Team Lead (Payroll) Belfast

Permanent Team Lead (Payroll) Belfast BT4

Key Activities

Post holders will be required to:

Pension Payroll Service Delivery:

• Assist the Payroll Manager in ensuring that our client in terms of pension payroll administration, complies with the Local Government Pension Scheme regulations, other relevant statute and good practice.
• Supervise and co-ordinate the complete monthly and annual pension payroll cycles (totalling £26m gross per month, 50,000 Scheme pensioners), ensuring that payments are made promptly and accurately and that all appropriate deductions and remittances are made to third parties.
• Proactively manage the work of the team; including the allocation and prioritisation of work and monitoring its quality and accuracy to ensure internal and external performance standards are achieved and facilitate the timely and accurate payment to all pensioners each month.
• Set attainable team/individual targets and monitor progress and achievement.
• Liaise, communicate and build relationships with other internal departments to ensure resources are shared effectively and a quality service achieved and maintained.
• Take responsibility for complex or ambiguous enquiries/calculations, including the recovery of debts involving court cases, re-employments, overpayments and reassessing children's benefits.
• Implement the annual Pensions Increase and year-end processes in the absence of the Payroll Manager.
• Ensure timely transmission of Real Time Information (RTI) to HMRC in line with regulations.
• Ensure the accurate calculation, validation, implementation and checking of benefits (e.g. survivor benefits, death benefits/grants, re-employments etc.) and the undertaking of tasks necessary to pay all pensioners their monthly entitlement.
• Ensure accurate and complete Scheme member records are held and maintained in accordance with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) record keeping guidelines.
• Identification and escalation (as appropriate) of any issues which affect output, calculations, processes and service delivery.
• The provision of information and training to pensioners at external seminars, conferences or meetings. This may involve travel throughout NI.
• Communicate with pensioners, including contributing to and drafting articles for the annual Pensioners' Newsletter.

Team Management and Training

• Lead, motivate, support and manage the work of the team.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive training for new/existing pensions payroll staff supported by a training manual (to encompass classroom based initial training, shadowing and on-job training) and ensure that staff are enabled to reach the standards of competence required in accordance with current/new procedures and legislation.
• Identify areas for new training and work and collaborate with the Training and Development Officer to ensure training plans have been reviewed and completed.
• Lead regular team meetings in order to keep staff updated, acknowledge achievements and encourage effective team work to improve efficiency and effectiveness (e.g. improvements to working practices; streamlining processes and procedures) and achieve internal and external performance standards.
• Coordinate and approve leave requests and ensure sufficient staffing levels are maintained.
• Recording and reporting of staff absences, conducting timely return to work discussions and escalating any issues.
• Identify and resolve (as early and as far as possible) any staff performance, capability or grievance issues, in line with company policy.
• Carry out the full range of performance reviews (i.e. probationary reviews for all new staff and staff appraisals), in line with company policies and procedures.
• Assist the Payroll Manager to review processes and procedures to ensure a high level of stakeholder satisfaction.
• Provide technical assistance and guidance to staff on complex pension and ambiguous pension related queries.

In order to meet the full requirements of the post, applicants must hold the qualifications specified; have experience in and/or be able to demonstrate competence in the following areas:

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Five GCSE's at grade C or above including English Language and Mathematics (or equivalents) and hold a CIPP Payroll Technician Certificate (or similar) or other level 3 (or higher) qualifications (e.g. A levels, NVQ level 3) and three years relevant experience (see below) .

OR

• Five GCSE's (as above) and four years' relevant experience (see below) .

OR

Five GCSEs (as above), and a level five or six qualification (e.g. degree, HND, NVQ level 5 or 6) and two years relevant experience (see below) .

Note: please specify subjects and grades on your CV. If applying on the basis of equivalent qualifications, please clearly demonstrate the equivalency to the qualification specified on your CV (refer to the Additional Information for Applicants supplied as part of the application pack)

Relevant knowledge and experience

• Relevant experience - proven experience of running a computerised payroll process from end to end (for at least 100+).

• Up to date knowledge and understanding of the legal and regulatory framework governing the administration of payroll, HM Revenue and Customs requirements, social security and other relevant legislation.

• One year's experience of allocating, checking and monitoring the work of others and ensuring work is completed accurately and team and individual targets are met.

Skills and competencies

Administration and organisational skills: Highly organised, able to work on own initiative and the ability to effectively manage a demanding workload, frequent interruptions, competing priorities, while maintaining focus on achieving high standards of service at all times.

Skills and competencies Numeracy skills:

excellent numeracy skills to enable the post holder to meet the full requirements of the job including the ability to complete calculations quickly and accurately and an ability to identify errors.

Communication skills: effective verbal and written communication skills to enable the post holder to competently undertake the full remit of the post. This will include the provision of seminars and training sessions to staff and stakeholders.

Team working and interpersonal skills: Excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to build positive working relationships with staff and colleagues and the ability to supervise, lead and create a motivated team.

IT skills: Sound IT skills, to include a good understanding and experience of updating/ utilising computerised systems e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and in-house systems.

Desirable:

Hold (or be willing to work towards) a CIPP Payroll Technician Advanced Certificate or a pensions qualification.

2-3 years' experience of running a computerised payroll process end to end (for at least 200+).

Other Information:

Closing Date: 24 February 26 by 5.00 pm - Interviews early March.

Hours: 35 hours per week (Monday - Friday)

Salary: £39,152 to £40,777 (under review) - appointee will commence on £39,152

Leave: 23 days annual leave + 12 stat days per year (pro rata). Our leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. We also offer one personal and one team wellness day per annum.

Location: Belfast BT4

Pension: staff are auto enrolled in the NI Local Government Pension Scheme (a defined benefit career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme.

If you would like to apply for this role, please send us your updated CV via the link provided and one of the team will be in touch with you. Or if you would like to discuss this position, please contact Task Recruitment on to speak to one of our consultants.

We are an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons.