Payroll Assistant - Part-Time, Temporary (up to 18 months)

Salary: £24,242 - £28,520 FTE (dependent on experience) Contract type: Temporary: Fixed Term Contract or Secondment Hours: Part-Time Additional information: 22.5 hours per week - working pattern to be agreed with the successful applicant Location: Poole, Dorset, England Location description: This role is a hybrid working arrangement. Interview location: Remote/online via Teams Interview date: Thurs 29th / Fri 30th January 2026 Closing Date: 21-01-2026 Reference: 21135

About Us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue.

We’re looking for a part-time Payroll Assistant (known internally as Finance Team Assistant - Payroll) join our Payroll team on an 18 month, Fixed Term Contract. The Payroll team supports the RNLI through providing a first-class payroll service to our staff, and is part of the Finance and Corporate Services department.

Some of the benefits:

- Salary £24,242 - £26,584 (pro rata, dependent on experience) - Flexible working - 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays – Pro-rata - Competitive pension scheme - Life assurance

Your Role

As Payroll Assistant, you will assist the Payroll Supervisor and Payroll Manager to ensure salary payments to staff are accurate, complete and executed in a timely manner and that processes are standard and efficient whilst meeting all legislative requirements.

Your responsibilities in this role will include:

- Supporting the provision of a full payroll service to the RNLI, including monthly, quarterly and annual payrolls, for staff in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands - Processing payroll input data into the payroll system - Reviewing and checking payroll calculations - Responding to staff on payroll queries - Ad hoc tasks as requested - Ensuring policies and procedures are regularly updated as necessary

About You

As Payroll Assistant, you will be expected to be a good communicator with a high level of attention to detail and a proactive approach to making improvements to systems and processes. You will also need to have experience of working within a busy office environment.

To be considered for the role, you will need:

- Experience of payroll - Processing payroll end-to-end - Good understanding of Microsoft Excel - Ability to meet strict deadlines

Other organisations may call this role Payroll clerk, Payroll Administrator.

If you have experience within Payroll, are ready for a new challenge, and like the look of this vacancy, please apply now using the button shown.

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out, dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One