Payroll Officer

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service; Bedford; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Part time

Job summary

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is seeking an experienced Payroll Officer for 24 hours per week with flexible pattern. You will deliver comprehensive payroll administration, handle complex calculations, and support pension schemes within a busy payroll section.

Ideally you will have strong data handling, confidentiality, and excellent MS Office skills to ensure accurate monthly pay runs and timely reporting, while complying with statutory requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience in payroll processing and complex pay calculations.
• Proficient with computerised payroll systems and MS Office.
• Knowledge of PAYE, NI, RTI and statutory payments.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Strong attention to detail and data accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Review and verify payroll transactions to ensure accurate payments.
• Maintain Local Government and Fire pension scheme records and admin tasks.
• Process data extracts and reconcile monthly payroll before sign‑off.
• Liaise with Finance on reconciliations and third‑party costings.
• Respond to pension administrators and auditors with required information.
• Advise on improvements to payroll controls and processes.

Skills

Attention to detail

Payroll systems experience

Microsoft Excel

Communication skills

Confidentiality

Education

GCSE English and Maths (or equivalent)

Tools

iTrent

Payroll/Time and Attendance systems

Job description

24 hours per week – flexible working pattern, to be agreed. We are looking for an experienced Payroll Officer to join our team. You will play a key role in delivering comprehensive payroll administration across the organisation, ensuring all salary-related matters are investigated and resolved to support an accurate and timely monthly pay run.

About The Role

The Payroll Officer provides key support to the Payroll Section, undertaking a range of activities including complex pay calculations, processing routine pay claims and queries, and supporting wider administrative tasks as required. The role involves working with large volumes of data across a variety of systems, so confidence in using software packages and a high level of attention to detail are essential to ensure accuracy within spreadsheets and information systems.

Due to the manual nature of some processes, the post holder will need to be confident in checking their own and others’ work to maintain accuracy and minimise errors, while ensuring compliance with relevant Government legislation.

Key Responsibilities

• Review and verify payroll transactions, including expenses, overtime, additional hours, acting up and absence, ensuring accurate payments and deductions in line with Service policy and legislation.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of Local Government and Fire pension schemes including employee administration record keeping, abatement calculations, reconciling monthly pension extracts, uploading files to administrators, verifying pensioner payroll, and ensuring compliance with Auto Enrolment and statutory deadlines.
• Extract temporary data from Self Service and rostering systems and import into core payroll; reconciling the monthly payroll and ensuring any errors/out of balance records are investigated and corrected prior to Payroll Manager review.
• Liaise closely with Finance to ensure that monthly reconciliations and costings of the third‑party payments are undertaken and manual recoding is actioned to ensure budgets are charged correctly.
• Undertake complex calculations and collate information in respect of payroll matters in order to provide responses to pension administrators, Freedom of Information requests, internal and external audits, costings and other related issues.
• Advise on and review working methods and controls relating to all payroll practices in conjunction with the Payroll Manager in order to identify effective and auditable methods of achieving the required output.
• Interpret and advise on statutory changes. National Joint Council (NJC), Local Government Association, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) guidance including mileage rates and legislation to ensure it is applied correctly to payroll matters.
• Process and verify employee changes in iTrent (starters, leavers, transfers, promotions), ensuring accurate and controlled payments.
• Liaise with Human Resources colleagues to ensure the correct rate of pay is remunerated for sick, maternity and other leave at relevant intervals in line with Service policy to ensure that occupational and statutory payments are processed appropriately.
• Manage payroll queries via the inbox, resolving issues promptly and in line with procedures and legislation.
• Apply the Schemes of Conditions of Service relating to Grey Book, Green Book and Gold Book, maintaining records in line with the Data Protection legislation, to ensure efficient and effective payroll administration is provided.

About You

You will have a strong eye for detail, be confident handling sensitive and confidential information, and able to maintain accuracy under pressure. With experience of payroll processes and complex data, you will bring excellent organisational and communication skills to support a high-quality and compliant payroll service.

You will have:

• English and Maths (GCSE grade 4 or above or equivalent experience).
• In depth experience of using computer systems and a variety of software packages including use of a computerised Payroll/Time and Attendance systems.
• In depth experience of using Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel.
• In depth knowledge of complex numerical calculations.
• In depth experience working in a payroll environment (or similar) with knowledge of PAYE, Tax, National Insurance (NI), Real Time Information (RTI), Statutory payments (SSP, SMP etc).
• In depth experience of interpreting DWP and HRMC regulations and providing advice to employees and managers.
• Able to exercise strict confidentiality in handling information of a confidential or sensitive nature in line with data protection legislation.
• Good verbal and written communication skills and excellent telephone manner.
• Ability to work effectively to deadlines in a logical and methodical approach and to manage a number of tasks simultaneously.

For more details about the key responsibilities and essential criteria required for the role, please see the attached job description and person specification.

Closing date: Monday 12 October 2026

Previous applicants need not apply.

This is a public-facing role, and it is essential to have the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English.

This post will be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2023. Therefore, applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provision of the Act.

The appointment will be made subject to satisfactory pre‑employment clearances, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance at the level required for the role.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safer recruitment, and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Adults, Children and Young People and all staff and volunteers are expected to share this commitment.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is an equal opportunities employer that welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process.

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, we encourage applications from those who have served, are serving, or are part of a military family. Your skills and experience are valued here.