Job Description

POST: Regional Payroll Pensions Officer - Midlands

RESPONSIBLE TO: Deputy Payroll Manager

GRADE: SCP 27 £23,188.00 to SCP 28 £23,948.00 (plus final salary

pension scheme)

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: Oasis Community Learning central staff; Academy-based staff; staff at pensions bodies; staff at payroll bureau; third party agencies

LOCATION: Academy based in Birmingham

WORKING PATTERN: Full-time, 37 hours per week

JOB PURPOSE:

To provide an efficient, accurate and legally compliant payroll and pension service for all regional Oasis Community Learning staff and to act as the specialist go to person for policy and process help. You will be providing a payroll service for the region which is likely to grow over the coming years. There will also be a requirement to assist the Regional HR Business Partner with any ad-hoc administrative tasks.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Payroll service for Academy based Staff in the Region

·  Be responsible for the collection and input of all payroll data for all staff in your region including new starters/leavers, overtime, deductions and expenses in order to complete the monthly staff payroll submission ready to be checked off by an authorised HR colleague.

·  Be responsible for accurate and timely payment of salaries to all regional Oasis Community Learning employees.

·  Make sure payments like maternity, sickness absence, other absences and all statutory payments are processed accurately and in a timely fashion as per payroll legislation.

·  Be the first point of contact for all payroll queries in the region. Provide an advisory service to all staff on all payroll issues via telephone, email and face-to-face as required.

·  Ensure that all leavers are removed from the system as notified on termination forms.

·  Ensure that payslips and any other payroll documents are sent out via various media in a timely fashion.

·  Assist with year-end procedures, including preparation and distribution of P35s, P60s & P11Ds.

·  Create and update central files for all payroll data sources and third parties and ensure that they are kept up to date.

·  Work closely with the National Office payroll specialists on all payroll matters.

·  Attend payroll training at the London National Office where required.

·  Keep abreast of all developments and legislation surrounding payroll, pensions and benefits. Ensure all legislation is adhered to throughout the region.

·  Retain copies of all relevant payroll documentation in line with HMRC requirements.

·  Provide ad-hoc assistance to HR colleagues, Academy staff on payroll & pension-related issues and queries.

·  Escalate issues; ensuring errors are remedied and preventative action taken so they do not recur.

·  Ensure data security at all time in accordance with Data Protection legislation and make sure these measures are adhered to at all times

Pension Administration

·  Ensure that the pension schemes are processed in line with scheme rules and adhere to auto-enrolment legislation.

·  Be the 1st line contact for any historic pension queries.

·  Support National Pension team with the monthly opt out audit process

·  Keep abreast of developments in pension regulations and pass anything of interest onto the National Pension team.

·  Assist staff with any queries about their pension by explaining pension terms into laymen terms and referring any more high level questions to the appropriate person in the National Office.

·  Complete retirement forms for staff wishing to withdraw pension benefits.

·  Learn how to calculate early retirement costs as a result of redundancy and pass this information onto Academy staff in a simple format.

Auditing Midland HR’s Pension Administration

·  Support National Pension team with checking Midland HR’s work on LGPS/TPS annual returns and audited End of Year Certificates.

·  Ensure that Midland HR are using the most up to date pension forms and remittance templates.

·  Pass on current pension queries from the LGPS and TPS to Midland HR and keep these under review using the monthly query spreadsheet.

·  Save copies of Midland HR completed pension forms each month from WinScp.

·  Keep abreast of Midland HR’s monthly pension forms progress reports and alert the National Pension team to any concerns.

Implementation and Data Migration of New Academies onto the payroll system

·  Assist the National Office with the timely implementation of all new Academy payrolls onto the payroll system for the region.

·  Assist the National Office with parallel runs to ensure that all new regional Academy payrolls are accurate and complete before going live.

·  Assist the National Office to ensure that all new starters are set up on the relevant payrolls before they go live in payroll.

Training

·  Provide training to key contacts within the region on all payroll and pension requirements.

·  Pass on payroll and pension knowledge to key contacts.

On-going Development

·  Develop specialist knowledge and full understanding of the complexities of the payroll system together with front end self-service. Fully understand the extensive range of fields to be used and an in-depth knowledge of how the different fields produce different payment outcomes.

·  Develop skills to identify how to update and implement processes and procedures in order to ensure the payroll service runs optimally.

·  Obtain enough knowledge to be able to be a point of reference and knowledge for all Academies on payroll-related issues. This will include reading the Green Book, Burgundy Book and the Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document.

·  Develop skills and knowledge in order to be able to train and assist all site contacts with pay calculations and queries where necessary.

·  Learn and develop skills to a level where it is possible to assist with complex payroll calculations. Assist all Academies and the Payroll Bureau to best understand current and up to date payroll legislation and pay terms.

·  Build up knowledge of pensions-related issues as they affect payroll.

Professional development

·  Arrange and attend any relevant training to reach required level of performance and practice, e.g. TP/LGPS seminars or refresher sessions, HMRC refresher courses if applicable.

·  Consider working towards qualification through the IPPM Payroll Diploma or Equivalent (if not already qualified).

·  Subscribe to circular subscription service and read professional press to maintain knowledge.

Relationship management

·  Build and maintain relationships with all new regional Academies and maintain a strong relationship with existing Academies.

·  Build a relationship with all external third party bodies and ensure there is an effective working relationship with Oasis.

·  Always keep a high level of customer focus whilst looking into any errors and ensure all parties are kept up to date.

·  Visit Academies and third party providers as and when necessary.

General

·  There will be a requirement to provide ad-hoc assistance to the Regional HR Business Partner as and when required.

·  Be responsible for departmental filing and maintenance of orderly records

·  Support and contribute to the vision, mission and ethos of Oasis Community Learning.

·  Carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the post holder’s line manager.

·  Input into due diligence process as required for staff who are TUPE transferring out of Oasis.

The duties of this post may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or level of responsibility entailed.

Signed:

Employee: / Line Manager:
Print Name / Print Name
Date / Date

Regional Payroll & Pensions Officer

Person Specification

Our Purpose

Oasis Academies exists to provide a rich and balanced educational environment which caters for the whole person - academically, vocationally, socially, morally, spiritually, physically, emotionally and environmentally. Our task is to serve our students as well as to provide a learning hub for the entire community. In this way we will raise aspirations, unlock potential and work to achieve excellence through encouraging a ‘can do’ culture which nurtures confident and competent people.

Oasis Community Learning Ethos

Our ethos is an expression of our character - it is a statement of who we are and therefore the lens through which we assess all we do. Our work is motivated and inspired by the life, message and example of Christ, which shapes and guides every aspect of each of our schools. This is foundational to our belief that all people are created and loved by God as equal and unique beings, and to our commitment to model inclusion and compassion throughout all the aspects of the life and culture of each Academy community.

For further information, please refer to the OCL Purpose, Ethos and Values document which accompanies this job description.

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications / ·  GSCE in Maths & English / ·  Basic Payroll Course
Experience, Skills and Knowledge / ·  Proven administrative experience in payroll (preferably in the Education sector)
·  Excellent organisational skills, with proven ability to take initiative and prioritise workload
·  Be able own tasks and own workload.
·  Effective time management skills.
·  To have the confidence and customer focused skills in order to develop and maintain better working relationships with all key contacts.
·  IT literate
·  Good Excel skills
·  Competent user of Microsoft Office suite
·  Be methodical and highly accurate with good attention to detail.
·  Have good investigative and analysis skills.
·  Excellent written & oral communication skills
·  Excellent inter-personal skills with confidence to liaise with staff at a senior level / ·  Pension knowledge within the Education sector
·  Detailed knowledge of the Teachers and Support Staff pay terms and conditions
Some knowledge of the workings of the LGPS and Teachers’ Pensions schemes and employer responsibilities.
Personal Qualities / ·  Self-motivated, pro-active and flexible approach to work
·  Able to work unsupervised – This will become a key feature of the job.
·  Team player
·  Able to observe confidentiality of sensitive personnel information
·  Have a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the values and behaviours which flow from the Oasis ethos
·  Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
·  Willingness to undergo appropriate checks, including enhanced DBS checks.
·  Motivation to work with children and young people
·  Ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries with children and young people
·  Emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours and attitudes to use of authority and maintaining discipline”