Payroll Lead UK

At Aberdeen, our ambition is to be the UK’s leading Wealth & Investments group. Strengthening talent and culture is one of our strategic priorities. We strive to make Aberdeen a great place to work so that we can attract and retain the industry’s best talent. Our people put our stakeholders at the heart of everything they do by helping us to make a positive difference to the lives of our clients, customers, colleagues, shareholders, and society. We are focused on growing our direct and advised wealth platforms and repositioning our specialist asset management business to meet client demand. We are committed to providing excellent client service, supported by leading technology and talent.

Aberdeen comprises three businesses: Interactive Investor (ii), Investments, and Adviser. Each of which focuses on meeting and adapting to our clients’ evolving needs. Interactive Investor, the UK’s second largest direct‑to‑consumer investment platform, enables individuals in the UK to plan, save, and invest in the way that works for them. Our Adviser business provides financial planning solutions and technology for UK financial advisers, enabling them to create value for their customers. Our Investments business is a specialist asset manager that focuses on areas where we have both strength and scale to capitalise on the key themes shaping the market, through either public markets or alternative asset classes.

About the Department: Aberdeen’s Human Resources function is globally led by Tracey Hahn, our Chief People Officer (CPO), and has a vision that positions our culture and talent as a market differentiator. The HR function has a lead role in making our brand meaningful for colleagues, encompassing creating the right culture, development opportunities, remuneration principles and organisational structures to attract, reward, retain, develop, and successfully deploy a high‑calibre, impactful, diverse, and inclusive workforce.

About the Role: Reporting to the Head of Global Payroll, the UK Payroll Lead is responsible for the successful planning, execution, and delivery of all UK payroll services. The UK payroll lead will work with a small in‑house team to ensure e2e payroll processes are efficient and accurate. The role holder is an expert in the field, accountable for monthly processing, resolving payroll issues ranging from simple to complex, raising escalations and supporting improvement projects. The role holder applies best practice thinking around the payroll space (operational practices), understands and adheres to UK compliance and legislative requirements, and demonstrates analytical thinking and initiative. In addition, the role holder will manipulate data, analyse reports, manage escalations, and challenge where required. They will contribute to the global payroll team to deliver against required metrics and internal management reporting requirements, ensuring the payroll model is delivered on time and correctly first time. Flexibility to support other regions as required is an advantage.

Key Responsibilities:

• Full in‑house end‑to‑end payroll processing within Workday.
• Engage with key stakeholders across the business and geographies to ensure processes and overarching governance and design are appropriate and fit for purpose.
• Ensure compliance with HMRC regulations and statutory payments, inclusive of year‑end processing.
• Successful delivery of payroll data standards, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to evaluate the health of payroll performance and drive proposed improvements.
• Responsible for delivery of controls and risk management framework for end‑to‑end payroll processes.
• Successful delivery of finance posting files, ensuring stability, supporting the finance team with reports and reconciliation.
• Support and manage escalations related to payroll issues.
• Ensure colleagues are paid according to contractual pays dates, right first time, on time.
• Help ensure Aberdeen remains up to date with local payroll laws, regulations, and reporting requirements, and that we are compliant in all payroll activities.
• Undertake quality assurance processes / requirements to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and integrity of payroll data and related processes in line with internal and external audit requirements.
• Delivery of payroll metrics and analytics to provide insights on payroll performance, costs, and trends.

About the Candidate: Experience working in a global organisation; finance services is preferred. Extensive experience working in regional payroll or in a similar role, managing payroll across multiple countries, working in a global payroll function. Extensive experience in the Workday payroll module, as the UK payroll is run in‑house from Workday. Subject‑matter expert on complex payroll‑related issues including share‑based compensation, employee mobility, benefits related pay, and non‑exempt employee pay. Strong understanding of upstream and downstream processes such as HR functions and payroll accounting. Good communication and people skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders across multiple functions such as HR and Finance. Proficient in using payroll software, HRIS systems, and Microsoft Office Suite. Strong advocate for process improvement. Resilient, positive with an enthusiastic attitude. Strong organisational skills and an acute attention to detail.

Disability Confident Employer: We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you have a disability and would like to apply to one of our UK roles under the Disability Confident Scheme, please notify us by completing the relevant section in our candidate questionnaire. One of our team will reach out to support you through your application process.

Our Benefits: There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported. When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around. This includes 40 days’ annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance‑based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal.

An Inclusive Way of Working: Whatever way you like to work, if you have the talent and commitment to join our team, we’d like to hear from you. At Aberdeen we’ve adopted a ‘blended working’ approach. This approach combines the benefits of face‑to‑face collaboration, coaching and connecting in our offices with the flexibility of working from home. It enables colleagues to find a balance that works for their roles, their teams, our clients and our business. An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance with your application, or a reasonable adjustment to your interview arrangements – for example, because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability – please let us know and we’ll be happy to help. We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment.

We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance. We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.