Senior Payroll Analyst – Full-time

Hours: 40 hours per week

Salary: £40,000 per annum

Location: London (Hybrid including 2 days in our central office)

Love payroll and want the freedom to make it even better?

If you’re a detail-driven payroll professional who enjoys solving problems, mentoring others, and improving processes - and you want your work to have real impact - this could be just the role for you.

At the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), we’re a charitable social enterprise with 40+ nurseries supporting over 4,000 children across London. We brought our payroll function in-house 18 months ago, and now we’re ready to take it to the next level - with your help.

You’ll join our friendly hard working payroll team, reporting to our Payroll & Compensation Manager and supporting the development of others. You’ll be trusted to run end-to-end payroll, spot inconsistencies, and make improvements that really matter. It’s a fast-paced, high-trust environment where your ideas and initiative will be valued.

"We’re building something great — and there’s real freedom here to shape how we do things." Angelo, Payroll & Compensation Manager

What You’ll Be Doing

• Run monthly payroll from start to finish – process info such as time/attendance, new starters, leavers, promotions, secondments and other manual payroll updates
• Prepare payroll reports and journal entries, and work closely with Finance on reconciliations
• Collaborate with HR and our business stakeholders to ensure everything runs smoothly & people feel supported
• Analyse data to spot patterns, solve problems, and improve accuracy
• Look for ways to automate and improve how we work — and help make them happen
• Be a key person for our pension processes and support benefit admin
• Mentor junior team members and help build capability across the team
• Stay up to date with payroll legislation and ensure we’re always compliant
• Handle sensitive data with professionalism and care

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Experienced in payroll, ideally with a CIPP qualification or equivalent
• Confident with Excel and keen to learn new systems and tools
• Analytical, organised, and great at connecting the dots
• Calm under pressure and able to meet immovable deadlines
• A natural problem-solver who enjoys improving processes
• Friendly, proactive, and able to challenge constructively
• Comfortable working with sensitive data and maintaining confidentiality
• A team player who’s excited to make a difference

Why you’ll love it here

• Make an impact: Your work helps us support thousands of children across London
• Freedom to improve: We trust you to spot opportunities and make things better
• Hybrid working: Flexibility and a warm, family-friendly culture
• Childcare discount: 70% off nursery fees for your children or grandchildren
• Time to recharge: 26 days’ holiday (including Christmas closure), plus your birthday off, and bank holidays
• Good benefits: 7% employer pension, well-being support, discounts, and team events

We know diverse teams build stronger organisations – and we welcome you just as you are.

If you’re a proactive senior payroll analyst who’s ready to make a difference - we’d love to hear from you! Apply via Quick Apply on LinkedIn. We’re reviewing applications as they come in – so don’t wait too long!