Payroll Manager

Mimecast Limited; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Mimecast Limited is seeking a seasoned Payroll Manager to lead UK and European payroll operations within our Global Payroll team. You will own payroll delivery, ensure compliance across jurisdictions, and manage a small team of payroll specialists.

You’ll collaborate with HR, Finance, Legal and external providers to keep processes accurate and timely. The role requires deep knowledge of UK and European statutory payroll requirements, hands-on ADP experience, and a proven SOX controls mindset.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 5–7 years payroll experience with at least 2 years in a people management or team lead role.
• Deep knowledge of UK and European statutory payroll requirements; multi-jurisdiction experience preferred.
• Hands-on ADP experience required; Vistra experience preferred.
• Workday HRIS experience preferred.
• Experience with SOX controls and supporting external audits.
• Strong vendor management and service level accountability.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly payroll cycle for UK and European entities from start to finish, ensuring timely and accurate delivery across jurisdictions.
• Manage, review, and approve work by Payroll Specialists including starter/leaver processing, changes, and employee record maintenance on ADP and Vistra.
• Build team capability through coaching, workload distribution, and backup coverage planning.
• Serve as final review/approval point for payroll journals, vacation accruals, and pension contribution submissions before month end close.

Skills

Payroll leadership

UK & Europe payroll knowledge

SOX controls

Vendor management

Advanced Excel

Stakeholder management

Workday HRIS

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

ADP

Vistra

Workday HRIS

Job description

Payroll Manager, UK & Europe

About the Position

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to lead UK and European payroll operations within our Global Payroll team. The Payroll Manager owns payroll delivery and compliance across multiple jurisdictions, manages a team of payroll specialists, serves as the primary escalation point for payroll issues, and partners with HR, Finance, Legal, and external payroll providers to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll operations.

What You'll Do:

Payroll Delivery and Team Leadership

• Own the monthly payroll cycle for UK and European entities from start to finish, ensuring timely and accurate delivery across all jurisdictions
• Manage, review, and approve work prepared by Payroll Specialists, including new starter and leaver processing, changes, and employee record maintenance on ADP and Vistra
• Build team capability through coaching, workload distribution, and backup coverage planning to avoid single points of failure during leave, turnover, or peak periods
• Serve as the final review and approval point for payroll journals, vacation accruals, and pension contribution submissions before month end close

Controls, Compliance, and Audit

• Act as the control owner for payroll processes subject to Sarbanes Oxley compliance, maintaining segregation of duties between preparation and approval
• Lead quarterly and annual audit deliverables, serving as primary point of contact for internal and external auditors on UK and European payroll matters
• Ensure statutory, tax, and local filing compliance across jurisdictions, partnering with payroll providers and HR Business Partners to track regulatory changes and filing deadlines
• Own escalation and resolution of complex employee, HMRC, and tax authority inquiries that specialists cannot resolve independently

Stakeholder and Vendor Management

• Serve as primary payroll relationship owner for ADP and Vistra, managing service levels, escalating production issues, and holding vendors accountable to their commitments
• Partner with HR Business Partners, Finance, Legal, and Treasury on payroll adjacent matters such as terminations, severance, benefits changes, and entity restructuring
• Represent payroll on projects that span multiple functions and affect UK and European employees, including system implementations, M&A integration, and policy changes

Process Improvement and Risk Management

• Evaluate and strengthen payroll policies, processes, and controls, proactively identifying gaps and recommending improvements rather than waiting for audit findings
• Push forward standardization and automation across UK and European payroll processing
• Maintain and update SOPs for the team, ensuring process documentation reflects actual practice and supports audit readiness
• Identify and mitigate risk in payroll processing, flagging issues along with recommended solutions, not just problem statements

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree required
• Minimum 5 to 7 years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years in a people management or team lead capacity
• Deep knowledge of UK and broader European statutory payroll requirements, multi-jurisdiction experience strongly preferred
• Hands on ADP experience required, Vistra experience strongly preferred
• Workday HRIS experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience managing processes controlled under SOX and supporting external audits
• Proven ability to manage vendor relationships and hold third parties accountable to service levels
• Strong people leadership skills, including coaching, performance management, and workload planning
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to navigate conversations with senior leaders, HR, Legal, and Finance with discretion and confidentiality
• Advanced Excel skills, comfort working with payroll system reporting and reconciliation
• Demonstrated ownership mindset, able to drive recurring deadlines and ad hoc projects through to completion without close oversight
• Thrives in a fast paced, deadline driven, multi entity environment

Join our Finance team to accelerate your career journey. You will be immersed in a dynamic environment that recognizes and celebrates your achievements.

Mimecast offers formal and on-the-job learning opportunities, maintains a comprehensive benefits package that helps our employees and their family members to sustain a healthy lifestyle, and importantly - working in cross functional teams to build your knowledge!

Our Hybrid Model:

We provide you with the flexibility to live balanced, healthy lives through our hybrid working model that champions both collaborative teamwork and individual flexibility. Employees are expected to come to the office at least two days per week, because working together in person:

• Fosters a culture of collaboration, communication, performance and learning
• Drives innovation and creativity within and between teams
• Introduces employees to priorities outside of their immediate realm
• Ensures important interpersonal relationships and connections with one another and our community!

The base salary range for this position is £60,000 to £90,000 plus benefits. This range represents the minimum and maximum new hire compensation for this role. The position may also be eligible for incentive plans and additional benefits, in accordance with company policy and local regulations. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location with individual compensation also dependent on factors such as qualifications, experience, and skills. Final offers will reflect these considerations and may vary accordingly.

Belonging at Mimecast

Cybersecurity is a community effort. That's why we're committed to building an inclusive, diverse community that celebrates and welcomes everyone - unless they're a cybercriminal, of course.

We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affidavante Action Employer, and we'd encourage you to join us whatever your background. We particularly welcome applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups.

We consider everyone equally: your race, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, marital status, nationality, or any other protected characteristic won't affect your application.

Due to certain obligations to our customers, an offer of employment will be subject to your successful completion of applicable background checks, conducted in accordance with local law.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.