Payroll Transformation Manager

Axon Moore; Alderley Edge; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Axon Moore is seeking an experienced Payroll Transformation Manager for a 6-12 month fixed term contract in South Manchester. You will map and review payroll across the Group, quantify effort, and build a business case for change with HR and Finance leaders.

You will cover monthly processing duties as needed and work with Group Finance, HR and IT to identify system improvements while ensuring compliance and robust controls.

Qualifications

• Proven track record managing payroll in a multi-entity, multi-PAYE environment.
• Experience with payroll process improvement or transformation.
• Experience selecting/implementing payroll systems.
• Knowledge of Sage payroll and ability to process complex monthly payroll.
• Strong understanding of manual and computerised payroll systems.
• Knowledge of PAYE, NIC, RTI, auto-enrolment and benefits in kind.
• Advanced Excel skills: data manipulation, pivot tables, lookups.
• Ability to build and present a business case to senior finance stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and meet milestones with limited supervision.
• Comfortable with ambiguity of review role; able to form independent view.
• Attention to detail; able to work under pressure.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder relationship skills.

Responsibilities

• Map end-to-end monthly payroll process across Group entities and quantify effort.
• Assess current payroll system and surrounding landscape against market options.
• Establish baseline and present costed operating model options.
• Lead requirements specification, market approach, vendor evaluation and quotations.
• Produce findings and a robust business case for HR and Group Finance leaders.
• Provide cover for monthly processing and review payroll controls and GDPR compliance.

Skills

Payroll management

Payroll transformation

Sage payroll

Excel advanced

Stakeholder management

Independent work

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Multi-entity payroll

Regulatory compliance (PAYE/NIC/RTI)

Tools

Sage payroll

Excel

Job description

Payroll Transformation Manager (6-12 Month Fixed Term Contract)

South Manchester (Hybrid Working)

Competitive Salary (Depending On Experience)

Axon Moore has an urgent requirement for an experienced Payroll Manager to work for a fantastic organisation in South Manchester.

As Payroll Transformation Manager, you’ll lead an independent review of how payroll is delivered across the Group — over 1000 employees across several PAYE reference numbers — and advise the business on how it should be run in future. Monthly processing is delivered by a payroll specialist working independently, although this role will be required to cover some monthly processing duties as necessary.

Working with the Group Finance and HR teams, you’ll map the current process end to end, quantify the effort it absorbs, and assess the systems against the market. With the support of the Finance Director and Head of Systems you’ll then build and present the case for change.

Alongside the review, you’ll maintain sufficient working knowledge of each Group payroll to process it independently at short notice, providing cover for holiday and sickness and acting as an additional reviewer on the monthly cycle.

Key Responsibilities:

• To map the end-to-end monthly payroll process across all Group entities, quantifying the effort absorbed and identifying duplication, rework and manual handling.
• To assess the current payroll system and the surrounding system landscape — HR, rostering, pension and banking — against credible market alternatives, and to identify the integration opportunities available.
• To establish a defensible cost and effort baseline for the current operating model, in conjunction with Group Finance.
• To appraise the realistic options for the future operating model setting out clearly what each does and does not resolve.
• To lead the requirements specification, market approach, vendor evaluation and reference checking, and to obtain firm quotations.
• To present findings, a costed business case and a clear recommendation to HR and Group Finance leadership, and to support the decision through to approval.
• To assess the scope for consolidation of PAYE schemes, pension providers and HR system instances, and the constraints applying to each.
• To review the payroll control environment and design the move from detective to preventive controls, including the development of variance and exception reporting and in-system approvals.
• To review system access, credential management and segregation of duties across the payroll, pension and banking platforms, and to implement improvements.
• To review data retention and GDPR practice for payroll records, including leaver data.
• To maintain sufficient working knowledge of all Group payrolls to process them independently at short notice, providing cover for holiday and sickness the full month end cycle, RTI submissions, BACS files and pension submissions.
• To act as an additional reviewer on the monthly payroll process, strengthening the checking and approval chain.
• To ensure statutory compliance is maintained throughout the assignment across PAYE, NIC, RTI, pensions auto-enrolment, statutory payments and benefits in kind, advising key stakeholders on any areas where policy or procedural change may be necessary.
• To produce and maintain complete payroll process documentation to a standard that removes the Group’s dependence on any single individual.
• To work alongside the payroll specialist as a peer, collaboratively and without line management responsibility, and to partner with HR, Group Finance, Business Improvement and entity finance teams throughout.

Role requirements Essential

• A proven track record of managing payroll in a multi-entity, multi-PAYE environment
• Demonstrable experience of payroll process improvement or transformation — evidence of having reviewed and changed how payroll is delivered, not only of having run it
• Experience of payroll system selection, implementation, or both
• A sound knowledge of Sage payroll, or the ability to become productive in it quickly, sufficient to process a complex monthly payroll independently
• A strong understanding of manual and computerised payroll system and processing
• A working knowledge of the statutory requirements affecting PAYE, NIC, RTI, pensions auto-enrolment, statutory payments and benefits in kind
• Advanced working knowledge of Excel including data manipulation, pivot tables and lookups
• The ability to build and present a business case, and to hold a position credibly with senior finance stakeholders
• The ability to work independently, structure their own workload and deliver against agreed milestones with limited supervision
• Comfortable with the ambiguity of a review role, and confident forming and defending an independent view
• Strong attention to detail with ability to work under pressure, prioritising and managing a varied workload
• Excellent communication skills, able to build and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders

This role is very much for someone who has hands on experience and a real passion for payroll. Interviews are looking to take place ASAP with an immediate start.