One CV challenge you might encounter as a payroll manager is effectively showcasing your ability to navigate complex tax regulations and compliance issues. Our guide offers detailed tips on how to highlight your expertise in these areas, ensuring your CV stands out to prospective employers.
Learn how to create your next payroll manager CV by:
- Applying the simplest CV design, so that recruiters can easily understand your expertise, skills, and professional background;
- Ensuring you stand out with your header, summary or objective statement, and a designated skills section;
- Creating your CV experience section - no matter how much expertise you have;
- Using real life professional CV examples to enhance the structure and outline of your profile.
If you still have no muse to write your professional CV, find some more industry-leading examples.
Resume examples for payroll manager
Explore additional payroll manager cv samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.
By Experience
Senior Payroll Manager
- Structured Presentation and Conciseness - Arthur Davies' CV is meticulously structured, providing a clear and concise presentation of his qualifications. Each section is strategically positioned to guide the reader through his career journey, with easily digestible bullet points highlighting key achievements and responsibilities.
- Impressive Career Advancement - Arthur's career trajectory is noteworthy, showcasing his steady progression from a Payroll Supervisor at BDO to a Global Payroll Manager at Deloitte. His career path reflects not only promotions to more senior roles but also increased responsibilities, indicating his ability to thrive in high-stakes environments.
- Industry-Specific Expertise and Tools - This CV highlights Arthur's deep industry knowledge and technical proficiency, particularly with STAR Payroll Systems and BACS Management. His advanced understanding of these tools and his successful implementation of process improvements underscore his capability to serve effectively in the payroll management arena.
Assistant Payroll Manager
- Clear and Structured Presentation - The CV is clearly structured into relevant sections, including experience, skills, education, and achievements. This organization allows for easy navigation and helps highlight key components such as leadership and technical expertise in payroll management systems.
- Career Growth and Industry Expertise - Scarlett's career trajectory showcases impressive growth within the payroll industry, from a Payroll Officer to a Supervisor role. This progression highlights increasing responsibilities and expertise, particularly in SAP S/4HANA implementation and team leadership.
- Significant Achievements and Business Impact - The CV effectively communicates Scarlett's impact on business outcomes through concrete achievements, such as reducing payroll processing time by 25% and enhancing team productivity, providing clear evidence of her ability to drive efficiency and accuracy.
Junior Payroll Manager
- Clear and Structured Content Presentation - The CV stands out for its clear and structured presentation, facilitating easy navigation through multiple sections such as experience, education, skills, and achievements. Each section is concise, focusing on key points, which enhances readability and ensures relevant information is highlighted efficiently.
- Diverse Career Trajectory - Amelia's career trajectory is impressive, showing growth from a Payroll Intern to a Payroll Manager within a short timeframe. Despite staying within the hospitality industry, her progression is marked by increasing responsibility and expertise, showcasing both commitment and the capacity for professional growth.
- Role-Specific Achievements With Business Impact - The CV emphasizes Amelia's significant achievements, such as spearheading the implementation of payroll systems and optimizing payroll processes. These contributions resulted in tangible outcomes like increased efficiency and compliance, demonstrating her strategic impact on business operations beyond routine responsibilities.
Interim Payroll Manager
- Career Growth and Strategic Advancement - The career trajectory of Isaac Scott illustrates a clear path of development, moving from a Payroll Specialist to a Payroll Systems Manager. Within a decade, he has progressed through increasingly responsible roles, demonstrating his capability to adapt and thrive in a more complex and strategic environment, particularly within major firms like Capita PLC, Deloitte UK, and KPMG UK.
- Diverse Experience and Cross-Functional Skills - Isaac's adaptability is highlighted through his significant cross-functional experience, having moved fluidly between project coordination and payroll systems management. His ability to work collaboratively with IT, HR, and finance departments enhances his versatility and shows his strength in stakeholder management and strategic alignment with organizational objectives.
- Impactful Achievements with Quantitative Outcomes - The CV underscores key achievements with strong business relevance and quantitative outcomes. Isaac's leadership in system implementations and process optimization has resulted in substantial efficiency improvements, such as a 25% reduction in processing times and increased accuracy and reliability of payroll systems, reflecting his contributions to organizational value and effectiveness.
By Role
Payroll Operations Manager
- Clear and Structured Presentation - The CV is well-organized with distinct sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the candidate's professional profile. This structure enhances readability and ensures that the most relevant information is easily accessible, demonstrating Joshua's methodical approach and attention to detail, which are crucial for a Payroll Operations Team Manager.
- Career Trajectory Demonstrates Leadership Growth - Joshua's career path exhibits significant growth, progressing from a Payroll Analyst to a Payroll Operations Team Manager. This upward trajectory highlights his capability to take on more responsibilities and lead a team, reinforcing his potential for further leadership roles in payroll operations.
- Emphasis on Achieving Business Impact - The CV not only lists achievements but also contextualizes them by explaining their business impact. For example, the implementation of a new payroll system that reduced errors by 30% not only showcases technical acumen but also underscores the direct contribution to employee satisfaction and cost savings, underlining the candidate's strategic value to an organization.
Global Payroll Manager
- Exceptional Career Growth and Leadership - The CV showcases a clear upward trajectory in Evie Perry's career, moving from a Payroll Supervisor position to a Global Payroll Manager role at notable financial institutions. This progression highlights not only her growing expertise and increased responsibilities but also her aptitude for taking on leadership roles, demonstrating her readiness for senior-level positions in payroll management.
- Strategic Achievements with Business Impact - Evie's achievements are articulated with quantifiable results that exhibit her strategic impact on business operations. She has led initiatives that increased payroll efficiency by 30%, reduced processing errors by 15%, and saved significant annual expenses. These accomplishments underscore her capacity to drive substantial productivity improvements and cost efficiencies in payroll operations.
- Diverse Industry-Specific Skills and Tools - The inclusion of skills such as Workday, HRIS systems, and payroll analytics indicates a deep technical proficiency and familiarity with essential industry tools, providing her with a competitive edge. Additionally, her focus on compliance and legislation ensures that she can manage complexities in global payroll management while adhering to regulatory standards.
Regional Payroll Manager
- Structured Presentation for Clarity and Impact - William Hall's CV is well-organized with distinct sections that make it easy for readers to locate specific information quickly. The use of bullet points in the experience section ensures key accomplishments are highlighted succinctly. This approach enhances readability, allowing potential employers to quickly ascertain his skills and achievements in payroll management.
- Demonstrated Career Progression and Specialization - The career trajectory outlined in Hall's CV shows a clear advancement from a Payroll Specialist at PwC to a managerial role at Deloitte. Additionally, his roles across multiple prestigious firms reflect his increasing responsibility and specialization in payroll operations, signifying his growth within the industry and his capability to manage international payroll functions.
- Impactful Achievements with Business Relevance - The CV emphasizes significant accomplishments, such as reducing payroll discrepancies by 30% and achieving a 15% cost saving through system transfers. These metrics not only demonstrate Hall’s expertise but also highlight his ability to implement changes that directly benefit the company's bottom line, showcasing his value as a payroll manager.
Payroll Project Manager
- Clarity and Structure in Content Presentation - The CV is organized with clean sections such as experience, education, skills, and achievements, all of which are easy to navigate. Each job entry clearly states the position, company, location, and timeframes, providing a concise yet comprehensive overview of Lily Cooper's career progression.
- Growth and Industry Expertise from Career Trajectory - Lily Cooper’s career shows a steady progression in the HR technology sector, moving from an HR Project Coordinator to a Technology Project Manager. This growth trajectory demonstrates her increasing responsibility and the development of her expertise, particularly in handling complex HR tech projects across multiple platforms like Workday, SAP, and Oracle.
- Soft Skills and Leadership Acumen - The CV highlights Lily’s standout ability in stakeholder engagement and team leadership, showcasing her expertise in managing cross-functional teams and aligning project goals with business strategies. Her leadership skills are emphasized through her successful management of large projects and her ability to enhance collaboration and decision-making processes.
Payroll Compliance Manager
- Clear and Efficient Content Presentation - The CV is well-structured with distinct sections for achievements, experience, education, skills, and additional accolades such as courses and passions. This organization enhances readability and allows for quick access to the most relevant information, making it an effective tool for recruiters to assess Archie's qualifications immediately.
- Strong Career Progression and Industry Experience - Archie Clark demonstrates significant growth in their career trajectory, moving from a Payroll Specialist to a Payroll & Benefits Manager. Working with prominent companies like Channel 4, ITV, and BBC Studios, Clark not only illustrates steady professional development but also showcases a deep experience within the media industry.
- Achievements with Significant Business Impact - The CV highlights Archie's ability to drive meaningful business outcomes. Achievements like reducing payroll errors by 25% and saving the company 15% annually on benefits showcase a direct positive impact on both employee satisfaction and company finances, demonstrating Clark's strategic thinking and effectiveness in a managerial role.
Payroll Systems Manager
- Clarity and Structure in Presentation - The CV is structured with a clear segmentation of information, making it easy to navigate. Each section is concisely presented, which helps in quickly grasping Lucas Adams' career highlights, skills, and achievements. Strategic use of dates and bullet points within job experiences succinctly encapsulates his contributions and roles undertaken across various positions.
- Progressive Career Trajectory - Lucas Adams demonstrates a commendable career progression within the HR and payroll systems industry. Starting as a Payroll Coordinator and advancing to an Interim Systems Manager position, his career is marked by consistent upward mobility. This trajectory highlights his capacity to take on higher responsibilities and showcases his role in significant project-driven environments.
- Impactful Achievements - The CV is rich in quantifiable achievements that underscore Lucas's impact on business processes and efficiency. Notable accomplishments include reducing payroll processing time by 40% and increasing accuracy, which reflect his key role in driving operational improvements and aligning HR systems with strategic objectives. These achievements showcase his ability to deliver influential results and optimize system performance.
Strategic Payroll Manager
- Structured and Focused Presentation - The CV stands out through its coherent and organized layout, clearly segmenting sections like experience, education, skills, and achievements. This clarity ensures that the reader can quickly grasp the candidate’s extensive background in payroll management and client relations.
- Progressive Career Trajectory - Sienna West’s career path illustrates notable upward mobility, beginning as a Payroll Specialist and advancing to a Senior Payroll Manager. This trajectory indicates her capability for growth and her ability to assume increased responsibilities within the payroll sector.
- Impactful Achievements with Business Value - The CV emphasizes achievements that go beyond mere metrics, detailing improvements such as a 30% reduction in client complaints and a 25% increase in advocacy scores, underscoring the candidate’s ability to deliver meaningful, positive impacts on the business operations and client satisfaction.
By Industry
Payroll Manager for Manufacturing Industry
- Structured and Concise Presentation - The CV is organized with clear sections such as summary, experience, education, skills, courses, achievements, languages, and passions. Each section is concise, using bullet points to effectively communicate key accomplishments and responsibilities. This clarity ensures that the reader can easily navigate and digest the information.
- Progressive Career Trajectory - George Johnson's career showcases progressive growth, moving from a Payroll Analyst to a Payroll Manager within a span of years. This upward trajectory highlights his growing expertise in the payroll field and his ability to take on increasing responsibilities, reflecting his skills and dedication to professional development.
- Achievements with Business Impact - The CV effectively connects achievements to business outcomes, such as increasing payroll accuracy by 15% or implementing systems that reduce costs by 30%. These metrics not only demonstrate technical proficiency but also underline George's ability to significantly impact business efficiency and profitability.
Payroll Manager for Retail Industry
- Content presentation (clarity, structure, conciseness) - The CV is exceptionally well-organized, offering a clear structure that allows easy navigation of key sections. Each section is demarcated with concise and relevant information, ensuring no unnecessary detail clutters the narrative while focusing on the most pertinent achievements and experiences.
- Career trajectory (growth, promotions, industry shifts) - Lily Cooper’s career path demonstrates significant upward mobility, showcasing a clear progression from a Payroll Officer to a Payroll & Benefits Manager. This upward trajectory reflects her ability to take on increased responsibilities and leadership roles, indicating her strong performance and potential for future growth.
- Unique industry-specific elements (tools, methodologies, technical depth) - The CV outlines a robust understanding of payroll systems and HR compliance, emphasizing her proficiency with industry tools such as HRIS and payroll software integration. Her experience leading compliance initiatives and transforming payroll processes highlights her technical expertise and ability to drive process improvements in the payroll industry.
Payroll Manager for Healthcare Industry
- Comprehensive Presentation - The CV presents information in a logically structured and concise manner, beginning with a summary that quickly establishes the candidate’s specialization in payroll management and compliance. Each section is clearly demarcated and filled with precise details that illustrate her career achievements and technical expertise.
- Strategic Career Trajectory - Sophia's career growth is depicted through progressively responsible roles from Payroll Coordinator to Global Payroll Manager. This trajectory highlights her ability to leverage expertise in both the UK and US markets, underscoring her adaptability and readiness to handle global payroll operations.
- Interdisciplinary Leadership - The CV emphasizes Sophia's soft skills, showcasing her ability to lead cross-functional teams and her knack for mentoring, as evidenced by her receipt of the Mentor of the Year award. Her role in training and collaboration further underscores her capability to inspire and facilitate team productivity across departments.
Payroll Manager for Finance Industry
- Clear Career Advancement Path - Lily Cooper's CV illustrates a steady progression in her career, moving from Financial Accountant to Senior Payroll Officer, and finally to Finance & Payroll Manager. Each role reflects an increase in responsibility and complexity, showcasing her growth and development in the finance sector.
- Emphasis on Leadership and Strategic Impact - The CV highlights Lily's leadership skills and strategic influence, as demonstrated by her team management experience and her contributions to significant organizational improvements, such as efficiency increases and budget reductions. This illustrates her capability to lead and make impactful decisions, which is crucial for a Finance & Payroll Manager.
- Achievements with Real Business Outcomes - Lily's accomplishments are not just presented as numeric improvements but are tied to concrete business outcomes, such as securing significant grant funding and reducing department overspend. These achievements are indicative of her ability to drive financial efficiency and support organizational growth, making them highly relevant to her role.
Payroll Manager for Hospitality Industry
- Effective Structure and Clarity - Isaac Scott's CV exhibits a well-organized format, presenting information in a clear, concise manner. The sections are logically ordered, guiding the reader through his professional journey, skills, achievements, and education without overwhelming details. This makes it easy for hiring managers to quickly grasp his qualifications and breadth of experience.
- Progressive Career Growth - His career trajectory shows a consistent upward movement with progressive roles from a Payroll Administrator to a Senior Payroll Specialist. This indicates that Isaac has not only gained expertise but has also acquired responsibilities that indicate a strong career growth in the payroll management domain.
- Achievements with Significant Business Impact - The CV highlights Isaac's achievements with contextually relevant metrics that illustrate substantial business enhancements. Noteworthy accomplishments such as reducing payroll processing time by 30% and decreasing payroll error rates by 35% underscore his capability to drive operational improvements and efficiencies that are directly beneficial to business success.
Payroll Manager for IT Services
- Logical structure and concise delivery - The CV is presented with clear section headings, making it easy for hiring managers to pinpoint relevant information quickly. The content is concise yet comprehensive, effectively summarizing significant achievements without unnecessary detail, allowing the recruiter to grasp Leo Brown's qualifications efficiently.
- Career growth illustrating advancement in the payroll field - The career trajectory showcases a logical progression from a Senior Payroll Officer to a Lead Payroll Specialist and then to a Deputy Payroll Manager. This path represents not only upward growth but also expanded responsibilities and leadership roles, reflecting a well-rounded professional development in payroll management.
- Demonstrates technical proficiency and industry tools - The CV details specific payroll systems and software such as Workday HCM and PECI, demonstrating the candidate's technical expertise in industry-specific tools. This highlights their capability to manage complex payroll operations and adapt to technological advancements in the field effectively.
Payroll Manager for Non-profit Organisations
- Comprehensive Career Progression - Samuel Campbell's CV illustrates a clear trajectory of growth, moving from a Payroll Team Manager at Intertek Group to a Senior Payroll Manager at Bureau Veritas. Each position reflects increasing responsibility and complexity, showcasing his ability to scale his expertise in payroll management across larger regions and teams.
- Focus on Systems and Efficiency - Unique industry-specific elements are highlighted through his proficiency in tools like DayForce and D365HR integration. Samuel's role in implementing these systems led to substantial improvements in payroll accuracy and processing time, demonstrating his technical depth and focus on enhancing operational efficiency.
- Impactful Leadership Achievements - The CV emphasizes not just achievements with numbers but their broader business impact. Samuel's leadership in reducing payroll errors by 25% or saving £150,000 annually showcases how his strategic decisions and innovations drive significant cost savings and operational improvements, reinforcing his leadership acumen.
Payroll Manager for Education Sector
- Comprehensive Structure and Clarity - The CV is well-organized, starting with a concise header and summary that clearly presents Isla King's credentials and specializations in global payroll tax management. Each section is logically structured, allowing for quick understanding and providing a holistic view of her professional journey. The use of bullet points enhances readability, making it easy to pinpoint key achievements and experiences.
- Consistent Career Advancement - Isla’s career trajectory reflects significant growth within the niche of payroll tax management, evidencing steady progress from roles such as Tax Specialist at KPMG to Global Payroll Tax Manager at Electronic Arts. This progression underscores her ability to take on increased responsibilities and positions of leadership in high-profile companies, highlighting her commitment and expertise in the industry.
- Innovative Use of Industry-Specific Tools - The CV reveals Isla's adeptness with critical tools and methodologies specific to her field, such as global mobility tax compliance and tax analytics software. Her implementation of a new tax analytics system resulted in substantial efficiency gains, indicating her technical proficiency and innovation in leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency and compliance.
Payroll Manager for Construction Industry
- Comprehensive career progression - The CV outlines a clear career trajectory, showcasing Jack Taylor's consistent rise from a Payroll Coordinator to a Group Payroll Manager. This progression highlights not only his growing responsibilities but also his ability to excel and adapt in increasingly complex roles within the industry.
- Industry-specific technical expertise - Taylor's proficiency with Fourth Software and statutory compliance underscores a strong grasp of specialized tools crucial for payroll management. This technical depth is particularly relevant for a role focused on payroll compliance and process improvement.
- Focus on measurable achievements and impact - The resume stands out by detailing accomplishments with concrete metrics, such as improving payroll accuracy by 20% and enhancing employee satisfaction. These figures validate Taylor’s capability to enact meaningful changes that align with business goals, proving his effectiveness beyond mere task completion.
Structuring and formatting your payroll manager CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your payroll manager CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:
- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
PRO TIP
Be mindful of white space; too much can make the CV look sparse, too little can make it look cluttered. Strive for a balance that makes the document easy on the eyes.
The top sections on a payroll manager CV
- Professional Summary to showcase expertise: This provides a concise overview of the candidate's key qualifications and unique value they bring to the payroll function.
- Key Payroll Skills to highlight strengths: Focused on specific payroll skills, this demonstrates the individual's ability to manage complex payroll systems and compliance with legislation.
- Payroll Management Experience for trust: Shows a track record of success in managing payroll, highlighting the ability to handle sensitive information and complex calculations.
- Certifications in Payroll Management for credibility: Lists relevant industry certifications which demonstrate a commitment to professional development and expertise in payroll.
- Achievements in Payroll Projects for impact: This section highlights major accomplishments, cost savings, or process improvements led by the candidate in a payroll context.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your proficiency with payroll software and systems, detailing your experience with specific platforms such as Sage, QuickBooks, or ADP, and mention any certifications you have obtained.
- Emphasize your understanding of payroll legislation, tax requirements, and compliance, showcasing your ability to stay updated with the latest changes and apply them effectively within the company.
- Demonstrate your leadership skills by mentioning any previous roles where you managed a payroll team, including the size of the team and the volume of the payroll processed.
- Outline your analytical skills by providing examples of how you’ve successfully managed payroll budgets, conducted audits, or implemented cost-saving measures in your past roles.
- Illustrate your attention to detail and accuracy with specific examples of error-free payroll processing, emphasizing the importance you place on data privacy and careful record-keeping.
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Making a good first impression with your payroll manager CV header
Your typical CV header consists of Your typical CV header consists of contact details and a headline. Make sure to list your professional phone number, email address, and a link to your professional portfolio (or, alternatively, your LinkedIn profile). When writing your CV headline , ensure it's:
- tailored to the job you're applying for;
- highlights your unique value as a professional;
- concise, yet matches relevant job ad keywords.
You can, for examples, list your current job title or a particular skill as part of your headline. Now, if you decide on including your photo in your CV header, ensure it's a professional one, rather than one from your graduation or night out. You may happen to have plenty more questions on how to make best the use of your CV headline. We'll help you with some real-world examples, below.
Examples of good CV headlines for payroll manager:
- Payroll Manager | Chartered CIPP | Strategic Compliance Oversight | 8+ Years’ Experience
- Senior Payroll Specialist | Global Payroll Integration | CertRP Qualified | 10 Years in Industry
- Payroll Lead | Expert in HMRC Regulations | Systems Implementation | 12 Years’ Expertise
- Deputy Payroll Manager | Payroll Software Solutions | ACCA Member | 5+ Years Progressive Experience
- Head of Payroll | Employee Benefits Management | Payroll Transformation | 15 Years Senior-Level Practice
- Payroll Supervisor | MSc in HR & Payroll Management | In-House & Outsourced Payroll | 7 Years’ Tenure
Opting between a payroll manager CV summary or objective
Within the top one third of your payroll manager CV, you have the opportunity to briefly summarise your best achievements or present your professional goals and dreams. Those two functions are met by either the CV summary or the objective.
- The summary is three-to-five sentences long and should narrate your best successes, while answering key requirements for the role. Select up to three skills which you can feature in your summary. Always aim to present what the actual outcomes were of using your particular skill set. The summary is an excellent choice for more experienced professionals.
- The objective is more focused on showcasing your unique value as a candidate and defining your dreams and ambitions. Think about highlighting how this current opportunity would answer your career vision. Also, about how you could help your potential employers grow. The objective matches the needs of less experienced candidates, who need to prove their skill set and, in particular, their soft skills.
Still not sure about how to write your CV opening statement? Use some best industry examples as inspiration:
CV summaries for a payroll manager job:
More detailed look into your work history: best advice on writing your payroll manager CV experience section
The CV experience is a space not just to merely list your past roles and responsibilities. It is the CV real estate within which you could detail your greatest accomplishments and skills, while matching the job requirements. Here's what to have in your experience section:
- Prove you have what the job wants with your unique skill set and past successes;
- Start each bullet with a strong, action verb, and continue with the outcome of your responsibility;
- Use any awards, nominations, and recognitions you've received as solid proof of your skill set and expertise;
- align your experience with the role responsibilities and duties.
For more help on how to write your CV experience section, check out the next section of our guide:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Managed a team of payroll specialists, ensuring accurate and timely processing of payroll for over 2,000 employees across multiple regions, whilst adhering to company policies and compliance with relevant legislation.
- Implemented a new payroll system that increased processing efficiency by 20%, involving the migration of historical data and training of staff to enhance proficiency in the new software.
- Conducted regular audits of payroll procedures to identify and rectify discrepancies, maintaining an error rate of less than 0.5%, thereby upholding the integrity of payroll operations.
- Collaborated with HR and finance departments to align payroll processes with employee benefits, tax planning, and budget forecasts, ensuring a cohesive financial management strategy.
- Liaised with external auditors and provided documentation as required, contributing to the successful completion of financial audits without any payroll-related qualifications.
- Developed and maintained a robust understanding of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) regulations, enabling the company to remain compliant with UK payroll legislation and statutory requirements.
- Facilitated employee understanding of payroll processes through the creation and delivery of clear, concise communication materials and training sessions, resulting in a 40% reduction in payroll-related queries.
- Negotiated contracts with payroll software suppliers and managed vendor relationships to ensure the company received optimal service and value for money from payroll-related products and services.
- Played a pivotal role in the transition to a paperless payroll system, enhancing data security and contributing to the company's environmental sustainability goals.
Senior Payroll Manager
Senior Payroll Manager
Shell International
07/2018-Ongoing
- Supervised a payroll department of 10 staff for a multinational corporation, ensuring accurate salary disbursements to over 5,000 employees across 4 continents
- Implemented a new payroll system that reduced processing time by 25% and increased overall efficiency
- Led a project team in the integration of payroll with human resources management systems, enhancing data consistency and security
Associate Director of Payroll
Associate Director of Payroll
Barclays Bank PLC
03/2014-05/2017
- Oversaw payroll compliance for a leading financial firm, maintaining adherence to changing tax laws across multiple jurisdictions
- Initiated a payroll-specific training program that decreased payroll-related enquiries to the HR department by 40%
- Directed the successful migration of payroll data during a major company merger, affecting over 10,000 employees
Payroll Operations Manager
Payroll Operations Manager
Tesco PLC
11/2011-02/2014
- Managed day-to-day payroll operations in a high-volume retail business, processing wages for over 3,000 staff members weekly
- Redesigned payroll workflows to include best practice checks, reducing errors by 30% within the first year
- Fostered strong relationships with the retail management team to ensure smooth onboarding for seasonal staff fluctuations
Payroll Supervisor
Payroll Supervisor
Prudential PLC
06/2009-10/2011
- Administered payroll for a leading insurance company, consistently meeting weekly deadlines and maintaining a 99.8% accuracy rate
- Liaised with accounting and finance departments to streamline expense reimbursement, saving the company an average of £10,000 per month
- Contributed to the development of a bespoke payroll software tailored to the company's unique needs
Payroll Department Manager
Payroll Department Manager
GlaxoSmithKline
01/2016-12/2019
- Managed the end-to-end payroll process for a healthcare provider, serving over 2,500 employees and ensuring accurate statutory deductions
- Coordinated with IT to introduce biometric attendance systems, leading to a direct reduction in payroll discrepancies
- Cultivated a team culture focused on continual learning, which improved departmental productivity by 15%
Chief Payroll Administrator
Chief Payroll Administrator
Capgemini UK Plc
04/2012-08/2016
- Accountable for the precise execution of the monthly payroll for an international IT services company, impacting over 4,500 employees
- Selected and managed a payroll service provider transition which enhanced data reporting capabilities resulting in improved strategic decision making
- Set up and managed a self-service payroll portal that enhanced employee engagement and reduced manual HR interventions by 50%
Head of Payroll Services
Head of Payroll Services
The University of Manchester
02/2013-06/2017
- Led a strategic overhaul of payroll systems for an education institution, aligning them with up-to-date compliance standards and reducing processing errors by 20%
- Coordinated cross-departmental efforts to tackle payroll complexities due to academic seasonal work patterns, ensuring on-time payments throughout the year
- Enhanced employee financial well-being by introducing a series of payroll-linked savings and investment programs
Global Payroll Manager
Global Payroll Manager
Unilever
05/2017-12/2023
- Unified payroll processes after a global merger, standardizing procedures for 8,000 staff in 12 different countries, while ensuring local compliance
- Analyzed and reported on payroll expenses on a quarterly basis to the CFO, aiding in cost reduction strategies that saved the company upwards of £500,000 annually
- Championed a sustainability initiative within the payroll department, moving to paperless pay slips and saving approximately £5,000 per year in material costs
How to ensure your payroll manager CV stands out when you have no experience
This part of our step-by-step guide will help you substitute your experience section by helping you spotlight your skill set. First off, your ability to land your first job will depend on the time you take to assess precisely how you match the job requirements. Whether that's via your relevant education and courses, skill set, or any potential extracurricular activities. Next:
- Systematise your CV so that it spotlights your most relevant experience (whether that's your education or volunteer work) towards the top;
- Focus recruiters' attention to your transferrable skill set and in particular how your personality would be the perfect fit for the role;
- Consider how your current background has helped you build your technological understanding - whether you've created projects in your free time or as part of your uni degree;
- Ensure you've expanded on your teamwork capabilities with any relevant internships, part-time roles, or projects you've participated in the past.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Talk about any positive changes you helped bring about in your previous jobs, like improving a process or helping increase efficiency.
Describing your unique skill set using both hard skills and soft skills
Your payroll manager CV provides you with the perfect opportunity to spotlight your talents, and at the same time - to pass any form of assessment. Focusing on your skill set across different CV sections is the way to go, as this would provide you with an opportunity to quantify your achievements and successes. There's one common, very simple mistake, which candidates tend to make at this stage. Short on time, they tend to hurry and mess up the spelling of some of the key technologies, skills, and keywords. Copy and paste the particular skill directly from the job requirement to your CV to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Now, your CV skills are divided into:
- Technical or hard skills, describing your comfort level with technologies (software and hardware). List your aptitude by curating your certifications, on the work success in the experience section, and technical projects. Use the dedicated skills section to provide recruiters with up to twelve technologies, that match the job requirements, and you're capable of using.
- People or soft skills provide you with an excellent background to communicate, work within a team, solve problems. Don't just copy-paste that you're a "leader" or excel at "analysis". Instead, provide tangible metrics that define your success inusing the particular skill within the strengths, achievements, summary/ objective sections.
Top skills for your payroll manager CV:
HARD SKILLS
Payroll Processing
Knowledge of Tax Regulations
Accounting Principles
Financial Reporting
Attention to Detail
HRIS Systems Proficiency
Data Analysis
Compliance Management
Benefits Administration
Advanced Excel Skills
SOFT SKILLS
Leadership
Communication
Organisational Skills
Problem Solving
Analytical Thinking
Time Management
Confidentiality
Empathy
Teamwork
Decision Making
PRO TIP
Focus on describing skills in the context of the outcomes they’ve helped you achieve, linking them directly to tangible results or successes in your career.
CV education and certificates: your academic background as proof of your skill set
A common misconception about your payroll manager CV education is that you only need it, if you have less professional experience. That is completely false. The CV education section serves to back up your technical (and sometimes personal) capabilities, fill in gaps in your work history, and show you have the initial industry background and know-how. When creating your education section:
- List your degrees in the reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent (and relevant) ones first;
- Include your degree and university names, start and graduation dates. It's optional to also denote you received a "First-Class Honours" for diplomas that are more relevant to the role;
- Curate your relevant university coursework, projects, or thesis work if you happen to have less professional expertise and need to integrate more job keywords and skills.
Your professional qualifications don't need to stop at your academic background. It's advisable to also select up to three of your most noteworthy (and relevant) industry certificates and feature them in a dedicated section. Once more, include the certificate name, the institution that issued it out, and the date you obtained it on. You could feature both hard skills and soft skills certificates, as in the examples below:
PRO TIP
Order your skills based on the relevance to the role you're applying for, ensuring the most pertinent skills catch the employer's attention first.
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Key takeaways
Write your professional payroll manager CV by studying and understanding what the role expectations are. You should next:
- Focus on tailoring your content to answer specific requirements by integrating advert keywords through various CV sections;
- Balance your technical know-how with your personal skills to showcase what the unique value would be of working with you;
- Ensure your CV grammar and spelling (especially of your key information and contact details) is correct;
- Write a CV summary, if your experience is relevant, and an objective, if your career ambitions are more impressive;
- Use active language by including strong, action verbs across your experience, summary/objective, achievements sections.
