You'll be part of our in‑house payroll service, delivering accurate, timely, end‑to‑end payroll processing for colleagues across the Council and traded services. Day‑to‑day, you will:

• Run monthly payroll cycles from input to reconciliation, ensuring compliance with HMRC, statutory and local government requirements.
• Administer starters, leavers and contractual changes (including back‑pay, allowances, overtime, deductions, and statutory payments), and produce audit‑ready records.
• Maintain and quality‑check data in our HR/Payroll system (Unit4 ERP) and associated tools, using reports to spot anomalies and resolve issues before pay day.
• Provide clear, customer‑focused advice to employees and managers, working closely with HR Admin and Recruitment to ensure a smooth colleague lifecycle.
• Apply local government frameworks correctly (e.g., NJC grades/allowances) and support implementation of annual pay awards within payroll deadlines.
• Contribute to continuous improvement—documenting processes, suggesting system/report enhancements, and supporting testing when changes go live.

You'll also help colleagues make the most of the Local Government and NHS Pension Schemes by processing pensionable pay accurately and on time in line with scheme rules.

You'll join our Payroll & HR Administration service, part of the People & Development function. The service is led by Kellie Wootten, Service Lead – Payroll & HR Admin (MCIPPdip), and works hand‑in‑hand with HR Admin, Recruitment and HR Business Partnering to deliver a seamless end‑to‑end service for managers and employees. 

We have strengthened our structure to build resilience and career pathways across the team so there is scope to learn, progress, and help shape how we do things.

Our ways of working are collaborative and service‑focused: we share knowledge and support colleagues in other parts of the People & Development Team during busy periods to get the job done right first time.

You're a payroll professional who takes pride in getting pay right and providing a friendly, reliable service. Specifically, you will bring:

• Hands‑on payroll experience in a medium/large, multi‑contract environment—comfortable with end‑to‑end processing, reconciliations, and explaining pay outcomes to non‑specialists.
• Strong systems skills, ideally with Unit4 (or a similar HR/Payroll platform), and confident Excel/reporting ability to validate data and investigate exceptions. 
• Knowledge of UK payroll legislation (PAYE, NI, SSP/SMP etc.) and ideally an understanding of local government context—NJC grades/allowances and pensionable pay under the LGPS (we'll support you to deepen this).
• Attention to detail and judgement—you can spot issues early, apply policies consistently, and keep excellent, auditable records. 
• Customer focus and teamwork—you're responsive, respect deadlines around payroll cut‑offs, and work positively to resolve queries quickly