Payroll Manager (Implementation) in Newtownabbey

Are you ready to play a vital role in the effective end-to-end delivery, control and continuous improvement of high-volume payroll services in one of the most trusted UK providers of payroll services? This role will initially be on a 12-16 month contract basis, well suited to a senior payroll professional who can take ownership in the role from day one.

Salary and Benefits:

• Competitive salary DOE
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Flexible working arrangements
• Hybrid working
• Initial 12-16 month Fixed-Term Contract

About you:

Essential:

• Strong practical payroll knowledge gained through significant payroll leadership or senior payroll specialist experience.
• Evidence of continued professional development in payroll, people management, service delivery, compliance or systems/change activity.
• Significant experience managing or leading high-volume payroll operations within a complex service delivery environment.
• Strong understanding of payroll processing, controls, reconciliations, statutory requirements, audit evidence and payroll governance.
• Experience leading Team Leaders, payroll specialists or operational teams, including managing performance, priorities and service standards.
• Strong understanding of payroll systems, data flows, interfaces, reporting, payment files and process controls.

Desirable:

• Recognised payroll qualification or professional membership, such as CIPP or equivalent relevant experience.
• Leadership, management, project/change management or systems implementation training.
• Experience supporting payroll transformation, system implementation, configuration, testing, parallel runs, cutover, go-live or hypercare activity.
• Experience working with public sector payrolls or large-scale outsourced/shared services environments.
• Experience of using Oracle payroll systems, preferably Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM Payroll, including payroll processing, payroll validation/reconciliation, reporting and working with integrated HR/payroll data.

What you'll do:

• Contribute payroll subject matter expertise to the design and development of future-state payroll processes, controls, workflows, reporting and operating procedures.
• Support payroll system configuration decisions by advising on payroll rules, pay elements, deductions, pension requirements, statutory payments, approval points, audit requirements and downstream outputs.
• Review and validate payroll process maps, standard operating procedures, control frameworks, cut-off calendars and payroll cycle documentation before implementation.
• Define, prepare and execute payroll test scenarios, including unit testing, system integration testing, parallel runs, user acceptance testing and regression testing.
• Review test outputs, identify discrepancies, support defect investigation and ensure payroll issues are resolved before go-live.
• Support data migration and data validation activity, including checking payroll master data, pay elements, deductions, pension indicators, year-to-date balances, costing structures and other payroll-critical data.
• Provide clear direction to Payroll Team Leaders and payroll colleagues on priorities, deadlines, quality standards, payroll controls and service expectations.
• Embed robust payroll controls across the payroll lifecycle, including input validation, approvals, segregation of duties, audit trails, reconciliations and sign-off evidence.