Senior Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

Swindon or Newport

Band D - £34,101

It’s an exciting time to join UKSBS as we transform our business to be the leading UK public sector business service provider. We aim to become a very different organisation over the next few years as we move to a modern multi-platform, digitally enabled organisation.

We are looking for an experienced Payroll Specialist to join our Payroll team. In this role, you will play a key part in delivering accurate, compliant and customer-focused payroll services for a range of clients. You will help ensure our payroll processes run smoothly across multiple platforms, contributing to high-quality outcomes and a great service experience for our users.

The duties of the role include, but are not limited to the following:

Provide specialist payroll advice to internal teams and clients

Responding to complex payroll queries, escalating where required

Review, validate and guide on multi-year overpayment calculations

Own the In-Year and Year-End payroll processes for clients

Test payroll‑impacting system patches and monthly releases

Act as the main payroll contact for change requests, ensuring smooth BAU integration

Support monthly BACS submission processes, including reconciliation and approvals

Reconcile PAYE, NICs and statutory deductions, submitting EPS/RTI and maintaining HMRC Gateway accounts

Identify and address payroll knowledge gaps across the team

Contribute to the development and implementation of process improvements

Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of payroll legislation, policies and best practice

Support occasional projects and other work aligned to business need

To do this role well you must be able to demonstrate the following:

Previous payroll experience managing large or multiple payrolls

Strong knowledge of payroll processes, legislation and best practice

Ability to manually calculate gross‑to‑net and overpayments

Strong analytical skills and high attention to detail

Ability to interpret and present complex data to different audiences

Strong oral and written communication skills and confidence in handling challenging conversations and complaints

Ability to translate complex payroll topics for non-experts

Proficiency with payroll systems; experience with Workday or similar

Strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills

High degree of numeracy; Maths & English GCSE A–C (or equivalent experience)

Commitment to customer‑focused service excellence

Experience in public sector payroll services or CIPP Advanced Technician/Payroll Specialist qualification are not essential but would be advantageous

Your application

Closing date for applications is Mon 5th October, with interviews taking place week commencing 12th October.

As part of the application process, you must submit both a CV and a covering letter. Your covering letter should outline your reasons for applying for the role and highlight any transferable skills and/or relevant experience that support your application. Please note that applications submitted without a covering letter will not be progressed.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn.

Successful candidates may be required to undergo Security Clearance (National Security Vetting) as part of their employment. To meet these standards, applicants must normally have lived in the UK for at least the last five years and be able to satisfy background, identity and criminal record checks.

We are UKSBS. We are creating a place where people love to work, a culture where we lead, we change, we deliver and we empower our people to be curious, take action and add value.

We look forward to hearing from you.