Payroll Data Analyst at Primark, Reading/Remote, 6 Months initial, £Contract Rate

Payroll Data Analyst (Global Programme)

Location: Reading or Dublin (hybrid)

Duration: Initial 6 Months

Contract Type: Day Rate (Inside IR35 if UK based)

About the Role

We’re hiring a Payroll Data Analyst to support payroll transformation, system implementations, and operational improvement across a complex, multi‑country organisation. You’ll analyse, validate, cleanse, and reconcile payroll data while working closely with Payroll, HR, Finance, Technology, and external providers to ensure accuracy, integrity, and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Payroll data analysis - Analyse, validate, and reconcile data across multiple systems.
• Data cleansing & migration - Support mapping, transformation, QA, and migration activities.
• Transformation support - Contribute to payroll system implementations and process improvements.
• Reporting & insights - Produce dashboards, reports, and actionable insights.
• Issue investigation - Resolve discrepancies and recommend fixes.
• Audit & compliance - Support statutory reporting and audit data needs.
• Controls & documentation - Maintain validation, reconciliation, and control processes.
• Testing support - Assist with UAT and parallel payroll runs during implementations.

Essential Skills

• Proven experience as a Payroll Data Analyst or similar role.
• Strong understanding of payroll processes, data structures, and controls.
• Advanced Excel (Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, Power Query).
• Experience working with large data sets and complex reconciliations.
• Exposure to payroll system implementations or upgrades.
• Excellent attention to detail, problem‑solving, and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience partnering with Payroll, HR, Finance, and external providers.

Desirable

• Retail or multi‑site experience.
• Knowledge of UK/international payroll.
• Familiarity with systems like Workday, SAP, Oracle, ADP, SD Worx, SuccessFactors.
• Experience with Power BI, SQL, or other visualisation tools.
• Background in payroll migrations or outsourcing programmes.
• Understanding of GDPR and payroll data governance.