Payroll Operations Specialist

equiniti; Crawley; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension match 10%

EAP access

Life cover 4x salary

Employee discounts

Flexible benefits

29 days holiday

Volunteer days

Recognition rewards

Learning platform

Job summary

EQ Retirement Solutions, part of Equiniti, is seeking a Payroll Operations Specialist in the UK to support the Payroll Operations Manager with pension payroll processing and payroll taxation activities, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and compliance.

The role focuses on day-to-day payroll operations, PAYE/RTI compliance, and managing relationships with HMRC and internal stakeholders, all within a regulated environment to deliver high-quality service to clients and pension members.

Qualifications

• Experience in pension payroll administration and/or payroll taxation activities.
• Strong knowledge of UK PAYE legislation and RTI reporting requirements.
• Ability to identify, understand and address knowledge gaps relating to non‑UK tax jurisdictions.
• Experience leading, supervising or coaching operational teams.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation abilities.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• High attention to detail, particularly when reviewing payroll outputs, reconciliations and spreadsheets.
• Ability to manage stakeholder relationships with clients, colleagues and external agencies.
• Experience working within a controlled, regulated and audit‑focused environment.

Responsibilities

• Support the Payroll Operations Manager with day-to-day payroll and taxation operations.
• Act as delegate during periods of absence or peak workload.
• Allocate work, manage priorities and support delivery against SLAs and KPIs.
• Assist with recruitment, onboarding and training of team members.
• Oversee the accurate processing of periodic pension payrolls, lump sum payments and supplementary payrolls.
• Review, validate and authorise payroll outputs prior to release.
• Act as the first point of escalation for complex payroll queries and payment issues.
• Oversee PAYE, RTI and tax remittance activities for HMRC, ROS and Crown Dependency jurisdictions.
• Ensure payroll reconciliations, tax submissions and payments are completed accurately and on time.
• Manage relationships with HMRC and other tax authorities, supporting payroll admins and analysts with technical queries.
• Build strong client relationships and engage Relationship Directors or Relationship Managers where appropriate.
• Ensure compliance with SOPs, governance frameworks, audit requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Identify operational risks, control weaknesses and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Support internal and external audits, remediation activities and regulatory reviews.

Skills

Pension payroll

Payroll taxation

PAYE RTI

Team leadership

Analytical skills

Organizational skills

Communication

Attention to detail

Stakeholder mgmt

Audit readiness

Job description

Management Level G

EQ Retirement Solutions is transforming the retirement and pensions markets with leading administration and technology solutions. With over 1200 employees globally, 189 years of knowledge and 11 million pension scheme members and policyholders, we are here to help people plan for a confident financial future by delivering innovative, reliable and customer‑focused retirement services. Our teams are driven by a shared commitment to excellence, collaboration and making a real impact to the lives of our clients and customers.

Role Summary

EQ Retirement Solutions are looking for a Payroll Operations Specialist within the Payroll Operations department. The main purpose of the role is to support the Payroll Operations Manager in leading the delivery of pension payroll processing and payroll taxation activities, ensuring accurate and timely payroll execution, compliance with statutory requirements, effective operational controls, and excellent service for clients and pension members.

Core Duties/Responsibilities

• Support the Payroll Operations Manager with the day‑to‑day management of pension payroll and taxation operations.
• Act as a delegate for the Payroll Operations Manager during periods of absence or peak workload.
• Allocate work, manage priorities and support delivery against agreed SLAs and KPIs.
• Assist with recruitment, onboarding, training and performance support of team members.
• Oversee the accurate processing of periodic pension payrolls, lump sum payments and supplementary payrolls.
• Review, validate and authorise payroll outputs prior to release.
• Act as the first point of escalation for complex payroll queries and payment issues.
• Oversee PAYE, RTI and tax remittance activities for HMRC, Revenue Online Service (ROS) and Crown Dependency jurisdictions.
• Ensure payroll reconciliations, tax submissions and payments are completed accurately and on time.
• Manage relationships with HMRC and other tax authorities, supporting payroll administrators and analysts with technical queries.
• Build strong client relationships and engage Relationship Directors or Relationship Managers where appropriate.
• Ensure compliance with standard operating procedures, governance frameworks, audit requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Identify operational risks, control weaknesses and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Support internal and external audits, remediation activities and regulatory reviews.

Skills, Capabilities and Attributes

The ideal candidate will have the below skills, capabilities and attributes

Essential

• Experience in pension payroll administration and/or payroll taxation activities.
• Strong knowledge of UK PAYE legislation and RTI reporting requirements.
• Ability to identify, understand and address knowledge gaps relating to non‑UK tax jurisdictions.
• Experience leading, supervising or coaching operational teams.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation abilities.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• High attention to detail, particularly when reviewing payroll outputs, reconciliations and spreadsheets.
• Ability to manage stakeholder relationships with clients, colleagues and external agencies.
• Experience working within a controlled, regulated and audit‑focused environment.

Preferred

• Knowledge of Revenue Online Service (ROS) processes and Crown Dependency tax regimes.
• Experience supporting internal audits, external audits or remediation programmes.
• Experience identifying and implementing process improvements within payroll operations.

What We Offer

• Save For Your Future - Equiniti Pension Plan; Equiniti matches your pension contributions up to 10%
• Health and Wellbeing - Employee Assistance Programme: counselling, legal & wellbeing support for colleagues and their households. Life assurance cover at 4x salary with the ability to purchase enhance cover.
• Employee discounts - Discounts and cashback at your favourite high street stores through our EQ Wins Platform.
• Flexible Benefits - The ability to purchase a wide variety of benefits through our flex plan; gadgets, travel insurance, will writing, holiday trading and more.
• Time Off - Typically 29 days holiday + bank holidays. 2 volunteer days to get involved with a charity of your choosing.
• Winning together - Equiniti ICON award vouchers; recognising the individuals going above and beyond to help the business succeed.
• Learning & Development - Investment in LinkedIn Learning for all colleagues.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, r