Senior Payroll Specialist

Abbeygate Search Ltd; St Albans; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

This is a senior payroll specialist role overseeing payroll across the UK and overseas locations, working with third-party providers and internal stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely delivery.

The role blends payroll operations with accounting, compliance and process improvement, covering PAYE, NI, pensions and related activities while supporting month-end close and payroll-related accruals. This is a fully office-based position in Hertfordshire, five days per week.

Qualifications

• Strong UK payroll knowledge.
• Experience with multi-country or international payrolls.
• Experience managing outsourced payroll providers.
• Good knowledge of PAYE, National Insurance and pensions.
• Experience preparing payroll journals and reconciliations.
• Strong Excel skills.
• Experience within a larger or international organisation.
• Strong attention to detail and financial controls.
• Experience with payroll systems, ERP platforms or payroll transformation projects.

Responsibilities

• Co-ordinate and oversee payroll activity across the UK and overseas locations.
• Review payroll outputs for accuracy before submission.
• Manage relationships with outsourced payroll providers.
• Prepare and post payroll journals.
• Complete payroll reconciliations and resolve discrepancies.
• Support month-end reporting and payroll-related accruals.
• Manage PAYE, National Insurance, pensions and other UK payroll requirements.
• Support P11D, PSA and other statutory processes.
• Maintain payroll controls and approval processes.
• Assist payroll audits and maintain proper documentation.
• Identify anomalies or variances in payroll data and resolve.
• Support bonus and other variable-pay processes.
• Improve payroll processes, controls and reporting; standardise procedures.
• Support payroll system changes and new entities.

Skills

UK payroll

Multi-country payroll

Outsourced payroll

Payroll journals

Payroll reconciliations

Excel

Financial controls

ERP / payroll systems

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

A well-established international business is looking to appoint an experienced Senior Payroll Specialist to take ownership of payroll activity across a number of UK and international entities.

This is a broad, hands-on role sitting within Finance and would suit someone who enjoys having real ownership of payroll rather than simply working on one part of the process.

You will work closely with Finance, HR and external payroll providers, ensuring payrolls are delivered accurately and on time while also taking responsibility for the financial controls, reconciliations and reporting that sit around them.

The role offers a good mix of payroll operations, accounting, compliance and process improvement, with exposure across multiple countries.

The role

You will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing payroll activity across the UK and a number of overseas locations, working with third-party payroll providers and internal stakeholders.

• Managing the end-to-end payroll process across multiple entities and countries
• Reviewing payroll outputs and ensuring accuracy before submission
• Managing relationships with outsourced payroll providers
• Preparing and posting payroll journals
• Completing payroll reconciliations and resolving discrepancies
• Supporting month-end reporting and payroll-related accruals
• Managing PAYE, National Insurance, pensions and other UK payroll requirements
• Supporting P11D, PSA and other statutory payroll processes
• Maintaining strong payroll controls and approval processes
• Supporting payroll audits and ensuring appropriate documentation is maintained
• Reviewing payroll data and identifying anomalies or variances
• Supporting bonus and other variable-pay processes
• Improving payroll processes, controls and reporting
• Helping to standardise procedures across different locations
• Supporting payroll system changes, new entities and wider Finance projects

What we’re looking for

This role would suit an experienced payroll professional who is comfortable working across both payroll operations and payroll accounting.

You are likely to have:

• Strong UK payroll knowledge
• Experience working with multi-country or international payrolls
• Experience managing outsourced payroll providers
• Good knowledge of PAYE, National Insurance and pensions
• Experience preparing payroll journals and reconciliations
• Strong Excel skills
• Experience working within a larger or international organisation
• Strong attention to detail and a good understanding of financial controls

Experience with payroll systems, ERP platforms or payroll transformation projects would be useful, although the business is open-minded on specific systems.

The opportunity

This is a good opportunity for someone who wants broader ownership than a traditional payroll processing role.

You will have visibility across a number of international payrolls, work closely with senior Finance and HR stakeholders and have the opportunity to improve how payroll processes operate across the business.

The company is looking for someone proactive, organised and confident enough to take ownership, investigate issues and improve processes rather than simply follow an established routine.

Please note that this position is fully office-based in Hertfordshire, five days per week