Payroll Officer - 6 month contract £34,500-£39000 East London or Thurrock - hybrid Join a growing Multi-Academy Trust and help shape a modern, efficient payroll service across 6 schools. We're working on behalf of a well-established education leader who is looking for an organised, solutions-driven Interim Payroll Officer, ready to hit the ground running. You'll play a key role in delivering a smooth, accurate, and reliable payroll experience for all staff-while supporting exciting projects such as the implementation of a new payroll system and the harmonisation of processes across the Federation.

What You'll Do * Prepare, organise, and process monthly payroll accurately and on time. * Work closely with HR to ensure contractual sick pay, maternity pay, and shared parental pay are calculated and processed correctly. * Process deductions including court orders and staff benefit schemes. * Set up new starters, calculate salaries for mid-year joiners, and ensure leavers are processed accurately, including final pay and outstanding balances. * Produce and process statutory documents including P45s, P46s, and P60s. * Liaise with our third-party payroll provider to ensure accurate TPS and LGPS contributions, reporting, and tax deductions. * Manage monthly pension returns, upload data to portals, process opt-outs and joiners, and rectify errors. * Co-ordinate and submit TPS and LGPS end-of-year returns and audits. * Submit all HMRC returns within deadlines. * Monitor the payroll inbox and respond promptly to staff queries. * Provide payroll data and management information to the Finance team. * Support the implementation of a new payroll system and ongoing improvements to payroll and HR processes.

What You'll Bring * Experience managing a payroll function (school experience helpful but not essential). * Strong technical capability and confidence using new and existing systems. * Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, etc.). * Clear communication skills-able to explain payroll calculations to non-experts. * Excellent organisation, time management, and the ability to prioritise effectively. * A collaborative mindset and a commitment to delivering first-class service. Salary is dependent on experience. Love Success is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

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