Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist, London

Portfolio Payroll is delighted to partner with a leading, multi-brand organisation to recruit a high-calibre Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist. This is a pivotal role within a dynamic HRIS, Payroll, and Finance ecosystem, offering total ownership of a complex portfolio and a fantastic opportunity to drive continuous process improvements.

The Role

In this role, you will take comprehensive ownership of a high-quality, timely, and fully compliant monthly payroll cycle for 12 UK payrolls, impacting over 1,500 employees. Acting as the key Subject Matter Expert (SME), you will champion data integrity, maintain exceptional accuracy across all systems, and proactively collaborate with the wider HR team to support strategic departmental goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• End-to-End Payroll: Lead and validate the accurate execution of 12 monthly UK payrolls, including complex statutory calculations (SMP, SPP, unpaid sickness) and variable cash/hours payments.
• System & Data Integrity: Act as the primary custodian of data flow between Workday and SAP HR, running payslip simulations for starters, leavers, and job changes to catch anomalies.
• Benefits & Pensions: Oversee auto-enrolment processes, manage monthly reporting to benefit providers, and lead the annual renewal process for company-wide benefits.
• Stakeholder & Advisory: Act as the tier-2 escalation point for employees and managers on complex Pay, Tax, NI, and Group guideline queries.
• Legislative Compliance: Proactively monitor, interpret, and advise the HR team on upcoming HMRC and legislative updates, implementing adjustments seamlessly.
• Project Delivery: Support the wider HRIS, HR, and Finance functions with ad-hoc strategic projects, system validation testing, and process automation.

The Ideal Candidate:

• Experience: Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive UK payroll and benefits experience, ideally within a large, multi-brand, or fast-paced retail environment.
• Systems: Extensive hands-on experience with HRIS platforms-Workday and SAP HR are highly preferred.
• Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in Excel for complex data analysis, payroll modelling, and reporting.
• Legislation: In-depth, expert-level understanding and practical application of UK PAYE, statutory compliance, and HMRC regulations.
• Communication: Exceptional influencing skills with a proven ability to translate complex financial/legislative data into clear, simple advice for non-numerate audiences.

What’s next?

If you are a meticulous, logical, and highly collaborative payroll professional looking to elevate your career in a rewarding environment, we want to hear from you.

52601MT

INDPAY

The Portfolio Group are acting on behalf of our client in recruiting for this position.