Payroll Specialist - UK

Your role: 

Reporting to the Payroll Supervisor, the Payroll Specialist plays a key role in overseeing the day-to-day operational and financial activities related to global payroll processing and maintenance, with a primary focus on UK Payroll. This role is responsible for ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll across multiple jurisdictions, as well as the financial administration and reconciliation of global employee benefit programs, while supporting reporting, audits, and continuous process improvements. This is an exciting development opportunity for an individual with experience working on UK payroll, but has the desire to understand global payrolls at a growing company.

Your responsibilities: 

• Full cycle payroll processing for 700+ UK employees
• Support when required on global payroll processing for Canada, the US, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Australia
• Review and validate payroll inputs prepared by the Payroll Coordinator, ensuring all relevant information is obtained from Human Resources and other internal teams in a timely manner
• Coordinate payroll review processes with Payroll Supervisor, proactively addressing discrepancies and resolving queries to ensure payroll is finalized and submitted on schedule
• Perform detailed payroll reconciliations, prepare and review journal entries, including accruals, adjustments, benefit related accounting entries
• Manage pension and benefits related activities, including submissions of pension contributions, reconciliations, and invoice validation
• Maintain accuracy and integrity of payroll and benefits records by identifying, investigating, and resolving discrepancies across multiple systems and jurisdictions
• Coordinate UK payroll year-end reporting activities, including P60s and P11Ds issuance, ensuring accuracy and compliance with regulatory deadlines
• Support leave of absence and statutory payment calculations, ensuring compliance with applicable employment standards, internal policies, and legislation
• Act as primary escalation points for payroll related inquiries from employees, Human Resources, Finance, and other internal stakeholders, ensuring timely resolution of complex issues
• Lead compliance, reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives across multiple jurisdictions by ensuring adherence to payroll legislation and regulatory requirements
• Maintain confidentiality of all payroll information and documents at all times
• Contribute to process improvement and automation initiatives, including workflow optimization, system enhancements, and efficiency projects
• Support internal and external audits by preparing documentation, reconciling data, and responding to audit queries in a timely and accurate manner
• Participate in ad hoc payroll and HR projects, providing subject matter expertise and supporting implementation of a new HRIS and payroll systems
• Perform other duties and responsibilities, as assigned

About you:

• Minimum 3 years of full cycle high volume UK payroll processing experience with strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation
• Experience with UK employee benefits including pension
• Experience in a growing, high-tech environment is an asset
• Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word, Outlook etc.
• Impeccable accuracy with numbers and high attention to detail
• Ability to exercise tact and discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information
• Ability to effectively prioritize and manage a dynamic list of work on a day-to-day basis
• Strong sense of deadlines and ownership of work
• Excellent communication skills and ability to write clear, concise, and formal business communications
• Ability to work independently as well as within a team with minimal supervision
• A diploma or degree in business administration or related field, with some Accounting courses; National Payroll Institute Payroll Compliance Practitioner Certification (PCP) or UK Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals certification (CIPP) or PayrollOrg Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC)
• Familiarity with payroll systems such as Oury Clark, Payworks, GTM and BambooHR is an assetExperience with an implementation with an enterprise level HRIS with payroll integrated
• Experience with an implementation with an enterprise level with HRIS with payroll integrated

Working conditions: 

• The Payroll Specialist role may require overtime when there are impending deadlines