Senior Payroll Advisor

Senior Payroll Advisor

Salary: £35,000 – £40,000 + benefits

Location: Essex

Working Setup: Hybrid – 1 day office / 4 days home

Contract: 6 Month FTC

JGA Recruitment Group is delighted to be working with a leading professional services organisation to recruit a Senior Payroll Advisor on a 6-month fixed-term contract.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced payroll professional to join a client-focused payroll bureau, managing a portfolio of complex payrolls across multiple sectors.

You’ll take ownership of end-to-end payrolls while acting as a senior technical point of contact for clients and colleagues. The role offers exposure to complex payroll areas including payrolled benefits, share schemes, Teachers’ Pensions, international assignments and complex pension arrangements.

The Role

As Senior Payroll Advisor, you’ll manage a varied portfolio of client payrolls across weekly, monthly and annual cycles.

This is a hands-on and technically focused position where you’ll be expected to provide advice, resolve complex queries, support junior colleagues and contribute to the continued development of the payroll bureau.

Key Responsibilities

Manage end-to-end weekly, monthly and annual payrolls across complex client portfolios

Process payrolls involving payrolled benefits, share schemes, Teachers’ Pensions and expatriate payrolls

Manage variable and complex pay structures across multiple sites, brands and legal entities

Handle HMRC correspondence, RTI submissions, statutory filings and year-end processes

Complete P60 production and payroll reconciliations

Administer auto-enrolment and complex pension schemes

Operate IRIS Payroll Professional at an advanced level

Support payroll system implementations, parallel runs and new client onboarding

Advise clients on holiday pay, Working Time Regulations and statutory payments

Act as a senior point of contact for complex client queries

Mentor and support junior payroll team members

Contribute to payroll best practice and continuous improvement

About You

The successful candidate will have strong payroll experience, ideally gained within a payroll bureau or client-facing professional services environment.

You’ll have excellent technical knowledge and the confidence to deal directly with clients on complex payroll matters.

Ideally, you will have:

Strong end-to-end UK payroll experience

CIPP qualification or equivalent experience

Advanced knowledge of payroll systems

Strong understanding of UK payroll legislation and compliance

Experience with complex pensions, expatriate or international payroll

Experience managing multiple client payrolls simultaneously

Strong knowledge of auto-enrolment and statutory requirements

Excellent attention to detail

Strong communication and client relationship skills

Good Excel skills, including formulas and payroll data analysis

Privacy Notice

JGA Recruitment Group Ltd (“We”) are committed to equality of opportunity for all applications regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships. We strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.

We are also committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We are a specialist Payroll and HR recruitment agency and recruitment business as defined in the Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003