Payroll Associate

Role Profile:

Position in Organization Role: Payroll Associate

Function / Department: HRP/Payroll

Reports to: Payroll Team Leader

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

The Payroll Associate is responsible for the operational processing of payrolls for a defined portfolio of clients, primarily low-complexity accounts. The role ensures accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery by executing end-to-end payroll tasks independently, while escalating complex issues to senior colleagues. As a key contributor to the payroll service team, the Payroll Associate supports client satisfaction, compliance with local regulations, and continuous improvement of payroll processes. The role also acts as a point of contact for routine client queries and contributes to documentation and standardization efforts.

KEY FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Deliver end-to-end payroll processing for assigned clients, including data input, calculations, validation, and reporting, in accordance with local regulations and internal procedures.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements related to tax, social security, and labor laws by applying up-to-date knowledge and following established controls.
• Reconcile monthly payrolls and prepare standard reports such as payslip summaries, tax filings, and year-end documentation.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date client documentation, payroll calendars, and work instructions to support audit readiness and service continuity.
• Manage routine client communication, responding to standard payroll queries and escalating complex or non-standard issues to senior team members.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement and contribute to standardization and automation initiatives within the team.
• Support onboarding and informal training of JB1 colleagues by sharing knowledge of procedures, tools, and best practices.
• Adhere to service level agreements (SLAs), quality standards, and internal controls to ensure consistent service delivery.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:

• Strong technical knowledge of payroll processes, systems, and local legislation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., formulas, pivot tables) and experience with payroll systems (e.g., SAP, Visma, Softland, Sage).
• High attention to detail and accuracy in processing payroll data and generating reports.
• Strong organisational and time management skills to meet strict deadlines and manage multiple client accounts.
• Effective communication skills for handling client queries and collaborating with internal teams.
• Customer service orientation and ability to build trust with clients through reliable and responsive support.
• Problem-solving skills to identify and resolve payroll discrepancies and suggest process improvements.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while adhering to standard procedures and controls.
• Commitment to confidentiality and data protection in handling sensitive payroll information.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

• End-to-End Payroll Accuracy (%) Definition: payroll runs delivered without post-pay corrections / total payroll runs.
• On-time Payroll Delivery (%) Definition: payrolls delivered by client calendar cut-off / total payrolls.
• Productivity %: Definition: Maintain productivity targets at X% (e.g. 70% to 80%)
• Reconciliation Completion Rate (%) Definition: reconciliations completed and signed-off by deadline / total required.
• Compliance Error Rate (per cycle or per 1,000 payslips) Definition: statutory/control breaches attributable to processing / volume.
• Client Query Response Time (Avg hours) Routine. Definition: average response time for routine queries within agreed hours.
• Client Query Resolution Rate (%) Definition: routine queries resolved without escalation / total routine queries.
• Documentation & Calendar adherence (%) Definition: % of client packs updated within X days of change; supports audit readiness.