Payroll Coordinator in London

Ropes & Gray is a global law firm that operates across 17 time zones and has more than 1,400 lawyers based in the United States, Europe and Asia who collaborate seamlessly to provide clients with high-quality representation in innovative industries that shape the global economy. Our clients include private equity firms, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, financial institutions, mutual funds, hospital systems, and more. Client by client, we’ve built a reputation for first-class work, a pragmatic approach, and impeccable standards of service and ethics. We count many of the world’s most respected companies and institutions as longtime clients, and serve organizations at all stages of development. Clients trust us with their most important matters because they know we understand their businesses and deliver the results they need.

Our deeply rooted culture of teamwork means that our lawyers work closely with colleagues around the world to provide support to clients. This collaborative approach encourages our lawyers to work alongside partners and clients on sophisticated matters. We work as a team to support a range of leading legal practices, including private equity, M&A, capital markets, finance, asset management, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, data, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

Ropes & Gray London is one of the largest offices in the Ropes & Gray network, and the hub of the firm’s EMEA network and set up in London in 2010. While we are now an established presence in the UK, we’ve retained all the buzz of our start-up years. It makes us a little bit different: it means we have the stature and resources of a major international law firm combined with the pace, inclusivity and career progression of a specialist firm. Our clients like to work with us. We are, of course, always professional, but we are personal, and personable with it. As a group, we’re international, diverse and our team is always professional, but uniquely personable. With around 26 partners, 110+ Lawyers and a trainee intake of 15, everybody in the office knows everyone else. That means that every hire we make is an important investment for the firm, because each team member has a distinct role to play in delivering excellent service to our clients.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE

The Payroll Coordinator provides comprehensive support to the Payroll Manager, with a primary focus payroll operations across European offices and secondary responsibility for accounting duties where required.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Payroll

• Collate, check, and process all payroll data for European offices, including Dublin, Milan, and Paris, liaising with HR to confirm any monthly changes such as new starters, leavers, and contractual amendments.
• Collate monthly overtime data, reconcile figures in the relevant spreadsheets, and ensure timely submission for processing and payment.
• Send monthly payroll data to external payroll vendors for all European locations, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and adherence to agreed deadlines.
• Review payroll outputs received from outsourced providers, identify and flag discrepancies to the Payroll Manager, and confirm or request adjustments before finalising payroll runs.
• Process leavers, ensuring final payments, P45s, and related documentation are issued promptly.
• Reconcile and provide personal deductions to be processed on payroll each month, including childcare vouchers, cycle-to-work schemes, and seasonal ticket loans.
• Collate, verify, and process all payroll lawyer invoices for European offices via Emburse.
• Process vendor invoices through Emburse.
• Prepare and post monthly journal entries to record payroll to the ledger.
• Process various benefit invoices such as childcare vouchers, cycle-to-work schemes, and seasonal tickets.
• Support the annual renewal of the firm's Private Medical and Dental Insurance scheme, updating internal systems and preparing quarterly reports as required.
• Organise the European payroll inbox and respond to employee queries regarding payroll discrepancies, deductions, and other payroll-related issues across all European offices in a timely and professional manner.
• Send payroll documentation to stakeholders each month, including payslips and P45s.
• Maintain payroll records in compliance with data protection legislation, ensuring all documentation is stored securely and retained in accordance with statutory requirements.

Other

• Performs other duties and special projects, as assigned.

The candidate will be hard-working and enthusiastic, have a high level of initiative and a willingness to learn. They will be used to and enjoy working in a fast-moving professional environment, have good time management skills and an ability to multi-task.

Specific requirements include:

• Payroll experience within a law firm or professional services environment (preferably two years)
• Effective communication and teamwork skills.
• Basic IT skills, including Excel.
• Self-motivated, organized, accurate, detail-oriented, and committed to excellence.