Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist in London - James Gray Associates

Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Location: London, E14 (Hybrid – 1 month office-based initially, then 3 days office / 2 days home)

Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 + Excellent Benefits

Contract: Permanent

JGA are exclusively supporting a leading global organisation to recruit an experienced Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist.

Operating across multiple continents with thousands of employees worldwide, this internationally recognised business plays a critical role in global trade and offers an exciting opportunity to join a collaborative HR & Reward function supporting both UK and Ireland operations.

The Opportunity

We're looking for an experienced payroll professional to take ownership of UK & Ireland payroll and benefits administration for approximately 400 employees.

This is a highly visible role where you'll act as the subject matter expert for Payroll & Benefits, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time whilst continuously improving payroll processes, maintaining compliance, managing pensions and benefits, and supporting wider reward initiatives.

Working closely with HR, Finance and external providers, you'll also have the opportunity to drive automation projects and improve employee engagement with the company's benefits offering.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll

• End-to-end management of UK & Ireland payrolls (circa 400 employees)
• Manage a modified payroll for UK expatriates
• Ensure payroll compliance with HMRC, Revenue and legislative requirements
• Administer pensions, auto-enrolment and statutory submissions
• Produce monthly payroll journals and reconcile payroll data
• Investigate and resolve payroll queries and discrepancies
• Review and improve payroll processes, driving efficiencies and automation
• Maintain payroll documentation, SOPs and process guides
• Train HR colleagues to provide payroll continuity when required

Benefits

• Administer all employee benefit schemes from onboarding through to leavers
• Manage pension schemes, submissions and governance
• Support annual benefits renewals with external brokers
• Promote employee benefits across the business
• Produce monthly benefit reporting and market benchmarking
• Update policies, intranet content and employee communications

Projects & Reporting

• Manage annual payroll activities including P11Ds, P60s and Gender Pay Gap reporting
• Support annual salary and bonus review processes
• Assist with UK & Ireland payroll budgeting and variance reporting
• Partner with International Mobility regarding expatriate payroll obligations
• Deliver payroll and benefits metrics to senior stakeholders
• Support internal and external payroll audits

What We're Looking For

Essential

• Significant UK payroll and benefits experience
• Strong experience using ADP iHCM2
• Excellent understanding of UK payroll legislation
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Ability to work independently whilst managing multiple deadlines

Desirable

• Irish payroll experience
• Experience processing expatriate/modified payrolls
• CIPP qualification (or equivalent experience)
• Strong Google Workspace knowledge

Benefits

• Salary up to £65,000
• Hybrid working (3 days office / 2 days home after onboarding)
• 25 days annual leave + Bank Holidays
• Annual bonus & salary review
• Group Personal Pension
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Private Medical Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme & Virtual GP
• Enhanced Family Leave
• Enhanced Sick Pay
• Interest-free Season Ticket Loan
• Annual Health Check
• Eye Care Support
• Employee Discount Platform

Interested?

If you're an experienced Payroll professional looking to take ownership of payroll and benefits within a global organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

Feel free to apply, connect or contact me at

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