Payroll Specialist in London

At Catch22, we are proud of our reputation as a modern and progressive employer. Our 1,300 colleagues and 300 volunteers work at every stage of the social welfare cycle, supporting over 60,000 individuals from cradle to career. Our work spans education, social justice and rehabilitation, children's social care, family support, social action and getting people into work.

The People & Payroll Team plays a critical role in supporting our services to deliver our work. We're a team of nearly 30, and work from our offices in Brasted, Kent, Central London and remotely (with travel to our services).

Join Catch22 as our Interim Payroll Specialist and play a central role in delivering a best-in-class payroll service for our people. You’ll lead a proactive, customer-focused payroll function, ensuring colleagues are paid accurately and on time, and supporting smooth onboarding. The Payroll Team is responsible for ensuring that salaries are paid correctly, on time and in compliance with HMRC rules. Based in Brasted (with hybrid working), you’ll oversee all aspects of payroll delivery, manage the iTrent system, and work closely with People, Finance, and the wider organisation. You’ll provide clear payroll advice, mentor people coordinators, and help shape and automate processes for an excellent user experience.

We’re looking for someone with initiative, strong payroll expertise, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively to improve efficiency and support our inclusive culture. As the Payroll Specialist you will be solely responsible for ensuring that the organisation’s payroll and pension schemes are run in the most efficient manner, ensuring accurate payments are made to staff on time, and ensuring that all tax law and other associated regulations are complied with. You will have the ability to demonstrate initiative and a proactive approach to work, be able and comfortable to work unsupervised and work across teams to solve problems and to be able to improve the efficiency of the existing processes. You will also need to manage various priorities and work within tight deadlines and provide an excellent customer focused service to every customer whether internal or external and ensure that issues are resolved on the first occasion wherever possible. You will develop close working relationships with colleagues in the People Services team as well as other key corporate and group functions to promote best practice to achieve accurate payroll processing.

Experience

• A full membership (or equivalent) of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals and a commitment to continuous learning
• Degree or relevant professional qualification
• Knowledge of MHR iTrent System
• Systems and digital solutions knowledge
• HMRC guidance and pension legislation knowledge
• Strong knowledge of payroll regulations, legislation and procedures.
• Proficiency in payroll software - iTrent / People First
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Payroll system set up and implementation experience
• Ability to handle confidential information with integrity
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills
• The ability to work effectively under pressure

Additional information

• Salary in the range of £49,000 to £53,000 per annum
• Hours: Full time, 37 hours a week, Monday-Friday - 9 am-5 pm.
• Contract: This role is for a 6 month fixed term.
• Location: Rectory Lodge, High Street, Brasted. We can offer hybrid working in this role, with a minimum of 2-3 days in the Brasted office. Equipment required to work from home will be supplied.
• Access to your own means of transportation would be beneficial, as the local bus service is unfortunately not very frequent or reliable. We recommend you research your potential commute ahead of applying.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays, rising to 33 days with service.
• Pension scheme with matching contributions of up to 4%
• Discounted shopping opportunities

Unless otherwise stated, interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised. At Catch22 we value equality, diversity and inclusion. We are wholeheartedly committed to the principle of equality of opportunity, both as an employer and as a provider of services. Diversity and Inclusion is part of what we do every day, working to deliver our vision to build a strong society where everyone has good people around them, a purpose, and a good place to live. Catch22 is committed to rigorous safeguarding and safer recruitment practices; ensuring that every individual within the organisation has been safely and appropriately checked. Please note, we will conduct an online search as part of our due diligence checks for successful candidate(s). This will involve a search of all publicly available information online and in social media.