Senior Payroll Specialist

Senior Payroll Specialist 
£28,000 - £35,000 plus benefits (Work Level 6B) 
Manchester City Centre, in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office. There’s an expectation that you would come into the office for your training period and a minimum of 2 days per week once in role. You can find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy

We’re looking for a Senior Payroll Specialist to join the Payroll Operations team within our wider Co-op Business Services (CBS) organisation. CBS is made up of a number of diverse teams dedicated to delivering high-quality, reliable and cost-effective business services across our Co-op. You’ll play a key role in helping CBS to support and realise our group vision of ‘co-operating to build more value for member-owners every day’.

In this role, we’ll look to you to make sure our payroll processes are delivered correctly and in line with tight deadlines. You’ll be working in a high-volume environment, with a seriously complex payroll that covers the entire Co-op family of businesses. If you have the substantial payroll experience and team working skills that we need, then we can offer you the opportunity to build your knowledge and develop your skills with a business that puts people at the heart of its strategy.

Why this role matters

Payroll is a busy team; they process the salaries for approximately 70,000 Co-op employees and pensioners on a 4-week cycle, and their goal is to make sure that every colleague is paid the right amount at the right time. We’ve made lots of improvements to our payroll service over recent years, making processes quicker, easier and more effective for customers across the business. It’s an exciting time to join, as you’ll have the chance to spot opportunities to help us to further improve the way we work.

What you’ll do

•    Use the Oracle Fusion system to process payroll data to tight deadlines 
•    Support the team with complex queries, coordinate workload and mentor junior members of the team 
•    Make sure that a high level of service is consistently being delivered to our customers 
•    Process starters, leavers, absences and ad-hoc payments
•    Perform manual calculations and analysis to make sure payroll is completed in line with high Co-op standards
•    Check key payroll control reports to make sure they’re accurate and compliant to government legislation
•    Spot opportunities for continuous improvement, identifying ways to further streamline our payroll service

What you'll bring

•    Substantial payroll experience (you’ve worked in an end-to-end payroll processing role)  
•    Experience working with Oracle Fusion or a similar human capital management system
•    Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills (you’re comfortable using VLOOKUPs and pivot tables) 
•    Strong organisational skills with the confidence to coordinate and delegate work across the team 
•    A forward-thinking approach and can use their own initiative to deal with any queries or issues that may arise

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

•    An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
•    28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays 
•    A pension with up to 10% employer contributions 
•    Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ) 
•    30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands 
•    Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it 
•    Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice 
•    24/7 colleague support service 
•    Training and support for your development and career progression
•    Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone, and our support centre is an inclusive environment where all our colleagues can thrive.

If you have a disability, we’ll make reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process. We’re also proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme - if you’re disabled and you meet the minimum criteria for this job, we’ll guarantee you an interview.

Learn more about our recruitment process at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process

Explore our commitments to diversity, inclusion and wellbeing at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-wellbeing

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.

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