About the Company
We are a diversified financial services group with a European footprint. We partner with institutional and corporate clients and are committed to high standards of governance, employee wellbeing and operational excellence.
Role Purpose
You will own the smooth, accurate and compliant delivery of monthly payroll and benefits across the UK and selected European offices. Acting as the first point of contact for employees and external providers, you’ll keep records immaculate, optimise processes, and ensure all statutory submissions and internal controls are met.
Key Responsibilities
Payroll Operations
* Prepare and run end-to-end monthly payrolls for the UK and EMEA entities, ensuring accuracy, approvals and on-time delivery (UK, Frankfurt, Netherlands, Dubai)
* Maintain up-to-date employee data in the HRIS, processing starters, leavers, transfers, promotions and pay changes.
* Calculate and process adjustments (e.g., overtime, allowances, back-pay, bonuses, leaver payments and statutory payments).
* Perform post-payroll tasks: journals, reconciliations, variance analysis and cross-company recharges, providing clear audit trails.
* Resolve employee payroll queries promptly and professionally; identify root causes and prevent recurrences.
Benefits Administration
* Administer the full benefits portfolio (e.g., private medical, cash plan, life/illness cover, pension/retirement schemes, leave policies).
* Coordinate enrolments, changes and leavers; manage monthly provider interfaces and invoices.
* Lead cyclical activities such as annual renewals and any open-enrolment communications.
* Ensure eligible employees are auto-enrolled in pension schemes; reconcile contributions and manage scheme reporting.
Compliance, Controls & Reporting
* Yearly PSA HMRC submissions and equivalent filings for European jurisdictions.
* Uphold GDPR/data-protection standards and internal information-security policies; maintain secure, accurate records and document retention.
* Keep policies and procedures current with changing employment, payroll and benefits legislation; brief HR/Finance on impacts.
* Produce regular MI for HR and Finance (headcount, cost, benefits uptake, trend analysis) with commentary and recommendations.
Vendor & Stakeholder Management
* Act as day-to-day contact for payroll and benefits providers; manage SLAs, service issues and continuous improvement.
* Partner with HR, Finance and local office leaders to plan changes, support audits, budgets and year-end activities.
* Coordinate training and guidance for managers and employees on payroll/benefits processes and timelines.
Skills & Experience
* Significant experience (typically 5–15+ years) in payroll and benefits within a multi-entity or multi-country environment.
* Solid knowledge of UK payroll, taxation and pension auto-enrolment; exposure to at least one additional European jurisdiction is ideal.
* Strong Excel skills (lookups, pivot tables, reconciliations) and confident with enterprise HRIS/payroll platforms.
* High attention to detail, numerical accuracy and a continuous-improvement mindset.
* Excellent stakeholder skills with a responsive, service-oriented approach and the ability to handle confidential information.
* Clear written and verbal communication; able to explain complex matters simply and diplomatically.
* ADP experience mandatory, Workday experience beneficial.