Assistant Payroll Manager

Location: Northamptonshire

Hybrid: 2 days in office per week, 3 at home

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £45,000-£50,000 + bonus & benefits

A leading UK-based business is seeking an experienced and proactive Assistant Payroll Manager to join its growing internal payroll team. This is a fantastic opportunity for an established payroll professional to step into a leadership role and make a real impact within a large and dynamic organisation.

You'll support the management of payroll operations for thousands of employees, working closely with an outsourced provider, and overseeing a small in-house team. If you're passionate about driving continuous improvement, team development, and delivering outstanding payroll service - this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the day-to-day delivery of in-house payroll services, overseeing monthly payroll and year-end processes (e.g. P11Ds, PSA)

Line manage two payroll team members, supporting their training, development, and performance

Act as a key point of contact between internal stakeholders and the external payroll vendor to ensure timely issue resolution and service quality

Maintain up-to-date payroll governance by contributing to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensuring service levels are met

Identify opportunities for improving vendor service delivery, payroll accuracy, and system/process efficiency

Handle escalations, troubleshoot payroll issues, and support implementation of system/process changes

Ensure compliance with HMRC legislation and internal audit standards

Assist with payroll-related reporting, analytics, and strategic recommendations to senior management

What We're Looking For

7+ years' experience managing complex in-house payroll within a large organisation

Strong knowledge of statutory payments, auto-enrolment, manual calculations, and payroll compliance

Proven experience leading a team and supporting people development

Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Analytical and process-oriented mindset with a keen eye for detail

Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced, and evolving environment

CIPP qualification (full or part) is desirable

📩 Interested? Contact Betsy today! (url removed)

JGA Recruitment Group Ltd ("We") are committed to equality of opportunity for all applications regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply. We are also committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We are a specialist payroll, HR & Reward recruitment agency and recruitment business as defined in the Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (our business). These statements together with our privacy notices set out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us