Payroll Specialist

About the role

Our purpose 🌍 Inspiring and empowering our people to create a positive difference for themselves, our clients and the planet. Sustainable Energy First is an energy and sustainability consultancy, founded to solve energy management problems in very large, complex commercial estates. This remains the core of our business driven by a commitment to sustainability and the goal of reducing our clients' carbon footprint. The Role in a Nutshell 🐿️ Join SE First as a Payroll Specialist and take ownership of delivering seamless, end-to-end payroll across a dynamic and growing organisation. This role is at the heart of ensuring accuracy, compliance, and data integrity, while introducing strong controls that reduce risk and elevate payroll operations. With increasing scale and complexity, you'll play a key role in shaping a consistent, auditable process and delivering an outstanding experience for every employee. Payroll Delivery 👉 Take full ownership of end-to-end payroll processing across multiple payroll cycles 👉 Ensure all payroll inputs are accurate, approved, and delivered on time 👉 Manage complex calculations including salary changes, bonuses, commissions, statutory payments, and deductions 👉 Oversee all employee lifecycle changes, including starters, leavers, and amendments 👉 Lead year-end processes, ensuring accurate delivery of P60s, P11Ds, and benefit reporting Compliance & Governance 👉 Champion compliance with UK payroll legislation, including PAYE, NIC, and statutory requirements (SSP, SMP, SPP, etc.) 👉 Own all HMRC reporting (RTI submissions, FPS/EPS), ensuring accuracy and timeliness 👉 Maintain audit-ready processes with clear documentation and strong controls 👉 Stay ahead of legislative changes, embedding best practice across payroll operations 👉 Support internal and external audits with confidence and precision Data, Systems & Insight 👉 Maintain high-quality payroll data across HRIS (HiBob) and payroll systems 👉 Reconcile payroll with People and Finance data, ensuring consistency and accuracy 👉 Proactively identify and resolve discrepancies 👉 Deliver reliable payroll data to support finance reporting and people insights Quality & Risk Management 👉 Perform rigorous end-to-end payroll checks before final sign-off 👉 Embed and maintain strong controls to drive accuracy and minimise risk 👉 Quickly investigate and resolve payroll queries and issues 👉 Ensure consistent oversight across the payroll cycle to protect business operations Stakeholder Collaboration 👉 Act as the go-to expert for payroll queries, providing clear and timely guidance 👉 Build strong relationships with employees, managers, and key stakeholders 👉 Manage external payroll providers, ensuring high service standards and accuracy 👉 Collaborate closely with People Operations and Finance teams Benefits & Pensions 👉 Manage pension contributions and ensure compliance with auto-enrolment requirements 👉 Support payroll-related benefits administration, including salary sacrifice schemes 👉 Reconcile deductions, manage third-party payments, and ensure accurate reporting Continuous Improvement 👉 Identify opportunities to enhance payroll efficiency, accuracy, and experience 👉 Support system improvements and HRIS/payroll integration initiatives 👉 Contribute to wider People Operations improvement projects 👉 Play an active role in key initiatives such as system implementations, TUPE transfers, and policy changes 💷 Salary: £35,000 🌴 Holidays: 25 days + bank holidays + 🥳 your birthday off, increasing to 30 days on length of service 🏠 Hybrid working (at least 2 days per week working from our Fulwood, Preston office) ⌛Flexible working - including the ability to bank up to to 5 extra days off per year ⛹🏽 Gym contribution 💰 Long service awards 🩺 Private Medical Insurance 🐣 Enhanced paternity/non-pregnant colleague and maternity/pregnant colleague leave 🏥 Simply Health scheme EV Scheme Inclusion and Belonging We believe that diversity is more than a commitment, it's at the heart 🤎 of who we are. We aim to create an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. We celebrate different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences because we know they make us stronger, bolder and more imaginative, which link to our core values. By fostering a culture of belonging, we aim to provide a workplace where every voice is heard, and every individual can thrive. Our culture has been set up to bring the best out of our people. If we sound like the kind of business where you're ready to take the next step, then we look forward to hearing from you!

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