EMEA Payroll Specialist

Job Title: Payroll Service Delivery Consult (GHR)

Corporate Title: Up to Vice President

Location: Chester

Company Overview:

At Bank of America, we are guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better through the power of every connection. We do this by driving Responsible Growth and delivering for our clients, teammates, communities and shareholders every day.

Being a Great Place to Work is core to how we drive Responsible Growth. This includes our commitment to being a diverse and inclusive workplace, attracting and developing exceptional talent, supporting our teammates’ physical, emotional, and financial wellness, recognizing and rewarding performance, and how we make an impact in the communities we serve.

At Bank of America, you can build a successful career with opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact. Join us!

Location Overview:

Find us in the city of Chester, a destination renowned for its culture, history, and beauty. Working at Bank of America Chester offers a far-reaching global career for a world-renowned organisation, whilst being ideally situated against the backdrop of the rolling North Wales hills and the banks of the serene River Dee.

Job Description

Reporting directly into a Regional Payroll Lead, this role plays a critical part in delivering the overall mission of EMEA HR Shared Services, ensuring employees are paid accurately, compliantly, and on time, while providing an excellent employee and stakeholder experience.

Based within the EMEA Payroll Service Delivery Team, the position provides end‑to‑end payroll services across a broad and diverse range of countries within the EMEA region

The role contributes directly to strengthening partnerships, executing HR Shared Services strategy, and delivering consistently high‑quality outcomes for employees and stakeholders

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Delivery & Compliance

• Own the monthly end‑to‑end payroll, ensuring compliance with payroll legislation, statutory requirements, benefits, and tax obligations.
• Complete end to end payroll reconciliation and validation, operating in line with audit standards, governance frameworks, and internal controls.
• Ensure payroll inputs are thoroughly reviewed and validated to deliver accurate, timely payments to employees and third parties.
• Work and deliver to strict deadlines and timelines

EMEA HR Shared Services Contribution

• Actively contribute to the overall objectives of EMEA HR Shared Services, aligning payroll delivery to broader service, risk, and employee‑experience goals.
• Support payroll processing across all EMEA countries as required, promoting consistency, quality, and resilience across the region.
• Champion a customer‑centric mindset, focusing on clear communication, timely resolution, and trusted service delivery for employees and stakeholders.

Partnership & Stakeholder Management

• Has a strong capability to collaboratively with peers across the pay and financial governance and reconciliation teams contributing to broader business continuity and cross-country coverage
• Build and strengthen partnerships with internal HR teams, Finance, Vendors, and key business stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with external payroll vendors, ensuring service levels, compliance, and continuous improvement commitments are met.
• Act as a key point of contact with external statutory bodies and auditors, supporting regulatory requirements, audits, and inspections
• Maintain effective, trusted relationships with stakeholders through clear communication and proactive engagement.

Risk, Controls & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure risk management, SOX controls, and payroll governance are embedded, effective, and consistently applied.
• Proactively identify issues, risks, and drive solutions through strong judgement and collaboration.
• Contribute to projects, transformation initiatives, and process improvement activities, supporting the execution of HR Shared Services strategy and operational excellence.

Essential Requirements

• Proven EMEA payroll experience, preferably in a multi‑country or complex organisational environment.
• Excellent Excel capability, including reconciliation and data‑validation skills.
• Robust PC skills with experience using multiple payroll systems.
• Ability to work independently, demonstrating ownership, initiative, and accountability.
• A collaborative team player who builds trust, fosters partnership, and demonstrates flexibility within and beyond the payroll function.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines across payroll cycles.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels and external bodies.
• High levels of accuracy, attention to detail, and control awareness in a regulated environment.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within a large, complex corporate organisation.
• Familiarity with stock payments and payroll governance (process, metrics, controls)
• In-depth understanding of payroll accounting, financial controls, and integration with Finance processes.
• Familiarity with ADP & Workday payroll software
• Payroll qualifications such as CIPP

Benefits of working at Bank of America:

UK

• Private healthcare for you and your family plus an annual health screen to help you manage your physical wellness with the option to purchase a screen for your partner
• Competitive pension plan, life assurance and group income protection cover if you become unable to work as a result of a disability or health reasons
• 20 days of back-up childcare including access to school holiday clubs and 20 days of back-up adult care per annum
• The ability to change your core benefits as well as the option of selecting a variety of flexible benefits to suit your personal circumstances including access to a wellbeing account, travel insurance, critical illness etc.
• Access to an emotional wellbeing helpline, mental health first aiders and virtual GP services.
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program for confidential support and help for everyday matters
• Ability to donate to charities of your choice directly through payroll and the bank will match your contribution
• Opportunity to access our Arts & Culture corporate membership program and receive discounted entry to some of the UK’s most iconic cultural institutions and exhibitions.
• Opportunity to give back to your community, develop new skills and work with new groups of people by volunteering in your local community.

Bank of America:

Good conduct and sound judgment is crucial to our long term success. It’s important that all employees in the organisation understand the expected standards of conduct and how we manage conduct risk. Individual accountability and an ownership mind-set are the cornerstones of our Code of Conduct and are at the heart of managing risk well.

We are an equal opportunities employer and ensure that no applicant is subject to less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, gender identity or gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, race, religion or belief, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, socio-economic background, responsibility for dependants or physical or mental disability. The Bank selects candidates for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience.

We strive to ensure that our recruitment processes are accessible for all candidates and encourage any candidates to tell us about any adjustment requirements