Interim Senior Payroll Analyst

Job Title: Interim Senior Payroll Analyst

Location: Welwyn Garden City - On Site - 5 days a week

Contract: 3–6 Months

Day Rate: £180 - £230 a day via umbrella

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Interim Senior Payroll Analyst for a 3–6 month contract based in Welwyn Garden City. This role is ideal for a hands-on payroll professional with a strong background in complex payroll processing, compliance, and system improvement.

You’ll be working as part of a collaborative payroll team to ensure accurate payroll delivery and play a vital role in supporting continuous improvement initiatives and key business projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end processing of complex payrolls, ensuring accuracy and compliance with UK tax and employment regulations.
• Stay informed of legal and regulatory changes affecting payroll through research and industry updates.
• Ensure all company benefits are accurately recorded and compliant with current legislation.
• Work closely with internal teams (HR, Finance, Reward) and external vendors to maintain data integrity and resolve queries.
• Lead or support payroll audits and year-end activities including P60s, P11Ds, and HMRC submissions.
• Apply understanding of complex payroll elements such as payrolled benefits, parental leave, Sharesave schemes, and overtime.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and implement process enhancements to increase efficiency and reduce risk.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll issues, providing support and guidance to junior team members.
• Produce and analyse payroll-related management reports using advanced Excel skills.
• Handle employee payroll queries professionally and efficiently.
• Support various payroll improvement projects, including SAP system enhancements.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation across payroll operations.
• Maintain and process payroll system reports, including legal patch testing in coordination with Payroll Assistants.
• Prioritise and manage daily/weekly tasks to meet internal service level agreements.
• Support global mobility processes involving overseas employee assignments.
• Manage year-end processes and oversee the creation of the new tax year in the payroll system.

Key Requirements

• Previous experience in a senior-level payroll role, ideally within a large or complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation.
• Experience with SAP payroll systems is highly desirable.
• Advanced Excel skills and the ability to produce and interpret payroll reports.
• Excellent attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Comfortable handling confidential information with professionalism and discretion.