Payroll & Helpdesk Manager
Location: Pity Me, Durham
Salary/Grade: from £60,000 + excellent benefits
Contract: Permanent - Full Time
About the Role
We’re looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Payroll & Helpdesk Manager to lead our Payroll and People Services Helpdesk Teams. This is a fantastic opportunity to shape and deliver a modern, efficient and future‑ready service that supports colleagues across Northumbrian Water Group.
You’ll play a pivotal role in ensuring compliance, driving service excellence, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across People Operations. If you're passionate about high‑quality service delivery and love making processes better, we want to hear from you.
What You’ll Be Doing
Payroll Governance & Compliance
1. Lead and continuously improve all payroll processes to ensure full compliance with legislation, regulation, audit standards and HMRC requirements.
2. Oversee accuracy, data quality and statutory adherence across payroll, including IR35 and employment tax alignment.
3. Coordinate responses to audits, KYC reviews and compliance activity, ensuring recommendations are delivered.
4. Manage specialist areas such as Equal Pay and Ethnicity Pay audits, and Executive pay administration.
5. Develop and maintain payroll policies, SOPs and compliance frameworks.
6. Represent Payroll externally, keeping us informed of emerging legislation, risks and best practice.
Customer & Service Excellence
7. Deliver a high‑quality, responsive service through both Payroll and the People Services Helpdesk.
8. Ensure timely and accurate end‑to‑end monthly payroll processing with a focus on colleague experience.
9. Embed a Quality Assurance framework, using insights and feedback to drive continual improvement.
10. Work closely with internal stakeholders to ensure clear communication, effective problem‑solving and seamless service delivery.
Leadership & Operational Delivery
11. Lead, develop and inspire the Payroll and Helpdesk Teams, promoting high performance and colleague growth.
12. Oversee day‑to‑day operations including SLA management, workload planning and delivery of cyclical activities.
13. Identify and plan skills development required for Oracle updates and process changes.
14. Partner across the People Directorate to build a joined‑up, future‑focused service.
Continuous Improvement, Data & Technology
15. Use data insights, audits and technology to drive improvements across People Operations.
16. Identify opportunities for workflow optimisation and automation.
17. Ensure accurate HR and payroll data management, strong audit trails and high data integrity.
18. Produce clear, actionable reporting and KPIs to support decision‑making and track service excellence.
What We’re Looking For
Essential Skills & Experience
19. Significant experience in end‑to‑end payroll within an HR environment.
20. FdSc in Payroll Management or equivalent professional qualification.
21. Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and HMRC compliance.
22. Experience managing payroll controls, reconciliations and payment processes (BACS/CHAPS).
23. Solid working knowledge of HR systems — ideally Oracle.
24. Proven people management and leadership experience.
25. Strong analytical ability and confident working with data and reporting.
26. Experience improving processes, efficiency and colleague experience.
27. Project management capability and ability to balance multiple priorities.
28. Customer‑focused, proactive and collaborative approach.
Useful/Desirable
29. CIPD qualified.
30. Experience giving wider HR generalist advice.
Why Join Us?
You’ll be at the heart of shaping a forward‑thinking People Operations function that delivers real value to colleagues. As part of a supportive and ambitious team, you’ll play a key role in enhancing service quality, compliance, and efficiency across the business.
We’re committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive environment and providing opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Apply Now
If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, we’d love to hear from you. Click Apply to start your journey with us.
Here at Northumbrian Water/Essex & Suffolk Water, we embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, and encourage all colleagues to bring their most authentic self to work.
Our colleague network groups include our Rainbow Support Network (LGBTQIA+), REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), WiSTEM (Women in STEM) and Thisability (disability and neurodiversity) networks. They provide a safe space for colleagues from diverse backgrounds, welcoming all colleagues regardless of their personal characteristics to participate in valuable conversation that improves our organisational awareness, understanding and inclusivity.
We encourage and welcome all applications, as we strive to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to having diverse communities represented within all our teams, structures, and organisation.
Please note this role will require a DBS to be completed prior to employment
NWG are an inclusive employer who support the rehabilitation of offenders, we will not, however consider candidates who have certain unspent convictions to ensure our commitment to fostering a safe and secure working environment for all OR colleagues, suppliers, customers and third parties.
About us
Here are NWG we strive to make Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) a Great Place to Work, for all. We embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and encourage you to bring your full self to work. As an equal opportunity employer we’re committed to having a diverse community represented across our business.
We’re aware that not everyone will have every skill listed in the job description, however if you have some of the skills listed, we'd encourage you to apply
NWG at a glance:
Our purpose at NWG is caring for the essential needs of our communities and environment, now and for generations to come.
We do this by providing reliable and affordable water and wastewater services for our customers.
We make a positive difference by operating efficiently and investing prudently, to maintain a sustainable and resilient business.
Our vision is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services. To support us in achieving our vision, we have five core values which are the guiding principles, defining who we are, what we do and how we do it.
Our benefits
We’re a Great Place to Work because of the amazing people who work for us, and to say thank you we offer a range of benefits to colleagues. Our ‘Tap Into’ benefits include:
31. Generous holiday entitlement starting at 26 days, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. There’s also the option to buy or sell holidays.
32. Company pension scheme, where we’ll double match your contributions up to an employer contribution of 11%.
33. Free access to local attractions.
34. A fantastic discount scheme, with savings on days out, shopping, travel and more.
35. Award winning ‘Living Well’ wellbeing support, including access to a digital GP service for you and your family members.
36. Support with sustainable travel – through salary sacrifice cars and a cycle to work scheme.
37. Financial wellbeing support – access our community savings scheme, financial education and low cost loans through Salary Finance. We also provide 4 x Life Assurance and an Income Protection Scheme.
38. Support with your development – we offer a range of development opportunities, can support you through an interest free qualification loan and we’ll even pay for any relevant professional body subscription.