Payroll Manager

About us

You've probably heard of Autotrader, but do you know what we're all about?

We're the most trusted, most visited automotive marketplace in the UK. A heritage brand and a tech innovator. We bring together vehicle buyers and sellers to give them real choices. Cars may be what we're best known for but we’re also the place for pretty much everything else on wheels, from e-bikes to caravans. 

In the automotive world, change is a constant, that’s why we take our job of untangling the complex car-buying journey very seriously. 
 
At our core, we’re all about people. We go our own way while embracing diversity and celebrating our differences. We dedicate ourselves to the idea that we work better together. 

Autotrader is a beautiful, surprising and vibrant place to work. We might not be for everyone, but we could be perfect for you. 

About the job

We’re looking for an experienced Payroll Manager to lead our end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring our 1,200+ colleagues across four entities are paid accurately and on time. You’ll own the monthly payroll process and work closely with our managed payroll service provider, HiBob. 

As part of our FTSE 100 business, you’ll be trusted to take ownership and get stuck into the detail. You'll evaluate how we work today, strengthen our controls, and continuously find ways to make payroll simpler, more efficient, and scalable. Working closely across Finance, People & Culture, Internal Controls, and external partners, you’ll combine deep payroll expertise with clear communication and a relentless focus on delivering a great colleague experience. 

We’re open to this role being worked full-time (37.5) or over a 30-hour working week. 

What you’ll do 

• Lead our monthly UK payroll, reviewing and signing off outputs and variances to make sure colleagues are paid accurately and on time.
• Manage our payroll relationship with HiBob, holding them to account for service delivery and working with them to resolve issues and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop our Payroll Specialist in an inclusive environment—setting clear expectations, building capability, and acting as a role model for our values while ensuring monthly inputs, checks, and colleague queries are handled effectively.
• Maintain robust, practical payroll controls. Keep us fully compliant with UK tax, pension, and statutory requirements (including PAYE, NIC, SMP, SSP, pension auto-enrolment, HMRC year-end reporting, and GDPR).
• Work with Internal Controls, auditors and other governance teams on statutory and internal payroll audits, following through on recommendations and making sure payroll data is handled in line with GDPR.
• Partner with People & Culture on starters, leavers, benefits, and salary changes, and work alongside Finance on payroll journals and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Oversee monthly pension submissions and support the accurate administration of employee benefits and share schemes
• Act as the escalation point for complex or sensitive payroll queries, crafting clear, supportive guidance to help colleagues understand their pay, tax, and deductions.
• Look for better ways of working that reduce manual tasks, improve efficiency and strengthen our controls.
• Play an active part in our wider Finance community, sharing your payroll knowledge and supporting colleagues across the business. 

What we're looking for

• Experience owning end-to-end payroll operations at a similar level, whether in a dedicated payroll position or a broader role with significant payroll responsibility.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, current tax regulations, pension auto-enrolment and payroll accounting.
• Experience working with a modern Payroll system (we use HiBob) and managing the relationship with a managed payroll provider.
• Intermediate Excel skills, including VLOOKUPs and pivot tables.
• A strong controls mindset and the judgement and attention to detail to confidently sign off payroll.
• Experience overseeing UK Workplace Pensions under auto-enrolment rules and practical knowledge of statutory Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) administration, including the transition from traditional P11D/P11D(b) reporting to real-time Payrolled Benefits (Class 1A NICs)
• Experience managing or supporting others. You lead by example balancing people needs with business outcomes and are passionate about building an inclusive, supportive environment
• Clear, concise and confident communication skills, especially when explaining complex payroll matters.  
• Great stakeholder management with the ability to build strong relationships across different teams, senior leaders and external providers.
• A drive to keep improving how things work and the confidence to challenge established processes when you see a better way.
• A CIPP or equivalent payroll qualification would be useful, but it isn’t essential.
• Familiarity with the payroll tax treatment of share schemes, specifically managing PAYE and Class 1 NIC liabilities would be useful, but it isn’t essential  

During our application process, you will be asked two questions to help us learn more about you and how you align with our values. These will be used as part of our selection criteria, to determine if we progress your application further.

Benefits

We’re offering a salary of £52,500 - £62,500, plus an additional 10% of your salary awarded to you in shares each year. These awarded shares will become yours in yearly instalments over the next three years, and you can choose to either sell them or keep them as shares. 

You'll have 28 days holiday per year, and that's in addition to bank holidays and half day closures on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

That’s not all. You'll be enrolled in our pension scheme, where our standard contributions are 7% and employee contributions are 5%. We also have comprehensive private medical cover, enhanced family leave provisions, a car salary sacrifice scheme, share-save options, and much more. 

We always want to give you the support you need and help prioritise your wellbeing, that’s why we provide access to online GP and dentist services, as well as specialist support for assisted fertility, gender dysphoria, menopause, period care plans and lots more.  

On top of all that, our hybrid model, Connected Working, combines the best of both worlds – office and home working. You'll spend a minimum of 3 days a week in the office with your team, focused on collaboration and connection. 

Additionally, we have our remote-first periods at set times during summer and winter. During these periods, you can work remotely anywhere in the UK and from certain locations abroad.

Alongside a wide range of benefits, we'll help you settle in with confidence from day one. If you're successful, one of the first things you'll experience is our tailored new-starter induction programme, Great Start, designed to help you feel welcome, connected, and set up for success.