Payroll Advisor (Enterprise) in Aberdeen

AAB is a leading professional services firm operating across the UK, Ireland, and the USA. We specialise in the mid-market, supporting individuals, family businesses, and organisations with a full suite of services including audit, tax, corporate finance, payroll, people consultancy, and wealth management. With 1,000+ team members, we deliver expert support to clients all over the world.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. We succeed together as one team, building strong client relationships through passion, empathy, and straightforward advice. That’s what makes AAB different. We invest in brilliant talent across every area of the business, offering tailored training, professional qualifications, and continuous support to help you grow.

Your growth matters to us. We’ll give you the tools, encouragement, and opportunities to lead, learn, and make an impact. Guided by our six core values, we foster a culture where collaboration, trust, and enthusiasm thrive.

At AAB, your career is what you make it. We are here to help you turn ambition into action, whether that’s becoming a technical expert, a future leader, or someone who simply makes a difference every day. If you're ready to be part of a team that’s united by purpose and driven by values, we’d love to hear from you.

We take our responsibility seriously. From reducing our environmental impact, to supporting education through training and talent programmes, to giving back to our local communities with our charitable initiative ABBIE - ESG is part of who we are.

ROLE PURPOSE

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the firm’s technical and operational methods, processes, procedures and standards of work required, particularly in relation to the work of your team, dealing with increasingly complex clients and tasks.
• Expand your knowledge and build on experience gained.
• Be seen as a source of knowledge for colleagues and provide effective on the job and in-house training and support their development.
• Review and issue output to clients, with limited guidance from senior colleagues, having due regard for risk.
• Identify main points to discuss with colleagues and clients, and offer practical solutions.
• Develop relationships with clients, their staff and their professional advisors.
• Continue to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the services offered by your department and the firm as a whole and identify areas where the firm could assist clients.
• Manage the workflow for the team and delegate work, as appropriate, to junior colleagues and ensure that what is expected of them is clearly explained and monitor their work and productivity effectively.
• Be responsible for work of junior colleagues, review their work, provide feedback and address learning points, as appropriate, ensuring that they are fully productive and their skills well utilised and hold the team accountable.
• Ensure that the firm’s administrative, operational and business procedures, including professional practices, professional ethics, the firm’s methods and standards of work are followed.
• Identify client service and process improvements and, in conjunction with the wider team, actively promote ideas and suggestions and participate in all process improvements as part of the firm’s commitment to continuous improvement, financial discipline and operational excellence.

Technical tasks:

• Process complex payrolls, seek guidance where required from Payroll Assistant Manager or relevant EPP Service Line - aid own technical development by researching solutions to problems.
• Maintain technical knowledge and be aware of future changes to payroll legislation, suggest and implement required changes to processes and procedures.
• Drive specialist technical roles and projects as required.
• Review and send BACs payments per audit requirements.
• Maintain accurate and effective client process manuals for your lead payrolls and support team to ensure department manuals are of the required standard.
• Maintain an understanding of all payroll team related software and undertake testing of updates and upgrades in line with audit requirements. Raise queries with software providers when issues arise with supervision.
• Monitor payroll workloads across the team on a daily basis, ensure all payments and administration tasks are completed to necessary timescales and proactively plan recurring team duties in advance where necessary.
• 1st Line of support for any EPP assistants and analysts who require guidance on a day to day basis.
• Complete allocated monthly control reviews to support the payroll audit requirements.

Experience & Qualifications

• Required: Higher Grade/A Level or equivalent; Relevant professional qualifications.
• Preferred: University degree 2:1 minimum classification.
• Preferred Experience: 3-4 years’ relevant work experience; Previous experience of working in a similar role; Experience of working to tight deadlines; Experience of handling a client portfolio; Experience of technical compliance and advisory work; Experience of supervising staff.

Required knowledge and skills:

• Excellent organisational skills.
• Strong communication skills – both written and oral.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and relevant software packages.
• Attention to detail.
• Problem solving skills.
• Working knowledge of relevant legislation and industry best practice.

Required attributes:

• Good team player with the ability to build effective relationships at all levels.
• Ability to work on own initiative and to tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated, with an ability to develop ideas into practice.

The list of duties is not intended to be exhaustive but highlights a number of key tasks. The requirement to undertake additional duties which might reasonably be expected also form part of the function of the role.

WHAT AAB OFFER

We want you to feel supported inside and outside of work. That’s why we offer a benefits package designed for your wellbeing, lifestyle, and career.

• Annual leave (plus public holidays), with the option to buy or carry over leave.
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, paternity, adoption).
• Paid volunteering day to support causes that matter to you.
• Private Medical Insurance (PMI) for you and the option to cover family members.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support.
• Death in Service benefit.
• Competitive pension scheme.
• Life assurance policies to support you and your family.
• Hybrid working model.
• Agile working culture that supports flexible hours and smarter working.
• Modern office spaces designed for collaboration, focus, and wellbeing.