Pay and Pensions Administrator

Pay and Pensions Administrator

Job Purpose

To provide a professional, effective and responsive payroll and pensions service across the University staff group, ensuring that all members of staff and those engaged as part of the University’s extended workforce (fractional contracts, casual workers, affiliates) are paid salaries and fees accurately and on time.  To provide an effective and efficient pensions administration service for all pension scheme members and generally provide services in a customer-focused way in line with our service excellence agenda.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Ensuring that new employees are imported into the People XD payroll module of the University’s HR/Payroll system to ensure the employee record is set up correctly and the correct payment is made.

2. Apply the correct pension contributions for both employee and employer and ensure employees’ pension records are maintained accurately.

3. Approve various amendments to contract to employee master record made by Human Resources e.g. promotions, leavers, manually checking and correcting any retrospective or current adjustments in order to maintain accuracy and effect correct payment.

4. Review and verify system-generated payroll calculations relating to statutory and occupational leave, including sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption and other periods of paid and unpaid absence. Ensure payments are processed accurately and in accordance with relevant legislation, payroll procedures and organisational policies, safeguarding employees' contractual and statutory entitlements. Provide accurate advice and guidance to employees, managers and colleagues in response to queries regarding pay and leave entitlements, escalating complex issues where appropriate.

5. Upload temporary data into payroll system which affects payment of overtime and other temporary payments for an employee. Approve direct entry timesheets via the payroll module.

6. Liaise with employees, departments, human resources colleagues and external bodies to effectively deal with all enquiries in respect of payments made and ensure any issues arising are resolved in a customer focused manner.

7. Requesting retirement quotations as required in respect of all pension schemes, sending these onto members when received and liaising with members and scheme administrators in respect of the completion of the required paperwork to ensure pension payments can be made in line with planned retirement dates.

8. Completing and submitting monthly pension leaver forms, in respect of UGPS, MRC and LGPS pension scheme. Also submit UGPS pension AVC’s, SPPA New starters and leavers through their EDM Portal.

9. Processing pension scheme member opt-outs through PeopleXD, including refunds where appropriate, for all pension schemes within the payroll and scheme deadlines.

10. General Pay & Pensions administrative duties including but not limited to identifying, correcting and resolving under and overpayments, scanning paperwork into the system, completing various jury duty/witness forms, calculating redundancy payments including the value of Post-Employment Notice Payments, input of earnings arrestment, deducting various voluntary benefits e.g. season ticket loans, trade union deductions.

11. Contribute to service development by proactively sharing information about enquiry trends and identifying areas where ongoing or continuous improvement would be beneficial, including contributing to the development and maintenance of an effective payroll and pensions web-based management information resource.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications  

Essential:

A1 Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar role. Or Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 7 (Advanced Higher / Scottish Vocational Qualification level 3, Higher National Certificate) or equivalent and experience of personal development in a similar role.

A2 Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Desirable:               

B1 Up to date knowledge of HMRC legislation as it relates to payroll processing activities.

B2 Understanding of pensions legislation and procedures for a variety of pension schemes, both defined benefit and defined contribution, specifically the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

B3 Knowledge of key principle of GDPR and how they impact on pay and pensions.

B4 Chartered Institute of Payroll Professions (CIPP) Payroll Technician certificate or equivalent.

Skills

Essential:

C1 Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills - demonstrable tact, diplomacy, discretion, assertiveness and ability to handle difficult or sensitive situations or people, etc.

C2 Flexible, solution-driven, customer orientated approach to service delivery.

C3 Strong ability to independently prioritise a diverse and busy workload.

C4 High level of initiative and decision-making ability/judgement regarding resolving issues and determining appropriate action.

C5 Analytical with high levels of numeracy, accuracy and attention to detail.

C6 Ability to work effectively and supportively within a small team.

C7 Excellent IT skills including Excel, Word, and Outlook.

C8 Commitment to continuous improvement and a proactive approach to preventing errors and solving problems e.g., error rate reductions.

Desirable:

D1 Ability to perform manual payroll calculations.

Experience 

Essential:

E1 Previous experience of working in a similar role within a busy payroll/pensions department.

E2 Experience of dealing effectively with a wide range of customers and staff at all levels in an organisation, using initiative and judgement to proactively resolve issues.

E3 Experience of inputting, checking and analysing data within strict timescales.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of working within a further/higher education setting.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 5, £28,031 - £31,236 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours p/w) and fixed term to cover maternity leave for up to 12 months or until the substantive postholder returns.

Please Note: If you are a current employee of the University of Glasgow, please be advised that the University would consider an internal secondment opportunity for this post. University of Glasgow applicants should seek clearance for release for internal secondment from their line manager before making a formal application.

Closing date: 27 October 2026

This role is not eligible for sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa route. Candidates must therefore have an existing right to work in the UK or be able to secure this independently prior to commencing employment. For further information on alternative immigration options, please visit University of Glasgow’s UKVI Website.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.