P&C Payroll Lead

Entity: People, Culture & Communications Job Family Group: HR Group Job Description: bp is reimagining energy for people and our planet. We provide heat, light and mobility to customers worldwide. We’re fundamentally redefining what we do so we can reach net zero by 2050 or sooner. We also have a strong mission to help the whole world reach net zero too – working across our industry to improve people’s lives. It’s a big value to us that the differences we see in the world around us are reflected in our workplace. Who you are is what counts, not where you’re from or how you live your life. A culture that values everyone benefits all of us. That’s why, to help our people thrive, we cultivate a truly diverse and inclusive environment. Our purpose is to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow. For over 100 years, bp has focused on discovering, developing, and producing oil and gas in the nations where we operate. We are one of the few companies globally that can provide governments and customers with an integrated energy offering. Delivering our strategy sustainably is fundamental to achieving our ambition to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner. P&C Services is an internal global shared services organization, responsible for delivering centralized and standardized P&C services for bp from a number of geographical delivery centers as appropriate for bp’s footprint. P&C Services are the first point of contact for P&C-related matters; the team are policy and process experts, dedicated to delivering the best customer experience. The purpose of this role is to manage the Payroll Services within a Delivery Centre. This role is a member of the Services Solution Leadership Team managing the Payroll Services team. The POPIA Champion is responsible for conducting change management. The POPIA Champion would be someone from your team who will assist with POPIA activities such as further embedment and ongoing compliance activities. Payroll Audit and Controls Establish and maintain robust internal controls to ensure payroll accuracy and compliance. Conduct regular departmental audits to verify data integrity and compliance with regulations. Manage multiple internal and external audits and ensure remedial processes are put in place for any audit findings. Manage system users (active and exits) quarterly as required by business process. Maintain payroll data required for Employment Equity and tax verifications. Process Improvement Continuously review and optimize payroll processes to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. Implement standard processes and automation to streamline operations. Address payroll-related queries from employees promptly and accurately. Provide excellent customer service and ensure payroll inquiries are resolved in a timely manner. Maintain business continuity plans within the P&C environment and impacted areas of the business. Legislation, Compliance and Reporting Conduct annual legislation and benefits assessments. Stay up to date with South African payroll-related legislation, tax regulations, and statutory requirements, including COIDA, SARS PAYE, and UIF. Ensure all payroll practices adhere to legal guidelines and payroll taxes are accurately calculated, reported, and remitted. Collaborate with divisional operations as a specialist in managing and maintaining Bargaining Councils and wage negotiations. Support Rewards Management by updating outdated remuneration structures. à not needed Provide BP and subsidiary valuation requirements annually to determine the validity of prior-year data. Provide maintained data for the annual Employment Equity submission to relevant partners. Ways of Working At bp, our P&C Service Solutions are an integrated field. Movement between businesses, teams, and projects takes place flexibly based on business need, activity flow, payroll services development needs, and readiness for new experiences. We aim to provide broad growth opportunities in both standard processes and project delivery when needed. This role may be placed to support any of bp’s business entities in South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Ghana, and may be required to support projects with a broader geographical footprint. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES Payroll Operations Manage the Payroll Services Team operations and performance, including data analysis to drive insights and performance resolutions, ensuring accurate reporting in alignment with global process and customer needs. Manage day-to-day delivery of tasks related to payroll administration for all payrolls. Manage the collaborate with the third-party payroll vendor, ensuring the management of CRM portal activities and successful error/query resolution. Ensure compliance with QA guidelines for Payroll staff. Coordinate all payroll audit requests. Manage country-specific/local compliance with legislative and audit requirements for respective processes. Ensure Payroll and P&C operational processes are executed with due diligence. Ensure payroll deadlines are adhered to for timely payroll runs and salary payments. Team Leadership Manage team performance, absenteeism, agile working hours, and adherence to bp's Code of Conduct. Manage third-party benefit providers and act as the key liaison with providers. Assist in mobilizing, coordinating, and enabling local change across business units and teams. Increase opportunities for sharing knowledge and guidelines. Play a key role in planning and delivering the full range of activities to support the team. Stakeholder and Service Management Ensure successful delivery against agreed scope, quality, and timeline expectations. Manage partner expectations. Lead the project team to successful compliance delivery. Support ticket management, ensuring that queries are resolved timeously. Act as the key liaison to Payroll Accounting, ensuring accurate payroll information is provided to the General Ledger (GL). Policies and Systems Manage process documentation, ensuring they are updated regularly and aligned to bp policies and procedures. Create new policies where applicable as per business requirements and maintain existing policies. Manage and approve testing requirements for system upgrades and implementation of new payroll solution requirements. Manage and approve UIF submissions. Conduct operational quarterly meetings with benefits principal officers. Technical Capability Proven track record in managing payroll delivery teams in a shared service environment within a multinational organization. Developing capability and experience in strategic talent management, employee relations, change management, and organizational development and effectiveness, including coaching, organisation design, facilitation, and team development. Expert knowledge of payroll systems. Analytical thinking – comfortable using analytics to identify outcomes and influence decision-making (e.g., ER strategies, targeted retention, succession planning, and strategic workforce shaping). Digital fluency – comfortable and competent using technology to enable and enhance ways of working and thinking, as well as operating in a wider digital environment involving people, processes, and data-driven actions. In-depth understanding of tax principles and processes. Manage the team by maintaining current Power Apps used by employees in relation to bursaries, school assistance, and financial assistance. Business Capability Strong eye for business. Customer focus – puts the customer and business strategy at the heart of decision-making. Ability to guide leaders through choices to best suit business requirements. Drives value-adding solutions and has a track record of improving and contributing. Externally orientated – actively develops external connections, remains aware of standards, and actively learns from others. Leadership & EQ Capability Continually enhancing capability in line with the HR Capability Framework with an equal balance of EQ, IQ, and Drive. Gro