HR Operations and Payroll Advisor M/F in Devon, Exeter

At Safran, excellence is a journey - and we'd love you to be a part of it. As a trusted global leader in aerospace, defence, and space, we are proud to be a company where diversity, innovation, and opportunity come together to shape a sustainable future where we can all succeed together through a shared vision.

We are looking for passionate individuals to join our HR team as a HR Operations and Payroll Advisor at our Gloucester site. At Safran, we understand that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective, and as an organisation, we are committed to fair and equitable employment practices for everyone.

We're looking for an experienced and detail-focused HR Operations and Payroll Advisor to join our People Services team. In this role, you'll play a critical part in delivering accurate, compliant and high-quality HR and payroll services across the employee lifecycle. Acting as a subject matter expert, you'll support complex activities and queries while helping to ensure consistent, efficient and reliable service delivery.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys combining technical payroll expertise with HR advisory work, and who is passionate about delivering an excellent employee experience and continuously improving how HR operates. Excited by the opportunity to leverage technology, data and AI-enabled insights, you'll help streamline processes, generate meaningful insights, and enhance the experience for both employees and managers.

Reports to: People Services Team Leader

Key accountabilities

• Payroll
  • Own payroll processes from an HR perspective, ensuring all inputs are accurate, validated, and delivered in line with payroll cut-off timelines.
  • Review and validate data prepared by People Services Coordinators, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
  • Resolve discrepancies in collaboration with payroll providers and internal stakeholders.
  • Act as the escalation point for payroll queries and issues, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
  • Support continuous improvement of payroll processes, controls, and data integrity.
• Employee Relations & Case Management
  • Lead and coordinate routine employee relations casework (e.g. absence management, flexible working), ensuring consistent application of policies in partnership with the People & Culture Team.
  • Maintain accurate case documentation and tracking, ensuring adherence to defined timelines, standards, and processes.
  • Identify trends and recurring themes in casework, escalating risks and recommending improvements.
• Customer Experience & Stakeholder Support
  • Use employee feedback, case trends, and HR data to identify opportunities to enhance employee experience.
  • Collaborate with the wider HR team and stakeholders to improve HR processes and service delivery, with a focus on positive employee outcomes.
  • Provide timely, accurate, and pragmatic HR support through multiple channels (portal, telephone, face-to-face).
  • Act as a trusted point of contact for employees, signposting and advising on HR topics such as pensions, benefits, policies, and procedures.
• HR Operations & Lifecycle Delivery
  • Provide guidance and support to People Services Coordinators on complex or non-routine processes.
  • Ensure continuity of service delivery by supporting peak periods and covering team absences as required.
  • Conduct exit interviews, ensuring a professional and positive leaver experience, and analyse trends to inform HR Management.

Essential experience and skills

• Previous experience of HR and payroll systems.
• End-to-end payroll processing.
• Employee Relations Case Management.
• SLA Management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication alongside strong numeracy skills.
• Strong IT skills, including HRM systems, Microsoft Office Packages and Data Analytics.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent organisation skills and ability to manage priorities effectively.
• Strong problem solving skills and able to work independently and use own initiative within specified guidelines or procedures.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills and able to deal confidently and appropriately with stakeholders at all levels.

Desirable

• Experience of being responsible for the payroll validation and sign-off from a HR perspective.
• Experience of operating in an international matrix organisation.
• Project management skills.
• Previous experience in a manufacturing environment (or similar) and working with Trade Unions would be an advantage.
• Ability to analyse HR data and case trends to identify risks, insights, and improvement opportunities.

Qualifications

• Educated to at least Level 3 (AS/A Level or Level 3 qualification).
• CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent experience) or working towards with a commitment to CPD, keeping up to date with current affairs, industry developments and related matters.