Senior Payroll Tax Specialist – Payroll
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Tēnei tūranga – About the role
The purpose of the Senior Payroll Specialist is to take ownership and responsibility for the full end to end delivery of the payroll function for all MBIE employees. The Senior Payroll Specialist must have a strong understanding of current New Zealand payroll legislation, including the Holidays Act and a firm understanding of complex contractual agreements. They must show initiative on processes or ideas and find solutions to problems along with the ability to provide detailed analysis that is can be easily understood by any audience.
This is a busy and varied role covering the full range of payroll duties including technical payroll expertise and support to the rest of the team. They will also be involved in the successfully implementing significant changes to payroll business rules, systems, policies and processes which may involve leading operational projects.
They must have an enquiring mind and willing to share their professional knowledge by coaching and mentoring others in a positive and constructive manner. It is imperative that the Senior Payroll Specialist collaborates and respects the experiences of others to ensure SLAs are meet, fully documented and audited at all times.
As this is a senior position within the People and Culture Operations team, they must be open and embrace different ways of working and are expected to lead by example and be a role model to the wider team.
Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role
Personal specifications
- Team Leader experience would be a significant advantage
- Working under pressure - can produce results under significant pressure, staying calm and effective
- Ability to work on and get the best out of others, when working on projects and to tight deadlines
- Priority setting - spends their time and the time of others on what's important; quickly zeroes in on the critical and can quickly sense what determines a key priority and eliminates roadblocks
- Interpersonal savvy
- relates well to all kinds of people—up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization
- builds appropriate rapport
- builds constructive and effective relationships
- uses diplomacy and tact
- can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
- Attention to detail
- Ability to coach and mentor others in a positive and constructive manner
- Numerical ability and accurate data entry skills
- Understanding of payroll legislation and processes e.g. tax, superannuation.
- An excellent understanding of payroll tax for both onshore and offshore payroll processing
- Ability to interpret awards and relevant legislation
- Customer Service focus
- Excellent written and spoken communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience in a large, complex and diverse payroll with a proven track record of effectiveness.
- Experience in managing external relationships
- Experience in proactive process improvement in a Payroll environment
- In depth payroll knowledge
- Experience in interpreting and implementing relevant legislation and contractual terms in a payroll
- A payroll related qualification and/ or several years’ experience.
- The ability to gain and maintain a national security clearance as required
- Must be a NZ citizen or hold a residence class visa (if the role is located in New Zealand)
- Must have the legal right to live and work in the country in which this position resides (if the role is located outside of New Zealand).
Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables
Indicators of success
- Contributing to the day to day work of the team. This will include the delivery of Payroll services, products and programmes that actively support and contribute to the achievement of the Ministry's outcomes and that deliver to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
- Ensures the accurate and timely processing of employee pays.
- Maintains current knowledge of applicable legislation and contractual requirements and conducts analysis of changes to employment legislation, and collective and individual contracts to determine impact on payments, deductions, leave calculations, and other HR data and implements any required system or manual amendments.
- Ensures payroll activities are standardised and instructions on following the processes are clearly documented and available for both the Payroll team and employees throughout MBIE.
- Provides full analysis and reporting of Payroll production statutory and operational reporting to internal and external stakeholders.
- Manages relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Ensures requests are responded to in a timely and efficient manner.
- Ensures that all payroll reconciliations are completed monthly including IRD, ACC, overpayments, and all payroll disbursements are reconciled and paid promptly to the creditors.
- Provides accurate and timely information, both internally and externally.
- Is responsible for sign off of all pay run activity.
- Coaches and provide guidance to the Payroll Specialists as required
- Conducts high level payroll checks prior, and during processing
- Contributes to large scale pay run projects such as the annual salary review process.
- Assists in audit processes internally and externally.
Wellbeing, health & safety
- Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives.
- Ensures own and others safety at all times.
- Complies with relevant safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, safe systems of work and event reporting.
- Reports all incidents/accidents, including near misses in a timely fashion.
- Is involved in health and safety through participation and consultation.
Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry
The Senior Payroll Tax Specialist position reports into the Manager, People Services within the People and Culture branch. The branch sits within the Ngā Pou o te Taumaru group.
To mātou aronga – What we do for Aotearoa New Zealand
Hīkina Whakatutuki is the te reo Māori name for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Hīkina means to uplift. Whakatutuki means to move forward, to make successful. Our name speaks to our purpose, Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All.
To Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi. Based on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we are committed to upholding authentic partnerships with Māori.
As agile public service leaders, we use our breadth and experience to navigate the ever-changing world. We are service providers, policy makers, investors and regulators. We engage with diverse communities, businesses and regions. Our work touches on the daily lives of New Zealanders. We grow opportunities (Puāwai), guard and protect (Kaihāpai) and innovate and navigate towards a better future (Auaha).
Ngā matatau – Our competencies
Cultivates innovation We create new and better ways for the organisation to be successful by challenging the status quo generating new and creative ideas and translating them into workable solutions.
Nimble learning We are curious and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems by learning as we go when facing new situations and challenges.
Customer focus We build strong customer relationships and deliver customer-centric solutions by listening and gaining insights into the needs of the communities we serve and actively seeking and responding to feedback.
Decision quality We make quality and timely decisions that shape the future for our communities and keep the organisation moving forward by relying on an appropriate mix of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement to make valid and reliable decisions.
Action oriented We step up, taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with purpose, urgency and discipline by taking responsibility, ownership and action on challenges, and being accountable for the results.
Collaborates We connect, working together to build partnerships with our communities, working collaboratively to meet shared objectives by gaining trust and support of others; actively seeking the views, experiences, and opinions of others and by working co-operatively with others across MBIE, the public sector and external stakeholder groups.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
As an agency of the public service, MBIE has a responsibility to contribute to the Crown meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti). Meeting our commitment to Te Tiriti will contribute towards us realising the overall aims of Te Ara Amiorangi – Our Path, Our Direction, and achieve the outcome of Growing New Zealand for All. The principles of Te Tiriti - including partnership, good faith, and active protection – are at the core of our work. MBIE is committed to delivering on our obligations as a Treaty partner with authenticity and integrity and to enable Māori interests. We are committed to ensuring that MBIE is well placed to meet our obligations under the Public Service Act 2020 (Te Ao Tūmatanui) to support the Crown in strengthening the Māori/Crown Relationship under the Treaty and to build MBIE’s capability, capacity and cultural intelligence to deliver this.
Mahi i roto i te Ratonga Tūmatanui – Working in the public service
Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.
In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.
What does it mean to work in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Service?(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho The Public Service Commission
