Payroll Officer

North East Learning Trust; Sunderland; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time and flexible working options

NJ C Green Book (NJC)

LGPS access

32 days leave + 8 holidays

Wellbeing day

On-site car parking

Lifestyle discounts

Gym membership discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

North East Learning Trust is seeking a proactive Payroll Officer to support the delivery and continuous improvement of a reliable, compliant and modern payroll service across the Trust. This role involves managing education payroll, term-time calculations, statutory payments and pensions, with two payrolls and strong customer service to schools and staff.

We welcome both full-time and part-time applicants and offer flexible working options, generous annual leave, access to LGPS and on-site

Qualifications

• Bring strong payroll experience, ideally in education, schools, local government or another complex public sector setting.
• Understand education payroll, including term-time calculations, statutory payments, pensions, payroll compliance and differing terms and conditions.
• Confidently process, check and reconcile payroll data across two payrolls.
• Use payroll and system knowledge to improve processes and support effective employee and manager self-service.
• Communicate clearly with employees, schools, HR, Finance, pension providers and external contacts, taking a proactive and customer-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Process and reconcile payroll data across two payrolls.
• Support onboarding of transferring schools and integration of staff records and pension arrangements into Trust systems.
• Embed and improve payroll self-service for employees and managers.
• Communicate clearly with employees, schools, HR, Finance, pension providers and external contacts.

Job description

We are seeking a proactive, technically confident and customer-focused Payroll Officer to

support the delivery and continuous improvement of a reliable, compliant and modern payroll

service across the Trust. This is an exciting opportunity to apply payroll expertise in a complex

education setting, supporting schools with differing support staff and teacher terms and

conditions, term-time working calculations, statutory and occupational payments, and Local

The Trust is continuing to modernise its payroll services, with employee and manager self-

service helping to streamline workflows, reduce manual processes and make payroll

information more accessible. The Payroll Officer will help embed and improve these ways of

working, using payroll knowledge, system confidence and strong customer service to make

payroll easier, clearer and more responsive for schools, staff and managers.

This role will also support the Trust’s managed growth strategy, including the onboarding of

transferring schools and the smooth integration of staff records, payroll data, pension

arrangements and local working practices into Trust systems. It offers a unique challenge for

someone who understands the specialist nature of education payroll and wants to contribute

to services that support education, school leadership and staff wellbeing.

We welcome applications from candidates seeking full-time or part-time working

arrangements. Our priority is to appoint the right person with the payroll expertise, accuracy

and customer focus needed for the role. Working patterns can be discussed at interview,

subject to payroll deadline cover, service continuity and effective support for schools and

employees.

You will join:

• A growing Trust with a clear vision for education, school improvement and managed growth
• A central team that values accurate, responsive and customer-focused support for schools and staff
• A positive and caring ethos where colleagues are valued and supported
• A team of hardworking, dedicated and friendly staff committed to making a difference

We can offer:

• Full-time, part-time and flexible working options considered, subject to payroll service
• National Terms and Conditions of Employment — NJC Green Book
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement of 32 days, plus 8 public holidays
• One paid wellbeing day per year
• Free on-site car parking
• Lifestyle savings and discounts from leading retail brands
• Discounted gym membership
• Employee Assistance Programme offering free confidential advice and counselling services for staff and family members

You will:

• Bring strong payroll experience, ideally in education, schools, local government or another complex public sector setting.
• Understand education payroll, including term-time calculations, statutory payments, pensions, payroll compliance and differing terms and conditions.
• Confidently process, check and reconcile payroll data across two payrolls.
• Use payroll and system knowledge to improve processes and support effective employee and manager self-service.
• Communicate clearly with employees, schools, HR, Finance, pension providers and external contacts, taking a proactive and customer-focused approach.