Payroll Manager in London

We are Hestia. We make a difference. At Hestia, we are guided by our core values and are dedicated to fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organisation. Our mission is to empower individuals to rebuild their lives and achieve independence.

As Hestia's Payroll Manager, you will lead the delivery of an accurate, timely, and compliant payroll service for more than 1000 colleagues across the organisation. You will act as Hestia's in‑house payroll specialist, ensuring full compliance with UK payroll legislation, HMRC requirements, and best practice across all statutory payments, deductions, and year‑end processes. You will take ownership of our ResourceLink payroll system, using your technical expertise to configure and maintain pay elements, pension schemes and workflows. You will oversee payroll related system updates, testing, and continuous improvement to ensure the payroll function remains efficient, reliable, and fit for purpose. You will manage and develop the Payroll team, coordinating day‑to‑day operations and ensuring the team delivers a seamless end‑to‑end payroll service.

This role is ideal for someone with deep knowledge of UK payroll legislation, strong analytical and systems skills, and a commitment to delivering an excellent service to colleagues across Hestia.

What do I need to bring with me? You'll need to be able to demonstrate the core skills this role requires as well as match our values and mission. You don't have to tick all the boxes right away; the important thing is that you're willing to learn. We also value lived experience of the areas we support, so if you feel comfortable, please do mention this on your application.

We are seeking an experienced payroll professional with a relevant payroll management qualification such as CIPP or equivalent expertise, supported by ongoing professional development and up‑to‑date knowledge of legislation and best practice. You will bring over five years of UK payroll experience, including managing large and complex payrolls with multiple pension schemes, alongside a strong understanding of HMRC requirements, PAYE processes, P11D reporting and end‑of‑year procedures. The role requires solid knowledge of pensions regulations, excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills, and the ability to communicate complex payroll and pension matters clearly to non‑technical stakeholders. Proficiency in Zellis ResourceLink, advanced Excel skills such as VLOOKUPs and pivot tables, and confidence working with large data sets are essential, as is accuracy, attention to detail and the ability to prioritise effectively under pressure. Strong interpersonal skills, a collaborative approach, and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion are key to succeeding in this role.

Interview Steps: We keep our interview process simple, so you know exactly what to expect.

• Shortlisting call: We have a team of dedicated recruitment specialists who will speak to you about your experience, motivations and values. They will also tell you about all the great work we do!
• Face to face interview: Now you will have face to face interview with the hiring manager. Our interviews are value and competency based.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Our services users come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes us stronger. We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and value the skills, abilities, talent and experiences, different people and communities bring to our organisation.

We are a disability confident employer: Hestia is proud to be a disability confident employer, dedicated to the employment and career development of individuals with disabilities. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for. We also provide reasonable adjustments during the selection and interview process, and throughout your employment with us.

Safeguarding Statement: Hestia is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults, children and young people who are potentially at risk, and we therefore expect all staff and volunteers to do the same. We require all staff to undertake internal and external safeguarding training throughout their employment with Hestia.

Important Information for Candidates: If your application is successful, please be aware that you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks before a formal offer of employment can be confirmed. We reserve the right to close this job advert early should we receive a high volume of applications or if the position is filled before the closing date. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible to ensure their application is considered.