Project Payroll & People Advisor

Now Hiring: Project Payroll & People Advisor (14-Month FTC)
Location: Chelmsford (hybrid)
Salary: £25,000 - £30,000 per annum
Contract Length: 14 months

We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented payroll professional to join a specialist project team focused on reconfiguring absence and pension elements within our payroll software. This is a pivotal role in ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency across a high-volume payroll operation.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a deep understanding of payroll operations who enjoys system-based projects, testing, and improvement work in a collaborative and supportive environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supporting the testing and implementation of payroll system updates
• Ensuring correct configuration of statutory absences and pension contributions
• Liaising with third-party payroll software providers
• Conducting detailed data validation, testing, and compliance reviews
• Reviewing and improving internal payroll processes and reporting

Key Skills and Experience Required:

• Extensive experience in payroll processing, ideally within a large and complex organisation
• Ability to manually calculate PAYE, National Insurance, and statutory payments
• Thorough understanding of UK payroll legislation, especially statutory absence (SSP, SMP, etc.)
• Knowledge of Teachers and Government Pensions, including assumed pensionable pay and tiered deductions (preferred)
• Experience in User Acceptance Testing and confident in reporting detailed feedback to stakeholders
• Excellent numeracy skills with strong analytical thinking and problem-solving ability
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, including the use of formulas, lookups, and data validation
• Experience working with self-service payroll portals and understanding of user experience impacts
• High attention to detail with strong data accuracy and confidentiality standards
  Ability to interpret payroll system rules and configuration
• Strong written and verbal communication skills