Payroll Specialist

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI); Swindon; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

UKSBS is seeking a skilled Payroll Specialist to deliver accurate, compliant payroll services for multiple clients in Swindon (or Newport). You will own in-year and year-end processes and respond to complex queries with a focus on customer experience.

The role requires strong knowledge of payroll legislation, data handling and effective stakeholder communication, with Workday or similar systems experience preferred. Closing date noted for applications.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing large or multiple payrolls.
• Strong knowledge of payroll processes, legislation and best practice.
• Ability to manually calculate gross-to-net and overpayments.
• Strong analytical skills and high attention to detail.
• Ability to interpret and present complex data to different audiences.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; confident with difficult conversations.
• Ability to translate complex payroll topics for non-experts.
• Proficiency with payroll systems; Workday or similar preferred.
• Strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
• Maths & English GCSE A–C or equivalent experience.
• Commitment to customer-focused service excellence.
• Public sector payroll experience or related qualification are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist payroll advice to internal teams and clients.
• Respond to complex payroll queries and escalate when required.
• Review, validate and guide on multi-year overpayment calculations.
• Own the In-Year and Year-End payroll processes for clients.
• Test payroll-impacting system patches and monthly releases.
• Act as the main payroll contact for change requests, ensuring smooth BAU integration.
• Support monthly BACS submission processes, including reconciliation and approvals.
• Reconcile PAYE, NICs and statutory deductions, submitting EPS/RTI and maintaining HMRC Gateway accounts.
• Identify and address payroll knowledge gaps across the team.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of process improvements.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of payroll legislation, policies and best practice.
• Support occasional projects aligned to business need.

Skills

Payroll management

Analytical skills

Data interpretation

Communication skills

Excel

Microsoft Office

Workday

Customer-focused service

Education

GCSE Maths & English (A–C)

CIPP Advanced Technician/Payroll Specialist (advantageous)

Tools

Workday

Job description

Payroll Specialist
Swindon or Newport
Band D - £34,101
It’s an exciting time to join UKSBS as we transform our business to be the leading UK public sector business service provider. We aim to become a very different organisation over the next few years as we move to a modern multi-platform, digitally enabled organisation.

We are looking for an experienced Payroll Specialist to join our Payroll team. In this role, you will play a key part in delivering accurate, compliant and customer-focused payroll services for a range of clients. You will help ensure our payroll processes run smoothly across multiple platforms, contributing to high-quality outcomes and a great service experience for our users.

The duties of the role include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide specialist payroll advice to internal teams and clients
• Responding to complex payroll queries, escalating where required
• Review, validate and guide on multi-year overpayment calculations
• Own the In-Year and Year-End payroll processes for clients
• Test payroll‑impacting system patches and monthly releases
• Act as the main payroll contact for change requests, ensuring smooth BAU integration
• Support monthly BACS submission processes, including reconciliation and approvals
• Reconcile PAYE, NICs and statutory deductions, submitting EPS/RTI and maintaining HMRC Gateway accounts
• Identify and address payroll knowledge gaps across the team
• Contribute to the development and implementation of process improvements
• Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of payroll legislation, policies and best practice
• Support occasional projects and other work aligned to business need

To do this role well you must be able to demonstrate the following:

• Previous payroll experience managing large or multiple payrolls
• Strong knowledge of payroll processes, legislation and best practice
• Ability to manually calculate gross‑to‑net and overpayments
• Strong analytical skills and high attention to detail
• Ability to interpret and present complex data to different audiences
• Strong oral and written communication skills and confidence in handling challenging conversations and complaints
• Ability to translate complex payroll topics for non-experts
• Proficiency with payroll systems; experience with Workday or similar
• Strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills
• High degree of numeracy; Maths & English GCSE A–C (or equivalent experience)
• Commitment to customer‑focused service excellence
• Experience in public sector payroll services or CIPP Advanced Technician/Payroll Specialist qualification are not essential but would be advantageous

Closing date for applications is Mon 5th October, with interviews taking place week commencing 12th October.

Successful candidates may be required to undergo Security Clearance (National Security Vetting) as part of their employment. To meet these standards, applicants must normally have lived in the UK for at least the last five years and be able to satisfy background, identity and criminal record checks.

We are UKSBS. We are creating a place where people love to work, a culture where we lead, we change, we deliver and we empower our people to be curious, take action and add value.

We look forward to hearing from you.