Payroll Project Specialist

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Payroll Project Specialist - Crawley

Primary Purpose of the Role:

The purpose of the role is to support payroll-related tasks and projects and driving continuous improvements in payroll processes and systems. Ensuring end to end processes are streamlined and efficient identifying areas of improvements with the ability to analyse data to inform decision making. This role ensures efficient, accurate, and compliant payroll operations by supporting implementations, upgrades, and innovations that enhance payroll performance and employee experience. To ensure, as a collaborative and committed team, the timely, accurate, and robust delivery of payroll services for Thales UK employees. This is achieved by working closely with Thales’ payroll provider and internal teams to maintain payroll integrity, compliance, and efficiency.

Principal Relationships:

• Outsourced payroll provider
• PSS Partners and the Team at Tier 1, based in an offshore regional hub  
• Other teams & Managers within UK HR Operations (Business Analyst / HRIS, Payroll). HR Process Improvement & Project and Transformation Managers
• HR Business Partners (UK)
• HR Centre of Excellence Leads and Delivery teams particularly Employee Relations, C&B & Employee Experience
• Key stakeholders across the business including Finance and Treasury

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

1.  Query Resolution

• Working collaboratively, positively and flexibly with colleagues to work through and resolve challenges and escalations in a timely manner with little to no impact to employees.
• Assisting in responding to questions on payroll discrepancies and issues. As well as dealing with queries on systems, tools and reporting topics alongside colleagues.
• Use evidence-based approaches to prioritise problem resolution
• Ensuring queries are resolved within service level agreements (SLAs).

2. Process Improvement and Feedback

• Being a point of contact and supporting changes in process, system upgrade testing and legislation changes that impact payroll. Ensuring roll out of changes are communicated and trained where required across the Payroll team and HR Operations.
• Support payroll projects to drive efficiencies and streamline processes across the team enabling smooth and accurate delivery of the payroll to our employees

• Identifying trends or recurring issues in data errors across the team/payroll supplier and suggesting improvements/solutions to improve the overall accuracy and delivery of payroll. Contributing suggestions for process optimizations.
• Contribute with continuous improvement ideas ahead of MSR reviews with the payroll supplier to ensure quality is being maintained.

3. Project and work package delivery

• Working with Team leader to plan and define work packages ensuring alignment with overall projects and milestones
• Tracking progress and providing updates, raise risks and issues aligned to the task
• Analyse data to support and inform decision making
• Ensuring regular communication and documentation to maintain transparency and accountability
• Support the delivery of the overall payroll projects

4. Compliance, Audit, Data Management and Governance

• Providing information and documentation for audits and regulatory reviews. Supporting compliance with legislation and internal controls including any personal data breaches

• Managing requests involving sensitive or critical employee data
• Ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and appropriate confidentiality levels
• Conducting investigations into data queries and or issues that arise by completing analysis into the root cause and proactively problem solving. Ensuring that the customer is at the heart of everything we do. 
• Use evidence-based approaches to prioritise problem resolution to support identification of wider or themed based impact. Applying logical reasoning in the identification of root causes.
• Support with implementation of controls and validation processes to safeguard data integrity and prevent errors

5. Training & Knowledge Sharing

• Assisting in training colleagues on process improvements identified through data quality analysis
• Maintaining and updating ways of working and process guides.

Skills and Behaviours

Key Skills and Attributes Required

• Experienced user of tools such as Workday / ServiceNow  
• Experience of working with Payroll systems and processes
• Experience with agile methodology would be an asset to the role
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Excellent customer service delivery and a high focus on ensuring customers’ and stakeholders needs are met effectively
• Discretion with confidential information
• Superb communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to communicate effectively at all levels
• Accurate attention to detail and ability to manage multiple cases and tasks simultaneously
• Ability to adapt and be flexible with how they work to continue to evolve payroll delivery
• Strong analytical skills with good attention to detail and accuracy
• Committed to seeing tasks through to completion
• Able to organise and plan own time with flexibility and ability to prioritise multiple activities
• Ability to remain calm and resilient under pressure
• Good team player and strong decision making ability within area of responsibility
• Able to challenge and influence behaviours and promote high standards
• Self-starter with initiative and innovative spirit
• Excellent communication skills, ability to communicate at all levels
• Data extraction, analysis and manipulation
• Resourceful in your approach to resolving day-to-day operational issues and queries.
• Ability to self-manage multiple tasks, priorities, and deadlines

Behaviours

Inspire to Engage

Engages stakeholders by actively listening to their needs and feedback. Adjusts to their preferences and aligns work with what motivate them.

Leads with integrity by understanding interpersonal dynamics and adjusts style efficiently to situations. Connects easily with people and speaks to their personal interests and emotions

Delivers User Centric Solutions

Ensures Accountability by delivering on promises and agrees ambitious yet realistic solutions. Holds themselves and colleagues responsible for satisfying employees and delivering results.

Creates customer intimacy by anticipating needs, drivers and expectations. Advises and develops better, innovative and profitable solutions

Builds trust: Demonstrates high level of integrity. Is true to one’s word and welcomes customers’ feedback to improve

Acts with Agility

Fosters Continuous Improvement by being flexible, tries things out, checks results and adapts consequently. Sees mistakes as a way to learn

Challenges the status quo by proactively challenging traditions to promote continuous improvement. Learns about new practices and creates an environment where innovation can thrive

Grow Others and Self

Invests in the development of others: Cares about development. Actively seeks developmental opportunities for self & others. Demonstrates an open and tolerant attitude towards others. Believes that everybody can grow

Demonstrates Self Awareness: Respectful, humble. Invests time in own development. Encourages coaching and experience sharing. Eager to learn, seeks exposure and stretch assignments to develop new skills and experiences

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.
To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!