Payroll Officer in Cheltenham

Science Group plc is an international science and technology consultancy and systems organisation operating at the cutting edge of science and technology innovation. The core business is providing technical/scientific advisory, product development and regulatory services to the Industrial, Defence & Aerospace, Medical and Consumer (including Food & Beverage) sectors.

The opportunity is for an In-House Payroll Officer. There are 500 employees across the Group, most of whom are UK-based, although there will be input and oversight required of EU and US payrolls. The successful candidate will have complete ownership of the payroll process and will liaise with Finance and HR when required. The role will be based at our Harston or Epsom office.

• Manage and be accountable for the accurate and timely delivery of the monthly UK payroll managing the relationship with our external payroll provider.
• Collect and summarise inputs which are then passed to the external payroll provider.
• Receive reports back and collate into various review spreadsheets through pivot tables.
• Compare and review the data to previous months, identifying and resolving any discrepancies.
• Lead a payroll review meeting with Senior Finance Managers and HR to run through payroll changes.
• Liaise directly with employees on various payroll questions.
• Maintain payroll operations by following policies and procedures.
• Be proactive and transparent in raising errors to the correct individuals and driving solutions.
• Manage other payroll providers in EU (Germany, Spain & Republic of Ireland) and the US.
• Respond to employee payroll queries and escalate to HR when necessary.
• Manage and complete adhoc payroll processes (such as out of payroll payments).
• Develop ad hoc financial and operational reporting as needed.
• Assist the wider Finance team outside of peak payroll activity.

• Great attention to detail, a solid grasp of mathematics, alongside excellent organisational and communication skills.
• A high degree of professionalism and discretion as sensitive information will be handled.
• Capable of working effectively and efficiently under pressure in a fast-moving environment, being resilient and proactive.
• Open to identifying process improvements by being solution orientated.

• 3 Years UK payroll experience with 150+ employees.
• Demonstrates previous experience processing high volume monthly payroll.
• Good understanding of the UK PAYE legislation and how to calculate deductions such as overpayments, maternity, sickness payments, tax and NI.
• Experience using various calculation methods needed within payroll (i.e. pro-rating holiday, pro-rating salaries, sick pay, pensions and bonuses).
• An analytical approach to resolving problems and finding effective solutions.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft Excel (including pivot tables).

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.