Payroll Lead - Morgan McKinley

Payroll Lead

Are you an experienced payroll professional looking for your next challenge? We are seeking a Payroll Lead to oversee the end-to-end payroll function.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a collaborative organisation where people are at the heart of everything. You'll play a key role in ensuring payroll is delivered accurately, compliantly and on time, while driving continuous improvement across payroll processes.

The Role

Reporting into the HR team, you'll lead the monthly payroll cycle, ensuring all payroll activity is accurate, compliant and delivered to deadlines. You'll also support payroll projects and work closely with Finance and key stakeholders across the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end monthly payroll process
• Review and validate payroll data, including salaries, overtime, bonuses and deductions.
• Ensure payroll compliance with HMRC, pensions and statutory requirements.
• Reconcile payroll accounts and approve payroll journals.
• Investigate and resolve payroll queries and discrepancies.
• Support month-end reporting and work closely with Finance.
• Oversee employee expenses and benefits administration.
• Lead payroll process improvements and system enhancement projects.

• Proven experience managing end-to-end payroll within a medium to large organisation.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and compliance.
• Excellent Excel skills, including PivotTables and VLOOKUP, with experience handling large datasets.
• A proactive approach and the ability to work accurately under pressure.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build effective working relationships.
• CIPP, CPP or equivalent qualification is desirable.