Payroll Manager in Bolton

Location: Manchester, M1 7BL (Hybrid - 3 days/week in office)

Salary: £52,500 - £62,500 + 10% Annual Share Allowance

Contract Type: Full-time (37.5 hrs) or 30-hour flexible week

Closing Date: 25 August 2026

You’ve probably heard of Autotrader, but do you know what we’re all about? We’re the most trusted, most visited automotive marketplace in the UK. A heritage brand and a tech bring together vehicle buyers and sellers to give them real choices. Cars may be what we’re best known for but we’re also the place for pretty much everything else on wheels, from e-bikes to caravans. In the automotive world, change is a constant, that’s why we take our job of untangling the complex car-buying journey very seriously. At our core, we’re all about people. We go our own way while embracing diversity and celebrating our differences. We dedicate ourselves to the idea that we work better together. Autotrader is a beautiful, surprising and vibrant place to work. We might not be for everyone, but we could be perfect for you.

Key Benefits & Perks

• Financial Rewards: £52,500 - £62,500 base salary, plus 10% of your salary in shares awarded annually (vesting over 3 years to sell or hold).
• Generous Leave: 28 days annual leave + bank holidays + half-day closures on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
• Strong Pension: 7% employer contribution matched with a 5% employee contribution.
• Flexible Working (Connected Working): Hybrid model combining a minimum of 3 days per week in the office with work-from-home flexibility.
• Work From Anywhere Periods: Dedicated remote-first periods in summer and winter allowing you to work remotely anywhere in the UK or from select overseas locations.
• Comprehensive Healthcare & Wellbeing: Private medical cover, online GP and dentist access, plus specialist support for assisted fertility, menopause, period care plans, and gender dysphoria.
• Additional Perks: Car salary sacrifice scheme, share-save options, and our tailored Great Start new-starter induction programme.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Payroll Manager to lead our end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring our 1,200+ colleagues across four entities are paid accurately and on time. You will own the monthly UK payroll process and manage our operational relationship with our managed payroll service provider, HiBob. As part of our FTSE 100 business, you will be trusted to take ownership and get stuck into the details. You’ll evaluate existing workflows, strengthen internal controls, and continuously find ways to make payroll simpler, more efficient, and scalable.

What You’ll Do

• Payroll Execution: Lead and sign off monthly UK payroll, reviewing outputs and variances to ensure 100% accurate and timely payments.
• Provider Management: Own the payroll relationship with HiBob, holding them accountable to high service delivery standards and driving continuous improvement.
• Team Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop our Payroll Specialist in an inclusive environment setting clear expectations, building capability, and acting as a role model for our values.
• Compliance & Governance: Maintain robust payroll controls in line with UK tax, pension, and statutory requirements (PAYE, NIC, SMP, SSP, pension auto-enrolment, HMRC year-end reporting, and GDPR).
• Audit & Reconciliations: Partner with Internal Controls and external auditors on statutory/internal audits, while collaborating with Finance on payroll journals and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with People & Culture on starters, leavers, benefits, and salary changes.
• Pensions & Benefits: Oversee monthly pension submissions and support the accurate administration of employee benefits and share schemes.
• Colleague Support: Serve as the escalation point for complex or sensitive payroll queries, providing clear and supportive guidance on pay, tax, and deductions.
• Process Optimisation: Identify ways to reduce manual tasks, streamline operations, and reinforce controls.
• Finance Community: Actively participate in the wider Finance team, sharing payroll expertise and supporting business-wide initiatives.

What we’re looking for

• Experience owning end-to-end payroll operations at a similar level, whether in a dedicated payroll position or a broader role with significant payroll responsibility.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, current tax regulations, pension auto-enrolment and payroll accounting.
• Experience working with a modern Payroll system (we use HiBob) and managing the relationship with a managed payroll provider.
• Intermediate Excel skills, including VLOOKUPs and pivot tables.
• A strong controls mindset and the judgement and attention to detail to confidently sign off payroll.
• Experience overseeing UK Workplace Pensions under auto-enrolment rules and practical knowledge of statutory Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) administration, including the transition from traditional P11D/P11D(b) reporting to real-time Payrolled Benefits (Class 1A NICs).
• Experience managing or supporting others. You lead by example balancing people needs with business outcomes and are passionate about building an inclusive, supportive environment.
• Clear, concise and confident communication skills, especially when explaining complex payroll matters.
• Great stakeholder management with the ability to build strong relationships across different teams, senior leaders and external providers.
• A drive to keep improving how things work and the confidence to challenge established processes when you see a better way.
• A CIPP or equivalent payroll qualification would be useful, but it isn’t essential.
• Familiarity with the payroll tax treatment of share schemes, specifically managing PAYE and Class 1 NIC liabilities would be useful, but it isn’t essential.

During our application process, you will be asked two questions to help us learn more about you and how you align with our values. These will be used as part of our selection criteria, to determine if we progress your application further.

Desirable (Nice to Have):

• A CIPP or equivalent professional payroll qualification.
• Familiarity with the payroll tax treatment of share schemes (specifically managing PAYE and Class 1 NIC liabilities).