Payroll Manager (Implementation)

VanRath; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Flexible working arrangements

Generous holiday entitlement

Job summary

VanRath is seeking a senior payroll professional to lead end-to-end payroll services on a 12-month fixed-term contract in the UK. You will own and drive high-volume payroll operations with a focus on governance, controls and continuous improvement.

The role requires strong leadership, expert payroll knowledge, and experience with payroll systems and data validation. Hybrid working is available, with competitive terms and holiday entitlement.

Qualifications

• Significant leadership or senior payroll experience in high-volume payroll operations.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development in payroll, service delivery or governance.
• Experience managing teams and ensuring service standards in a complex environment.
• Strong understanding of payroll controls, reconciliations and statutory requirements.
• Experience with payroll systems, data flows, reporting, and file processing.

Responsibilities

• Provide payroll subject matter expertise for design and development of future-state processes.
• Contribute to system configuration decisions on pay elements, deductions, pensions and outputs.
• Review process maps, SOPs, control frameworks and calendars prior to implementation.
• Define and execute payroll test scenarios including unit, integration and UAT testing.
• Review test outputs, investigate discrepancies and ensure go-live readiness.
• Assist data migration and validation of master data and year-to-date balances.
• Provide direction to Payroll Team Leaders on priorities and service standards.
• Embed robust payroll controls across the lifecycle with audit trails.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Strong payroll knowledge

People management

Governance & controls

Payroll systems & data flows

System configuration & testing

Stakeholder management

Tools

Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM Payroll

Payroll data migration & validation

Reporting & cut-off calendars

Job description

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.

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

• Contribute payroll subject matter expertise to the design and development of future-state payroll processes, controls, workflows, reporting and operating procedures.
• Support payroll system configuration decisions by advising on payroll rules, pay elements, deductions, pension requirements, statutory payments, approval points, audit requirements and downstream outputs.
• Review and validate payroll process maps, standard operating procedures, control frameworks, cut-off calendars and payroll cycle documentation before implementation.
• Define, prepare and execute payroll test scenarios, including unit testing, system integration testing, parallel runs, user acceptance testing and regression testing.
• Review test outputs, identify discrepancies, support defect investigation and ensure payroll issues are resolved before go-live.
• 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.
• Provide clear direction to Payroll Team Leaders and payroll colleagues on priorities, deadlines, quality standards, payroll controls and service expectations.
• Embed robust payroll controls across the payroll lifecycle, including input validation, approvals, segregation of duties, audit trails, reconciliations and sign-off evidence.