Payroll Officer

Payroll Officer – CPP Qualified

Location: Coventry
Employment Type: Full Time – 9 am – 5 pm
Salary: £30,000 - £32,000 per annum
Department: Finance / Payroll
Reports to: Head of HR

About the Role

Payroll Officer with CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) qualification and a strong background in the education sector to join the finance team.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the accurate and timely administration of payroll, ensuring compliance with applicable legislation, policies, and internal procedures. You will bring strong technical payroll knowledge together with an understanding of the complexities of payroll within an educational environment, including academic staff, support staff, variable contracts, benefits, deductions, and multiple pay arrangements.

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly organised payroll professional who takes pride in accuracy, confidentiality, and delivering a high-quality service to employees and management.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end payroll process accurately and efficiently.
• Process monthly/biweekly payroll for teaching, administrative, and support staff.
• Review and validate payroll data, including new starters, leavers, salary changes, promotions, deductions, and contractual amendments.
• Ensure payroll calculations are accurate and completed within established deadlines.
• Administer pensions, benefits, statutory deductions, garnishments, and other payroll-related adjustments.
• Maintain accurate and confidential employee payroll records.
• Reconcile payroll reports and investigate and resolve discrepancies.
• Prepare payroll reports and provide relevant information to Finance and senior management.
• Ensure compliance with payroll legislation, tax requirements, pension regulations, and organisational policies.
• Respond professionally and promptly to employee payroll queries.
• Work closely with HR and Finance to ensure employee records and payroll information are accurate and up to date.
• Support internal and external payroll audits.
• Maintain appropriate payroll documentation and ensure strong controls are followed.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, systems, and reporting.
• Maintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive employee and financial information.

Experience within an educational organisation is highly desirable. The successful candidate will ideally understand the payroll requirements associated with schools, colleges, universities, academies, or other education-focused organisations.

Experience working with a diverse workforce, including teaching staff, academic professionals, administrators, and support personnel, would be particularly valuable.

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) qualification.
• Proven experience working in payroll, ideally managing payroll from start to finish.
• Preference to those with experience within the education sector.
• Strong understanding of payroll legislation, taxation, pensions, and statutory requirements.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills.
• Excellent organisational and time-management abilities.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with payroll and HR systems and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with HR, Finance, and other departments.
• Experience supporting payroll audits and compliance reviews.
• Experience improving payroll processes or implementing payroll systems.
• Additional payroll, HR, accounting, or finance qualifications

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