Payroll Manager in London

This range is provided by Dulwich College. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

About the College

We provide exceptional teaching, scholarship, and learning both inside and outside the classroom, nurturing an inspiring and dynamic atmosphere for our community. As a world‐renowned boys' school, we educate 1,700 pupils aged 7 to 18, alongside a co‐educational kindergarten and infants' school, DUCKS, with 230 young learners.

Why Dulwich College?

Our staff enjoy being part of a strong community that is underpinned by our values of purpose, joy and kindness. We offer free lunch, entry to the Picture Gallery and complimentary gym membership. Staff also enjoy the green spaces on our campus, a 12‐minute train ride from London Victoria.

About the Role

This is a hands‐on role, owning the end‐to‐end payroll process to deliver an accurate and efficient monthly payroll. Responsibilities include:

• Payroll Operations

• Own end‐to‐end monthly payroll processing (salaried and hourly), including starters/leavers, variable pay, overtime, allowances, bonus, commission, statutory payments (SMP, ShPP, SAP, SSP), and deductions.
• Ensure accurate RTI submissions to HMRC and timely payment of PAYE/NICs.
• Oversee pensions auto‐enrolment compliance (assessments, enrolments, opt‐ins/outs, re‐enrolment, and re‐declaration), and manage the relationship with pension providers.
• Work with Finance team so that they are able to reconcile payroll to the general ledger; post journals (gross pay, employer NI, pension, benefits, accruals) and perform month‐end/quarter‐end/year‐end payroll close and reconciliations.
• Coordinate year‐end tasks including P60s and P11Ds, including any data capture and reporting required.
• Oversee statutory reporting deadlines and obligations; maintain payroll calendar and cut‐offs.
• Work with HR to administer pay reviews, bonus cycles, and annual changes (e.g., NI thresholds, NMW/NLW updates).

• Maintain strong internal controls and SoD (segregation of duties), with documented procedures and risk/controls matrix.
• Ensure compliance with HMRC, GDPR, and relevant employment/tax legislation; maintain secure data handling and retention practices.
• Lead payroll elements of internal/external audits, address findings and continuously improve control effectiveness.
• Manage payroll policies (overpayments, advances, expenses interfaces) and ensure accurate third‐party remittances (AEOs, CSA etc).

• Act as the first point of contact for payroll and pension queries; deliver clear, timely communication to employees and managers.
• Partner with HR on data integrity, workforce changes, and policy interpretation.
• Partner with Finance on budgeting/forecasting payroll costs, reconciliations, and cashflow planning.
• Manage vendors to SLAs and drive value. Specifically, manage the payroll outsourcer to ensure all aspects of their payroll deliverables are delivered accurately, compliantly and on time.

• Own configuration and optimisation of iTrent HRIS and integrations with finance and management systems.
• Drive automation and process improvements to reduce manual intervention.
• Implement KPIs and dashboards for payroll accuracy and efficiency.
• Support HR to develop reporting functionality with iTrent data.

About the Successful Applicant

You will have proven experience managing a UK payroll for 500–1,500 employees with complex contractual arrangements, work patterns and pay structures which includes term‐time and variable working patterns. In addition, you will have:

• Hands‐on experience with iTrent HRIS (configuration, reporting, troubleshooting)
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation and compliance requirements
• Experience of managing relationships with pension schemes and pension providers
• Strong financial acumen and advanced Excel skills
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• CIPP qualification, or working towards it (desirable)
• Experience in unionised or multi‐entity environments (desirable)

Full time, 37.5 hours per week, all year round.

How to apply

Closing Date: 25 January 2026

Interview Date: First round: w/c 2 February 2026 and second round: w/c 9 February 2026

Please note: Recruitment into education is heavily regulated and our application forms are designed to meet our safeguarding obligations. We suggest that you have to hand your work history dates and explanations for any gaps before you start the process.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This is the responsibility of the whole College community. We all remain vigilant about safeguarding at the College and we never think that child abuse could not happen here or to our pupils. A DBS Disclosure is required to Enhanced level. The DBS Code of Practice and the Standard and Enhanced DBS Privacy Policy can be found on our website.