About This Role
The Payroll Specialist runs payroll for the whole company and answers employees' questions about their pay slips. This role manages the end-to-end monthly payroll cycle for multiple EMEA countries, ensuring accurate and timely delivery. It involves preparing and validating payroll inputs, reviewing reports, and resolving discrepancies with the payroll provider.
Responsibilities
- Manage the end-to-end monthly payroll cycle for multiple EMEA countries, ensuring accurate and timely delivery from payroll cutoff through payment
- Prepare, validate, and submit payroll inputs, including new hires, leavers, compensation changes, one-time payments, benefit deductions, leave of absence, and holiday pay
- Review gross-to-net, variance, and payment reports; investigate discrepancies and resolve issues with the payroll provider before approval
- Calculate and process termination payments, holiday payouts, and other payroll adjustments in line with local legislation and firm policy
- Prepare and reconcile funding requests for net pay, tax, and social security obligations to ensure employees and authorities are paid accurately and on time
- Support month-end finance activities, including general ledger reviews and payroll reconciliations, while maintaining clear records and audit trails
- Partner with the payroll provider on statutory filings, year-end processes, benefits, pension enrollment, and implementation of legislative changes across covered countries
- Serve as a trusted point of contact for employees and stakeholders, while identifying opportunities to strengthen controls, streamline processes, and automate manual work
Requirements
- 5+ years of hands-on payroll processing experience, ideally supporting payrolls across multiple countries
- Strong knowledge of UK payroll, including PAYE, National Insurance, statutory payments, pensions and auto-enrollment, and termination payments
- Experience working with an outsourced or multi-country payroll provider
- Advanced Excel skills, including lookups, pivot tables, and reconciliations, with an interest in automation and new tools
- Exceptional attention to detail and a rigorous approach to reviewing, reconciling, and maintaining confidential payroll data
- Ability to prioritize multiple payrolls and competing deadlines in a fast-paced, changing environment without compromising accuracy
- A proactive, curious mindset and the confidence to challenge existing processes and recommend practical improvements
- Clear, professional communication skills and a collaborative approach to working with employees and stakeholders at all levels
Nice to have:
- CloudPay and Workday experience
- CIPP qualification, or progress toward one
