Senior Payroll Officer - Finance / Back Office Support
Location - Bracknell (hybrid - minimum 3 days per week onsite)
Salary - up to £35,206 per annum (depending on experience) plus comprehensive benefits
Contract Type - Permanent
We're supporting a well-established organisation in the housing sector with a dedicated finance team (around 3 people) responsible for delivering accurate, compliant payroll and pensions services across the group. The team is looking for an experienced Senior Payroll Officer to support the Payroll Manager in running monthly payrolls, administering pension schemes, and driving process improvements in a compliant, regulated environment.
This is a hands-on role with real ownership: you'll process complex payrolls, deputise for the manager, handle stakeholder queries, manage expense payments, and contribute to system enhancements and legislative compliance - all while maintaining high accuracy under tight deadlines.
What you\'ll be doing
- Process monthly payroll and pensions for the organisation, including administration of multiple pension schemes (such as auto enrolment and salary sacrifice arrangements)
- Deputise for the Payroll Manager, providing expert advice and guidance to internal teams, external stakeholders, and resolving complex queries (often face-to-face or via phone/email)
- Support payroll projects, process reviews, workflow planning, and implementation of system upgrades or enhancements
- Ensure full compliance with UK payroll legislation, including PAYE, NIC, RTI submissions, auto enrolment, and best practice standards
- Stay current with changing legislation and contribute to team knowledge-sharing and continuous improvement
- Maintain payroll system integrity in line with statutory requirements and internal policies
- Handle accounting tasks such as payroll posting to the general ledger, monthly reconciliations, year-end processes (P60s, P11Ds, PSA returns where relevant)
- Manage pension contributions, reconciliations, and timely payments for budgeting and financial reporting
- Review and update procedures to align with legislation and future-proof payroll operations
- Oversee bi-weekly expense payments, ensuring accuracy, correct coding, and HMRC/policy compliance
- Undertake any other ad-hoc duties to support the team
What we\'re looking for
- Proven senior-level payroll experience, ideally in a large or complex organisation
- CIPP qualified (degree level) or actively working towards it
- Strong, up-to-date knowledge of UK payroll legislation, RTI, auto enrolment, NIC/PAYE, and pension schemes
- Experience processing and administering payrolls and pensions accurately and compliantly
- Proficiency in payroll systems and advanced Microsoft Excel (including building spreadsheets/databases for real-time data analysis)
- Excellent numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to interrogate data
- Confident in handling complex queries and providing direct support to stakeholders
- Strong organisational skills, ability to prioritise workload, work autonomously, meet strict deadlines, and maintain exceptional attention to detail
- Passionate, proactive mindset - willing to suggest improvements, challenge the status quo, and contribute flexibly when needed
- Excellent team player: collaborative, enthusiastic, takes ownership, shares ideas, and supports colleagues
- Experience with pension reconciliations, general ledger postings, and year-end reporting
- Background in housing, social care, or not-for-profit sectors
- Familiarity with expense management processes
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel)
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