Senior HR & Payroll Functional Analyst

Role Overview

• You will operate as a senior payroll subject‑matter expert within a large HR & Payroll shared service environment, with direct accountability for payroll integrity during change
• Processing and overseeing end‑to‑end payroll activity in a high‑volume environment, including starters, leavers, contractual changes, allowances, overtime, absences, deductions, retros and corrections
• Applying expert knowledge of UK payroll legislation (PAYE, NI, statutory payments, pensions, salary sacrifice, tax treatment of expenses and benefits, overpayment recovery) to ensure payroll outputs are fully compliant
• Acting as a technical escalation point for complex payroll cases, legislative interpretation issues and high‑risk pay scenarios, owning issues through to resolution
• Supporting payroll cut‑off activity, pre‑payroll validation, post‑payroll reconciliation and variance analysis, ensuring discrepancies are identified and resolved before payment
• Supporting and safeguarding payroll during large‑scale transitions to new platforms, including hands‑on involvement in multiple payroll parallel runs
• Validating and reconciling complex pay calculations across legacy systems, investigating variances and ensuring alignment of results
• Identifying, analysing and resolving data integrity issues impacting payroll calculations, statutory deductions and net pay outcomes
• Ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance and employee confidence are maintained throughout cutover, go‑live and early‑life support
• Contributing to the creation and evolution of the HR & Payroll Service Blueprint and High‑Level Operating Model, ensuring payroll processing realities and legislative requirements are fully embedded
• Supporting workshops with HR, Payroll, client and third‑party SMEs to ensure service designs are operationally viable, compliant and scalable
• Ensuring service designs align to ERP (e.g. Oracle Fusion) capabilities, minimising unnecessary bespoke configuration and protecting payroll control frameworks
• Creating and maintaining payroll‑focused SOPs, process maps, workflows and control documentation that accurately reflect live payroll operations
• Developing and executing payroll test scenarios and scripts, supporting system testing, payroll parallel runs and service validation
• Supporting detailed service transition planning, including multiple dress rehearsals ahead of go‑live, ensuring payroll risks are anticipated and mitigated
• Supporting hypercare activity post‑transition, owning payroll‑related issues and stabilising services in early operational life
• Leading deep‑dive analysis into payroll errors, failure demand and control weaknesses, implementing practical, sustainable improvements
• Acting as a hands‑on senior operator, providing guidance, coaching and quality assurance for Analysts and junior colleagues.
• Upholding high standards of accuracy, compliance and professionalism across all payroll‑related outputs.

Requirements

• Strong hands‑on experience processing payroll end‑to‑end in a large, high‑volume HR & Payroll shared service or outsourced environment
• Expert knowledge of UK payroll legislation, with the confidence to interpret and apply rules correctly in complex scenarios
• Proven experience with: Payroll run activity and cut‑off management
• Pre‑ and post‑payroll controls
• Retrospective adjustments
• Payroll error resolution and overpayment handling
• Experience supporting large‑scale payroll transitions to new platforms, including parallel running, complex calculation validation and data reconciliation
• Experience working in environments where HR and Payroll are tightly integrated and pay‑impacting changes flow directly into payroll
• Experience supporting major systems transitions or service transformations (e.g. legacy to Oracle)
• Background in public sector or highly regulated environments (e.g. Civil Service, NHS, large local authorities) or similarly complex organisations
• Ability to confidently create and maintain: Payroll‑focused SOPs
• End‑to‑end payroll process maps and workflows
• Payroll test scripts and validation scenarios
• Strong analytical capability, particularly in payroll variance analysis, root‑cause investigation and data integrity issues
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a deadline‑driven, payroll‑critical environment, especially around cut‑off and pay dates
• Exceptional attention to detail, with a proven track record of delivering accurate payroll outcomes under pressure
• Strong communication skills, with confidence working across HR, Payroll, Finance and programme teams
• Proactive, solutions‑driven approach, with the ability to support and mentor junior colleagues.

Tech Stack

• ERP
• Oracle

Benefits

• 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
• Auto-enrolment to our company pension
• Life assurance
• A cycle2work scheme
• 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Paternity pay of two weeks
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform