Technical Payroll Administrator

EY; Durban; On-site; ZAR 450,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

EY South Africa's National Tax practice is expanding its Payroll Operate team in Durban. As an Associate in Payroll Operate you will support multi-country payroll projects for African and global clients, ensuring accurate, timely delivery and governance across the payroll lifecycle.

You will work with offshore and local teams, manage client data, and contribute to process documentation, data analytics, and continuous improvement in payroll services with an emphasis on accuracy and compliance.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant payroll and/or tax experience or equivalent.
• Experience in an outsourcing/RPO environment highly advantageous.
• General ledger entries experience.
• Strong numbers acumen with Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Excellent organisational and verbal/written communication with problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Create components on existing payroll systems and configure formulas and tax deductions.
• Ability to manually calculate taxes and statutory deductions outside the payroll system.
• Client-facing exposure in a payroll role highly advantageous.
• Project management experience with global or multi-national payroll.

Responsibilities

• Provide timely and high-quality payroll support, project management, governance and service management services.
• Support on client requests and queries on portfolio and technical queries.
• Liaise with offshore and Africa teams to deliver payrolls.
• Responsible for accurate and timely payroll delivery for clients.
• Respond to payroll and governance queries from clients and stakeholders.
• Develop client payroll calendars and collect data for EY teams.
• Manage documentation of payroll processes and audit annually.
• Work with teams to update payroll processes and train offshore teams.
• Support sales and service opportunities within Payroll Operate under supervision.

Skills

Payroll processing

Reporting

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Project management

Payroll legislation knowledge

Client service

AI interest

Tools

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Our National Tax practice is made up of teams of professionals providing specific tax technical services to African and global clients. The Payroll Operate team operates in a technical environment with deep process and service delivery experience that distinguishes EY in the marketplace.

The opportunity

Our market-leading approach combines extensive local payroll service experience with a standard global payroll compliance and implementation methodology. With engagements involving a few countries or many, you will have the opportunity to provide clients an integrated, consistent, quality service that unlocks the potential of the payroll function across the entire process.

Your key responsibilities:

• Provide timely and high-quality payroll support, project management, governance and service management services and work products that exceed client expectations, including regular contact with EY global payroll teams to verify that payroll services are delivered on time and accurately.
• Support on the review and resolution of client requests and queries on portfolio, including technical queries.
• Liase with the offshore and Africa teams as relevant to deliver on client payrolls.
• Be responsible for accurate and timely service delivery of payroll for our clients.
• Respond to payroll and governance payroll queries from clients and internal global stakeholders.
• Develop the client payroll calendar detailing all payroll delivery activities and dates; support the collection of client data and work with global EY teams to confirm receipt and set up OGM.
• Manage the creation and updates of payroll processes/procedure documentation for all clients and audit annually.
• Work with teams to correct as relevant, including working with and training offshore teams on payroll processes.
• Support in all activities within Payroll Operate that include sales and service opportunities under the direction of a senior manager or manager in the group.

As an Associate in Payroll Operate you will help supervise the design, implementation and operation of global multi-country payroll operate services for our small clients.

Capabilities include:

• Implementation of centrally managed global outsourcing model, leveraging the global payroll tools to provide clients with greater control, visibility and compliance for their global payroll;
• Governance of payroll operations with ability to lead the global country teams utilizing one global methodology to track the end-to-end process, and provide governance throughout our client life cycle to mitigate risk, increase corporate transparency, increase compliance, ensure leveraging of key data insights and provide clients with additional product offerings;
• Working, directing and resolving questions, identifying service opportunities with internal EY serving Africa and global teams;
• Build on technical competence by keeping up to date on global trends, developments and regulations and applying them to moderately complex situations and undertaking non-routine, complex project-type work as requested by clients;
• Exhibit competency in technology by maintaining complex sets of data, reviewing data analytics and analyzing trends, including the collection of data per agreed-upon payroll calendars and other requirements;
• Ensure the payroll processes and procedures documentation is relevant, up to date and used at all times;
• Manage payroll projects as assigned (including new client transitions) which will require ownership, project management, recommendations, solutions, root cause analysis, SLAs and metrics, decisions and resolution including the escalation of client and internal country issues;
• Identifying potential opportunities to expand client services based on current offerings and client feedback;
• Should be a subject matter expert in understanding the payroll rules and legislations in a multi-country environment and being up to date with current payroll knowledge and legislation.
• Responsible for ISAE3402, billings and payments, BRET and third party contractor management, pipeline management, debtors responsibility;
• Initiation and completion of the ASQs and QRM process with support from senior manager group as relevant.

Skills and attributes for success:

• Strong payroll processing background;
• Strong reporting skills
• Experience with South African/African payroll processing;
• A keen interest in AI and optimising your work making use of it
• Strong analytical skills, interpersonal, and written/verbal communication skills; problem-solving ability and attention to detail;
• Project management skills;
• Up to date with current payroll knowledge and legislation; and
• Excellent communication, presentation and client service skills.

To qualify for the role, you should have:

• 4+ years of relevant payroll and/or tax experience or equivalent experience in business or industry preferable.
• Experience in an outsourcing/RPO environment highly advantageous
• General ledger entries experience
• Strong numbers acumen, including analytical abilities and knowledge of Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Excellent organizational and verbal/written communication skills with a proactive approach to problem solving and attention to detail.
• Create components on existing payroll systems and configure the formulas and tax & related statutory deductions correctly, aligned to specific country legislature
• Ability to manually calculate taxes and other statutory deductions outside the payroll system applying the tax tables for African countries
• Client-facing exposure in a payroll role highly advantageous.
• Project management experience with global or multi-national payroll.