Payroll Specialist in London

Cooley is recruiting a payroll specialist on a part-time basis to join the London Accounting & Finance department.

Position Summary: To provide an effective administration and payroll service for the London and other European offices.

Position Responsibilities:

• Payroll administration
• Work closely with the Senior Payroll Specialist to process monthly partner and employee payrolls ensuring high levels of accuracy.
• Assist with processing the monthly payroll using iTrent.
• Monthly administration of starters, leavers and changes, bonus, sickness and any other ad hoc payments including manual calculations for all payrolls.
• Roll forward controls every month and prepare a flat month reconciliation against iTrent data.
• Monthly three-way reconciliation of benefits in payroll control, iTrent and HR reports.
• Monthly and annual reconciliations of the payroll control and expense accounts, including employee loans.
• Investigate and resolve any discrepancies within payrolls.
• Assist with uploading BACS files and clearing down payrolls.
• Assist with the preparation of the monthly payroll journals for London and other European offices.
• Upload partner and employee payroll data to the global payroll reporting database.
• Assist with any payroll related queries from employees, including managing the LN – payroll mailbox.
• Assist with the administration of the Firm’s pension scheme, ensuring contributions are correct and uploaded onto the provider portal in a timely manner and in line with pension auto enrolment obligations.
• Maintain payroll systems records and carry out regular checks to ensure information is up to date.
• Maintain the payroll software by requesting updates, checking they have been completed and testing any legislative changes to ensure they are processed correctly in both the live and test environments.
• Maintain the Employee Self Service and Manager Self Service platforms.
• Assist with the annual salary and bonus review process.
• Continually evaluate payroll process and internal controls, highlighting areas of improvement.
• Assist Accounting & Finance and HR teams with the preparation of ad hoc statistical data as and when required.
• Attend relevant webinars/seminars to keep up to date with changes in payroll legislation.

Skills & Experience:

• CIPP qualified.
• Experience of running a payroll using iTrent.
• Good understanding of PAYE tax codes and the impact on pay.
• Accomplished payroll administrator ideally with direct experience of a partnership or professional services environment.
• High level of understanding of payroll process and best practice and the ability to apply this in the workplace.
• Excellent Microsoft Word and Excel skills including using VLOOKUP and pivot tables.

Preferred:

• Educated to Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Experience of running an international payroll.

Competencies:

• Ability to work independently without supervision and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to organise and prioritise work assignments, as well as delegate tasks to support departments when necessary.
• Possess excellent written, communication, analytical and proofreading skills with strong attention to detail and presentation.
• Ability to function in a professional and polite manner when dealing with clients, co-workers and others.
• Proactive, reliable, committed and punctual. Highly motivated and enthusiastic for team and self-development.
• Can drive ideas forward and be innovative.
• Service delivery focused with ability to recognise pressure points and to offer assistance where needed.
• Confident and demonstrates the ability to command respect, gain confidence of lawyers and other staff and engender a team spirit.
• Ability to cope under pressure, appraise impact of actions, demonstrate sound judgment and accept accountability.
• Ability to embrace organisational change and champion as needed.
• Ability to deal with confidential situations with tact, diplomacy and discretion.

Reporting to this position: No direct reports.

Cooley (UK) LLP offers an excellent benefits package and competitive compensation.

Equal Opportunity Statement: Cooley (UK) LLP is an equal opportunity employer. Cooley’s recruitment and employment practices are administered without regard to applicants’ protected characteristics unrelated to the job to be performed or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.

General Sign-Off: Specific duties for this position will be assigned; the requirements may vary from time to time, depending on the needs of the Firm.