Dayforce Payroll Manager - London/Hybrid - ~£80K ~

Payroll Manager – Dayforce | 12-month FTC

Location: Central London — hybrid, 2–3 days onsite per week

JGA Recruitment is partnering exclusively with an established organisation to appoint an experienced Payroll Manager on a 12-month fixed-term contract.

This is an opportunity to combine hands‑on payroll leadership with process improvement and system development. You will lead a small team, take ownership of weekly and monthly payroll delivery and help the organisation realise the benefits of its recent Dayforce implementation.

The opportunity

Following the introduction of Dayforce, the organisation is looking for someone who can strengthen its payroll operations and develop more efficient ways of working.

The monthly payrolls are running smoothly, while the weekly payrolls would benefit from further improvement, particularly around scheduling and payroll inputs. Some existing processes remain labour-intensive, creating an opportunity to reduce manual work, improve controls and build the team’s confidence in using Dayforce.

You will also support the next phase of the programme: integrating an advanced scheduling system with Dayforce. Working alongside project and technical colleagues, you will help ensure that payroll requirements are understood, tested and embedded into day-to-day operations.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee the accurate and timely delivery of two monthly and two weekly payrolls.
• Lead, coach and support a Payroll Team Leader and Payroll Officer.
• Provide hands‑on processing support when required, balancing operational delivery with improvement activity.
• Review payroll inputs, calculations and reconciliations, ensuring discrepancies are investigated and resolved.
• Maintain compliance with UK payroll legislation, statutory reporting and pension obligations.
• Strengthen checking, approval and sign‑off procedures, establishing clear ownership and reliable audit trails.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manual intervention and improve the use of Dayforce.
• Document payroll processes and provide training to embed consistent ways of working.
• Support the payroll aspects of the scheduling integration, including requirements gathering, testing, data validation and reconciliation.
• Work closely with Finance, HR and operational colleagues to improve payroll inputs and provide a responsive service to employees.
• Leave the team with sustainable processes, clear documentation and an effective handover at the end of the assignment.

Skills and experience required

• Proven experience managing UK payroll, with strong practical knowledge of Dayforce Payroll — essential.
• Experience delivering both weekly and monthly payrolls.
• Previous responsibility for leading and developing a payroll team.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, statutory payments, deductions and reporting requirements.
• A track record of improving payroll processes and strengthening controls.
• Experience supporting payroll system change, testing or post-implementation improvement.
• A hands‑on approach, with the willingness to get involved in day‑to‑day processing.
• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail and the ability to balance payroll deadlines with project priorities.
• Clear communication skills and a collaborative, customer‑focused approach.

Experience with complex rostering, variable working patterns, scheduling or time‑and‑attendance integration would be particularly useful.

JGA are dedicated to delivering the best possible candidate experience. Due to the high volume of applications, we regret that we are not always able to respond to every individual applicant. If your application is shortlisted, a member of our team will be in touch.

Thank you for your understanding. JGA Recruitment Group Ltd ("We") are committed to equality of opportunity for all applications regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.

We are also committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We are a specialist Payroll and HR recruitment agency and recruitment business as defined in the Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (our business). These statements together with our privacy notices set out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

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