HR Shared Services – Payroll Manager

SNC-Lavalin is going through an exciting period of change.  A Canadian listed engineering and construction firm, on July 2017 they acquired the UK engineering consultancy Atkins bringing with it a great opportunity to re-position the SNC-Lavalin brand in the eyes of our markets and ahead of our competitors.  The combined group now has approximately 50,000 employees around the world and both Atkins and SNC-L’s offerings combined give us the opportunity to continue our growth.  The future of engineering and construction is in the greater use of data, combined with technologies to deliver our services more efficiently and bring different offerings to our clients.  From apps, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, to mobility as a service and digital asset management, we are combining our traditional engineering skills with technology to fundamentally change the way we do things. 

Job Description:

The work of the Payroll team is key to supporting the business, line managers and employees in all things Payroll related. Our Services need to be delivered with passion and commitment, providing a consistently great customer experience.  Our services need to be delivered on time, accurately and demonstrating optimal efficiencies and service standards, whilst meeting all legislative, policy and compliance requirements. The Payroll team also has a responsibility for ensuring continuous improvement in our service delivery– continually reviewing how our Payroll systems, processes, data and people be optimised to make the service even better, taking a pro-active approach to leading change as well as responding to business requirements.

The Payroll Manager will ensure that the Payroll team, work collaboratively with the HR Centre in Bangalore to deliver an effective and efficient Payroll service to all managers and employees.

The Payroll Manager will ensure the measurement and reporting of customer satisfaction takes place and that outcomes are deployed into our Service Improvement Programme, to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction are maintained on an ongoing basis.  The Payroll Manager will own all service complaints/escalations, ensuring the engagement of key stakeholders and the implementation of lessons learnt. 

The Payroll Manager will ensure appropriate resource allocation across the Payroll team to meet business as usual, cyclical and project requirements.  They will ensure the skills and experience of the team meet requirements and that team members are continually developed to meet both business needs and personal aspirations, inspiring team members to meet and exceed their potential and to demonstrate behaviours that enable Atkins to have a world class Payroll operation.

Requirements:

Qualifications and Experience

• Whilst a recognised Payroll qualification would be preferred, we would consider applications where equivalent knowledge and expertise has been obtained via experience.
• Significant demonstrable success in a Payroll leadership role, with a preference to where this has included working with an HR offshored service delivery model.
• Evidence of delivery of Payrolls of c8,000 employees+
• A detailed understanding of current Payroll legislation and compliance.
• Experience of International Payrolls; including both in-bound and out-bound requirements.
• Excellent understanding and experience of working with Payroll systems, where experience of Oracle is preferable.
• Demonstrable experience of working with Flexible Benefit Programmes and Salary Sacrifice arrangements.
• Experience of leading payroll projects, alongside the operational delivery.
• Experience of reviewing systems, processes, data and people and making recommendations for change to ensure continual service improvement.

Essential Capabilities

• Ability to manage diverse stakeholders and create a strong customer centric culture within a Payroll operation.
• Manager with good influencing skills and the ability to prioritise business requirements through a collaborative partnership approach, balancing team and business needs appropriately and setting clear expectations for both.
• Strong relationship management skills working with partner/service providers internally and externally.
• Proven experience of leading, managing, developing and motivating a successful team.
• Proven experience of advising and supporting internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working as part of a project team and managing project workstreams.
• Experience of reviewing systems, processes, data and people and making recommendations for change to ensure continual service improvement.
• Experience of measuring and reporting on customer satisfaction and KPI/SLA achievement using outputs to drive change decisions.  With experience of handling escalations.
• Discreet with the ability to handle confidential and sensitive situations.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for the leadership of the HR Shared Services Payroll team.   Managing and developing the team, ensuring an integrated approach to service delivery and collaboration with the wider HR Shared Service teams and the broader HR Centres of Expertise (specifically Reward).
• Ensure the skills and experience of the HR Shared Services Payroll team are mapped and gaps in knowledge are closed where there may be an impact on service delivery.  Ensure the continual upskilling of the team to ensure work is delivered in the most efficient and effective way whilst providing more opportunity for value-add tasks to be taken on by the team as a result.
• Accountable for ensuring the pre-payroll processing tasks are completed, the payrolls are run, and the post processing tasks completed, all in a timely, accurate and compliant manner including the submission and retrieval of files to/from HMRC.
• Accountable for fully balancing the net payment for the Payroll and the monthly Payroll reconciliation.
• Ensuring that various third-party payment reports including Pensions and Court Orders are processed and reconciled, requesting payments from the Shared Service Facility (SSF) where appropriate.
• Ensuring the BACS payment is authorised and transmitted within the required deadlines.
• Accountable for the Company’s compliance with National Minimum Wage requirements on an on-going basis.
• Ensuring the accurate processing of Flexible Benefits both monthly and as part of Annual Renewal.
• Responsible for ensuring the timely, accurate and compliant transition of employees who TUPE transfer to or from the Payroll.
• Ensure that all internal and external audit requirements are met.
• Act as a point of escalation and arbitration to resolve complaints and long-standing or complex cases raised through Service Now the Company’s Case Management tool, or via senior stakeholders.  Ensuring cause of the issue has been identified and lessons learnt/remedial actions have been deployed.  Act as a Senior Payroll Subject Matter Expert with direct involvement in operational Payroll cases where a greater level of seniority or experience is required.
• Ensure the measurement and reporting of customer satisfaction takes place and that outcomes are deployed into the HR Shared Services - Service Improvement Programme.
• Take a lead role on all HR change programmes that have a direct impact on Payroll, including leading the Payroll team through any testing and changes to Payroll processes and acting as the Payroll SME for such programmes.
• Accountable for ensuring that the Company’s Payroll System is working correctly and is legislatively compliant.  Raising any issues via the appropriate channels, fully testing all legislative changes prior to release to the Production environment and ensuring that End of Year/Start of Year processes are carried out accurately in the Payroll System.
• Investigate new initiatives where efficiency and customer experience can be improved across systems, processes and ways of working.
• Accountable for ensuring that Payroll business continuity and crisis management is accurately documented and tested at appropriate intervals
• Act as a Senior Payroll specialist acting as general HR subject matter expert with direct involvement in operational HR cases where a greater level of seniority or experience is required
• Build excellent working relationships with Business Leaders and key stakeholders of Payroll.
• Keep personal knowledge up to date through external networking and attending conferences bringing back leading edge and innovative Payroll thinking and sharing this with the team and HR Leadership. Communicating throughout the Payroll team, broader HR and the business all changes to statutory and legislative requirements.

Training

Atkins develops individuals through a portfolio of training and development activities designed to help you make the best of your abilities and talents.  These are reviewed with individuals through an annual appraisal process.  We actively support employees in achieving corporate membership of relevant institutions.

Rewards:

ATKINS offers a fantastic range of benefits, which you can tailor to suit your own health, well-being, financial and lifestyle choices. All the information you need to know is available on our dedicated benefits portal; your reward, which is available to access 24/7 from any device: https://www.yourrewardatkins.com

Security Clearance:

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview.

If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance. 

ATKINS, part of the SNC Lavalin Group, is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.

ATKINS recognise that there are many well qualified people who are looking to further their career, but who cannot commit to full time employment. We support flexible working arrangements and are interested to discuss how we can accommodate individual requirements.