Payroll Analyst

Overview

The Payroll Analyst plays a critical role in ensuring the stability, integrity, and compliance of the organisation’s payroll systems and processes. The role is responsible for maintaining system configurations, supporting end‑to‑end testing cycles, monitoring key controls, tracking issues, and delivering meaningful reporting and KPI insights that enhance payroll performance and decision‑making. As a key contributor to payroll governance, the Payroll Analyst helps ensure payroll operations remain accurate, efficient, audit‑ready, and fully compliant with all legal, regulatory, and organisational requirements.

The role strengthens the internal control environment, supports change and process improvements, and contributes to the successful delivery and embedding of initiatives. Working closely with Payroll Operations, HR, Finance, and TDDI, the Payroll Analyst ensures system changes are robustly assessed, rigorously evaluated, and effectively implemented. Through proactive issue management, data analysis, and control monitoring, the role helps safeguard payroll accuracy and supports a safe, consistent, and well‑governed payroll environment.

Join Sodexo and be part of something greater. You belong in a team where you can act with purpose and thrive in your own way.

Maintain and update payroll system configuration, ensuring accuracy, stability, and alignment with business rules and governance requirements. Support ongoing system maintenance activities including validations, master data checks, audit trails, and control monitoring. Liaise with HRIS/IT teams to resolve system defects, data issues, and configuration changes.

Lead and document system testing activities (UAT, regression testing, defect validation) for payroll updates, legislative changes and transformation‑related changes. Ensure test scenarios, expected outcomes, and evidence align with audit, compliance and control requirements. Support the monitoring, testing, and documentation of payroll controls, ensuring audit‑readiness and process consistency.

Provide analytical and administrative support for payroll‑related projects, ensuring adherence to governance, risk, and control standards. Contribute to project documentation including requirements, test plans, impact assessments, and readiness checklists. Track project dependencies, milestones, risks, and changes as part of structured program governance.

Maintain issue logs, defect registers, and risk trackers to strengthen visibility of operational and system performance. Track resolution activities with Payroll Operations, HR Systems, and IT, ensuring timely closure and robust documentation. Monitor recurring issues to identify root causes and improvement opportunities.

Stable and Well‑Controlled Payroll Systems – Payroll systems operate reliably with accurate configuration, strong data integrity, and effective controls that support consistent, compliant payroll processing. Robust Testing and Safe Implementation of Change – All payroll system, legislative, and transformation changes are fully evaluated, documented, and implemented with minimal post‑deployment issues and clear audit evidence. Clear Visibility of Payroll Performance, Risks, and Issues – Timely, accurate reporting and KPIs provide meaningful insight into payroll performance, control effectiveness, risks, and trends to support informed decision‑making.

• Demonstrable experience working in a payroll, HR systems, finance systems, or payroll governance environment.
• Practical experience supporting payroll systems, including configuration, data validation, testing, and issue resolution.
• Experience producing reports, KPIs, and analysis to support operational performance, controls, or governance.
• Experience working within structured governance, control, or audit‑ready environments.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, issues, and deadlines in a high‑volume, time‑critical environment.

• Experi…