Senior Payroll Administrator

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Payroll Administrator with education‑sector experience to join a busy payroll business in Newcastle upon Tyne. You will be responsible for end‑to‑end processing of outsourced school and academy payrolls, ensuring compliance with statutory legislation and delivering a high level of service to clients.

Key responsibilities

• Process full‑cycle payroll for schools and academies, including data entry, timesheet validation and payment runs.
• Liaise with HMRC (RTI), pension schemes and other statutory bodies to submit accurate returns.
• Prepare statutory payment schedules, top‑up calculations and manual adjustments for starters, leavers, tax, NI, student loans and pensions.
• Handle payroll reversals, corrections, court orders and early re‑runs.
• Produce and submit i‑Connect files and Monthly Contributions Returns (MCR) to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administrators.
• Provide inbound support, answer queries and perform general administration duties.

Required profile

• Proven experience processing school or academy payrolls end‑to‑end.
• Working knowledge of the Local Government Pension Scheme, including contribution bandings and reporting requirements.
• Experience creating and submitting i‑Connect files and MCR returns.
• Familiarity with HMRC RTI processes.
• Desirable: experience in a payroll bureau or shared‑service environment, knowledge of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and handling term‑time contracts.

Required skills

• i‑Connect
• MCR (Monthly Contributions Return)
• RTI (Real‑Time Information)

What we offer

• Hybrid working (office and remote) – Monday to Friday.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and a birthday day off.
• Bonus scheme, additional leave and recognition awards.
• Company pension, private medical insurance and referral programme.
• Regular company events.