An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior Payroll Officer to join a well-established specialist trust supporting children and young people. This role plays a key part in ensuring the accurate and effective delivery of payroll services for a large in-house workforce, supporting both HR and Finance functions.

You will act as a key point of expertise on payroll, ensuring compliance with UK legislation, delivering accurate salary processing, and supporting staff with payroll and pension queries. This is a hands-on and collaborative role within a small team, contributing to both operational delivery and continuous improvement.

Role Information:

• Job title: Senior Payroll Officer
• Department: HR / Finance
• Salary: £35,949 – £39,791 + £1,000 retention bonus
• Location: Surrey

Key Responsibilities:

Payroll Processing & Delivery

• Oversee and support the end-to-end monthly payroll for circa 250 employees.
• Carry out payroll input, validation, and reconciliation processes to ensure accuracy.
• Prepare payroll reporting submissions for HR approval and finance sign-off (BACS payments).

Compliance & Legislation

• Ensure payroll operations comply with UK payroll legislation and tax regulations.
• Maintain accurate records and support audit and compliance requirements.
• Support data accuracy and integrity across payroll and HR systems. Pensions & Reporting
• Administer pension schemes, including contributions and reporting.
• Produce exception reports, data analysis, and payroll-related insights
• Work closely with finance to reconcile payroll data and support reporting requirements.

Stakeholder Support & Communication

• Act as a key point of contact for payroll queries, providing clear guidance and support to staff.
• Collaborate with HR and Finance teams on payroll-related processes and improvements.
• Support direct staff communication and ensure a high level of service delivery.

Continuous Improvement & Team Contribution

• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes and reporting efficiency.
• Contribute to the wider HR/payroll function, including HR-related administrative responsibilities.
• Support ongoing professional development and best practice across the function.

Candidate Profile:

• Proven experience in an in-house payroll environment (200+ employees),
• Payroll qualification (CIPP Level 4 or working towards Level 5), or equivalent experience (AAT/ACCA with payroll exposure)
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, tax, and compliance requirements
• Experience with payroll and HR systems, with strong Excel skills
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to reconcile and interpret payroll data
• Strong communication skills with a collaborative, approachable and service-focused mindset

This vacancy will be actively shortlisted, so early applications are encouraged to avoid missing out.

Venn Group is an equal opportunities employment agency and welcomes applications from all candidates.