Payroll Manager

The Payroll Manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring the Group’s payroll and expenses are delivered accurately on time and in full compliance with UK legislation. Leading end‑to‑end payroll operations for circa 6000 employees, this role oversees monthly payroll processing, statutory and annual reporting, and acts as the go‑to expert for complex payroll matters, helping to minimise risk while delivering a trusted, high‑quality service to the business.

They also are responsible for securely configuring systems, maintaining robust controls and using data and insight to continuously improve payroll and people processes.

This is a people‑focused leadership role, managing and developing a skilled payroll team of 6 Administrators through coaching, mentoring and knowledge‑sharing. The Payroll Manager builds strong relationships with colleagues, senior leaders and external partners, including HMRC and key suppliers, to ensure a responsive, customer‑focused service that supports organisational goals. They also deputise for the Senior Manager – People Services when required, contributing to wider People leadership.

Why join our team:

The role offers the opportunity to lead payroll projects and shape the future of payroll delivery, using Workday to modernise processes and drive efficiency. This is an ideal opportunity for a technically strong payroll professional who enjoys leading others, driving improvement and making a real impact across the organisation.

Location & Hybrid Working: We operate on a team led hybrid approach with at least 2 days a week in the Coventry office.

Our benefits include:

• 28 days holiday a year plus bank holidays (increasing to 30 days after 2 years’ service) and a holiday buy/sell scheme
• Annual discretionary bonus scheme
• Personal pension with matched contributions
• Life assurance (6 times annual salary)

Find out more about the fantastic benefits of joining Coventry Building Society here.

For this role you’ll need to have:

• Payroll team management experience; leads and develops others
• Strong, up-to-date technical payroll knowledge
• Experience processing complex/manual payrolls
• Highly organised, detail-focused, able to manage multiple cycles
• Strong numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Experience with HRIS, especially Workday
• Customer-focused, accountable, and decisive
• CIPP full membership
• Foundation Degree in Payroll (or equivalent)

• Experience in complex or high-volume payroll environments
• Payroll process improvement and optimisation experience
• Workday implementation or enhancement exposure
• Broader HR/payroll integration knowledge
• Change management experience
• Strong stakeholder management skills
• Reporting and payroll data analysis experience
• Ability to configure within the Workday ecosystem

In 2025, Coventry Building Society purchased The Co-operative Bank. Bringing together our purpose-led building society with the UK’s original ethical bank was the start of an exciting journey.

Trusted by over four million people, we’re a mutually owned business free from shareholders, and with our combined experience of almost 300 years, our ethics and dedication will continue to guide us. Together, we have shared values and an ethical approach towards our members, customers and colleagues.

We’re officially recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ and our benefits go beyond basic pay, with a discretionary bonus scheme, a culture of reward and recognition and comprehensive support for wellbeing. 

We’re serious about equality, of race, age, faith, disability, and sexual orientation and we celebrate diversity. By working together, we know you’ll build more than just a career with us.

Flexibility and why it matters

We understand the need for flexibility, so wherever possible, we’ll consider alternative working patterns. Have a chat with us before you apply to see what the possibilities are for this role.                                                               

Proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer

We’re proud to offer an interview or assessment to every disabled applicant who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies. As part of the application process, disabled applicants can opt in for the Disability Confident Interview Scheme. If there are ever occasions where it is not practicable to interview all candidates that meet the essential criteria, such as when we receive a high number of applications, we commit to interviewing disabled candidates who best meet the minimum essential and desirable criteria.