UK Payroll Administrator

activpayroll; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

activpayroll in Edinburgh is seeking a payroll professional to manage end-to-end UK payrolls for a diverse client portfolio. You’ll ensure accuracy, compliance, and timely delivery while maintaining strong client relationships.

You will handle payroll checks, reconciliations and governance reporting, contribute to process improvements, and collaborate with colleagues across departments. Hybrid role with office days in Edinburgh.

Qualifications

• Experience processing UK payroll for multiple clients.
• Good working knowledge of UK payroll legislation and processes.
• Strong numerical, analytical and data-checking abilities.
• Commitment to delivering high-quality client service.
• Proficiency with payroll software and Microsoft Excel.
• Willingness to learn and adapt to new systems.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for a diverse portfolio of payroll clients.
• Process end-to-end UK payrolls across a range of client sizes and complexities.
• Carry out thorough payroll checks and reconciliations to resolve discrepancies.
• Lead and chair regular client governance meetings and review performance.
• Prepare monthly governance reports highlighting KPIs and actions.
• Maintain payroll manuals, calendars and checklists aligned with processes.
• Respond to payroll queries and escalate complex issues as needed.

Skills

UK payroll

Payroll software

Excel

Client-facing

Attention to detail

Numerical analysis

Tax & NI knowledge

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Payroll software

Job description

Our payroll operations are at the heart of our business, managing a portfolio of customers, managing the delivery of end-to-end UK payrolls, ensuring that the service is consistently delivered accurately and on time while providing a best-in-class customer experience. Managing your own portfolio of customers, you'll act as a trusted partner and expert, supporting them to make sure they deliver for their people.

Department: Operations

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

We have an office base in Edinburgh city centre and have adopted a hybrid working arrangement of 2 days per week in the office and 3 days working from home. We're happy to discuss how that might look for you as part of the hiring process.

On a typical day, you'll…

• Act as the primary point of contact for a diverse portfolio of payroll clients, providing a consistently high standard of service and building strong, trusted client relationships.
• Process end-to-end UK payrolls across a range of client sizes and levels of pay and payroll complexity, ensuring accuracy and compliance at every stage.
• Carry out thorough payroll checks and reconciliations, identifying and investigating discrepancies and ensuring any issues are resolved before payroll is finalised.
• Lead and chair regular client governance meetings to monitor progress, review performance, address issues and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Prepare accurate and insightful monthly governance reports, highlighting key performance measures, issues, trends and actions.
• Maintain and regularly review payroll manuals, ensuring they remain accurate, relevant and aligned with current processes and client requirements.
• Prepare and maintain payroll calendars and checklists, ensuring all key deadlines, processes and controls are clearly documented and checking sheets are completed for every payroll.
• Respond to payroll queries from clients, partners and colleagues, investigating issues and providing timely resolutions wherever possible, while appropriately escalating more complex matters through the relevant internal channels.

Does this sound like you?

• Previous experience in a payroll bureau, accountancy practice or similar client-facing environment, ideally with responsibility for managing payrolls for multiple clients and providing a high standard of service and support.
• Proven experience processing UK payroll, with a good working knowledge of UK payroll legislation and processes, including PAYE, National Insurance, statutory payments, workplace pensions, payroll deductions, starters and leavers, payroll reconciliations and HMRC reporting requirements.
• A strong aptitude for numbers, with excellent numerical and analytical skills and ideally experience gained within a payroll, finance or accountancy environment.
• A genuine commitment to delivering an exceptional standard of customer service, with a proactive and professional approach to understanding and meeting client needs and a willingness to go the extra mile
• Excellent attention to detail, with the ability to identify discrepancies, recognise when something does not look right and take ownership of issues through to resolution. Strong IT and systems skills, with confidence using payroll software, databases and Microsoft Office, particularly Microsoft Excel, and the ability to learn and adapt to new systems quickly
• Highly organised, proactive and action-oriented, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work effectively under pressure and take ownership of tasks through to completion
• A continuous improvement mindset, with the confidence to identify opportunities to improve processes, systems and ways of working for the benefit of both clients and colleagues
• CIPP qualification or working towards a relevant payroll qualification would be advantageous