus on other important work.

We work with employers to keep them abreast of the many changes in legislation across PAYE and other areas which could affect their business. As well as PAYE services, we also provide outsourced payroll, auto enrolment support, BACs payments, e-payslips and more.

Our comprehensive disaster recovery process also means our clients’ staff will always be paid, even in the face of unforeseen circumstances; and we can offer international employment tax advice through our Moore Global network for clientsoperatingoverseas.

Plus, withexpertiseacross a range of industry sectors,there’sno shortage of variety when it comes tothe workwe do.

What you can expect

As well as working with a great team of colleagues and enjoying the balance of hybrid and flexible working, we offer a range of benefits to make your time at JC even more fulfilling.

Different backgroundsand different opinions make for more interesting work and better outcomes.We’resure wedon’thave to say this, but we welcome people from all backgrounds, regardless of your heritage, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexualidentityor gender identity. We also actively encourage applications from anyonewho’shad an extended time away from paid employment.

Our team is made up of peoplewho’vetaken varied routesthroughtheir careers.We’rehere to give you the tools, support,and materials to develop yourexpertiseso you can pursue your ambitions.Our JC Aspirelearningprogrammehelps everyone reach their personal goals,andwe’vealsocarefully created our own Leadership Development Programme, which isaccredited by the University of Strathclyde Business School atMastersdegree level.

At Johnston Carmichael we are committed to diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace. A copy of this policy will be made available on request. We also welcome applications from individuals who have had time away from paid employment.