Payroll & Pensions Manager

Job Title: Payroll & Pensions Manager
Location: Cambridge
Salary: £42,000 – £45,000 per annum

Type: Permanent, Full Time – Onsite

Are you an experienced payroll professional looking for an opportunity to make a real impact? We are seeking a highly organised and detail-focused Payroll & Pensions Manager to lead the delivery of an efficient, compliant, and high-quality payroll and pension service within a collaborative and values-driven organisation.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a skilled Payroll & Pensions Manager to take ownership of a critical function within the People/Finance team, overseeing end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring statutory compliance, and managing complex public-sector pension schemes.

As Payroll & Pensions Manager, you will play a vital role in ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while driving improvements to systems, processes, reporting, and payroll efficiencies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the end-to-end monthly payroll function, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely processing
• Oversee all HMRC submissions and ensure full PAYE compliance
• Manage  Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), including reconciliations and statutory returns
• Maintain and enhance the iTrent payroll system, including reporting and process improvements
• Produce payroll reports, forecasts, and data to support finance, audit, and management requirements
• Lead payroll audits and provide supporting documentation and evidence as required
• Continuously improve payroll and pensions processes to ensure efficiency and accuracy
• Support payroll workflow development, automation, and reporting within iTrent
• Line manage the Payroll/HR Administrator and work collaboratively across HR, Finance, and management teams

We are looking for an experienced and technically strong Payroll & Pensions Manager who can bring:

• Proven payroll management experience, ideally within education or the public sector
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, PAYE, taxation, National Insurance, and statutory reporting
• Experience managing public sector pension schemes including TPS and/or LGPS
• Experience using iTrent or similar HR/payroll systems
• Experience implementing internal controls and quality assurance processes
• In-depth understanding of Payroll and Pensions legislation within Education or Local Government
• A recognised Payroll and Pensions qualification such as CIPP or AAT NVQ Level 4
• Excellent analytical, organisational, and problem-solving skills
• Exceptional attention to detail with a high level of professionalism and confidentiality

This position is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

If this opportunity if of interest please submit your CV ASAP. Please note we consider every CV that is submitted to us, however due to time constraints and high volumes of CVs we are only able to get back to those applications that are successful.

If we have not contacted you within 48 hours, unfortunately your application has not been successful and we wish you all the best in your job search.