Job Purpose
SPS is seeking an experienced Pay, Pensions and Relocation Manager to join us as we move through a planned period of digital transformation.
A proactive payroll service is the cornerstone of employee reward, and payroll provision will play an important role in achieving this goal, ensuring that we pay people accurately and timeously.
By the end of 2024, the SPS will have a new cutting-edge integrated HR & Payroll system and this role will give you the opportunity to offer up your payroll expertise and embrace the challenge of shaping and delivering the future direction of payroll services within SPS through developing revised payroll processes, standards of service and appropriate assurance / governance documents along with creating the foundations for implementation of these through development of the Pay Team and engagement with internal stakeholders.
This role is suited to someone who is passionate about forging a great place to work, payroll innovation, customer service excellence and digital transformation, never settling for good, always striving for greatness.
You will take responsibility for the delivery of our monthly payroll to approximately 5,000 employees and ensure provision of professional services. Additionally, you will work closely with the HR Transformation Programme, identifying opportunities to create new ways of working whilst maintaining the key elements of business delivery, keeping positive outcomes for our people at the centre of what we do.
You will be engaged in our current and ongoing journey of HR transformation that will see payroll moving away from a heavily data input related role to a service that has better systems integration between HR and payroll applications, allowing for improved process automation. The focus will be on proactively addressing and resolving any pay and pension issues timeously, whilst keeping the employee informed, leading to an overall better employee experience.
You will manage a team of payroll specialists and administrators, responsible for:
1. the accurate monthly salary payments for SPS staff and management of the external payroll contract;
2. acting as the local contact point for pension queries and liaising with the Pension Administrator to ensure pensions are processed correctly; and
3. supporting colleagues who are relocating their home following a move to a new establishment.
Responsibilities Pay monthly salaries. Ensure the accurate and timeous payment of monthly salary payments and third party pay related items. Reconcile monthly payroll and complete Year End and other finance processes to ensure compliance with the finance manual. Ensure processes are in place and followed to prevent fraud or errors. Manage the team. Ensure team members are fully trained and that appropriate processes are in place to achieve excellent customer service. This will involve monthly team meetings and monthly business meetings with agreed actions. A commitment to professional development is required and team members will be encouraged to gain relevant qualifications. Manage SPS’ relationship with external stakeholders, for example the payroll provider and Pensions Administrator, to ensure both the accurate processing of payroll and that all of the SPS’ pension scheme requirements are met. Manage the relationship with internal stakeholders, such as HR teams, SPS staff and Finance teams on the matters of pay, pensions and relocation, ensuring all necessary updates are provided clearly and timeously. Ensure robust management systems are in place to protect the services the team provide, for example, a regularly tested Business Continuity Plan and regularly updated Risk Register. Ensure all business processes, for example the recovery of overpayments, are robustly managed. Respond appropriately to audit recommendations and prepare regular assurance reports throughout the year, including the provision of data to inform our Annual Reports. Manage complex pay and pensions related issues. Contribute to the development of pay policy and respond to correspondence and FOI requests from a wide variety of sources on pay, pensions and relocations matters. Support the development of improvements in service. Working closely with the Business Improvement Team and other stakeholders identify and deliver new and improved methods of working. Person Specification SPS recruitment and selection practice is based on the fundamentals of our Competencies for Success Framework. This identifies behaviours and standards required both of applicants seeking to join us, and our staff in their respective roles. Assessment of specific behaviours, of which there are eight, will be determined by the role you are applying for. Whilst it is unlikely you will be assessed on all of them, you will be assessed on those identified as key to role. Qualification Requirements Payroll or Pensions qualification (for example a Foundation degree in Payroll Management or a Certificate in Pensions Administration). Knowledge, Skills and Experience Requirements Previous experience of managing a Payroll function, and / or managing a service delivery team; delivering a consistently high level of customer service that incorporates robust mechanisms of control and governance to prevent errors or irregularities, whilst complying with regulations. Previous experience of managing an account with an external partner to ensure that services are delivered on time and to the required standard. Previous experience of driving forward change and improvements to processes/ways of working that deliver solutions to improve efficiency and customer service. This requires an ability to analyse problems, listen to the views of team members and stakeholders and deliver improvements. You must be able to achieve impressive results through the combined performance of the team through successful coaching and management in an inclusive way. Effective communication, support, professional development and performance management will be essential to achieve this. Behaviour Requirements Relationships & Collaboration Listen & Communicate Solve Problems & Make Decisions Plan & Organise Selection method 1 Presentation Selection method 2 Interview