Payroll Manager

Propel Consult; Market Harborough; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension

Life Assurance

Staff discount

On-site parking

Annual leave 23-27 days

Job summary

Propel Consult is recruiting a Payroll Manager for a well-established retail business in Market Harborough. You will own end-to-end payroll for 1,000+ employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance, reporting on payroll metrics, and driving improvements across systems.

This standalone role reports to the Financial Controller and offers 37 hours per week, 23–27 days leave, pension, life cover, staff discount and on-site parking.

Qualifications

• Experience managing payroll for 1,000+ employees and high-volume processing.
• Strong knowledge of payroll laws, GDPR and compliance.
• Proficiency in Sage 50 Payroll and SAP HR systems.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end payroll for 1,000+ staff, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Handle starters, leavers, changes, statutory payments and holiday pay.
• Audit payroll data, controls, and resolve discrepancies.
• Produce reports on payroll, costs, and pension data.
• Identify improvements and automation in payroll processes.

Skills

High-volume payroll processing

Payroll management

Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP)

GDPR/compliance knowledge

Tools

Sage 50 Payroll

SAP HR

Microsoft Excel

Job description

We\'re delighted to be recruiting a Payroll Manager on behalf of a well-established and growing retail business. The Payroll Manager is standalone role reporting into the Financial Controller and offers the opportunity to take full ownership of a high-volume payroll function, ensuring the accurate and compliant processing of payroll for a workforce of over 1,000 employees. The successful candidate will play a key role in maintaining payroll integrity, delivering high-quality reporting, and supporting continuous improvement across payroll systems and processes.

• Salary: £38,000 - £45,000
• 37 hours per week
• 23 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year to a maximum of 27 days, plus Bank Holidays
• Company pension scheme
• Life Assurance x 2 salary
• Staff discount
• On-site parking

Duties and responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end payroll process for a workforce of 1,000+ employees, ensuring accuracy and timely completion
• Process starters, leavers, contractual changes, statutory payments (SSP and SMP), and holiday pay calculations in line with current legislation
• Validate, reconcile and audit payroll data, maintaining robust payroll controls, checks and procedures
• Process BACS payments and investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies and employee queries
• Maintain accurate employee records within Sage 50 Payroll and SAP HR systems, ensuring data integrity and GDPR compliance
• Produce payroll, labour cost, pension, National Insurance, bonus and commission reports to support business decision-making
• Identify and implement process improvements, automation opportunities and efficiencies within the payroll function

Required skills and experience

• Previous experience in a Payroll Manager, Payroll Supervisor or similar payroll position with responsibility for high-volume payroll processing
• Proven experience managing payroll for 1,000+ employees, including statutory payments, holiday pay calculations and payroll reconciliations
• Strong working knowledge of Sage 50 Payroll is essential
• Experience of SAP HR systems would be advantageous
• Intermediate Excel skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables
• Strong understanding of payroll legislation, compliance requirements, audit controls and GDPR principles
• Excellent organisational, analytical and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and build effective relationships across departments