Supervisor, Payroll Client Relations

About Us

At Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, we impact every citizen, business, and municipality in Nova Scotia. We provide common services and support to government departments and public sector organizations. Our mandate is to design and deliver programs and services to meet the needs of our clients and the public good through a culture of excellence.  Our vision is to be a recognized leader in service and public protection that delivers trusted, accessible, modern programs, and contributes to Nova Scotia as a safe and desirable place to live, work and do business.

Payroll Services, within the Financial Services Delivery Branch of the Department, provides service to the Province’s departments, agencies, and other government units, as well as to Pensioners of the Province and the Regional Centres for Education.  This includes, centralized and integrated support and services in areas of payroll, payroll production, tax compliance, and financial reporting for the Province.  The Payroll Client Relations team is accountable to oversee the timely and accurate preparation of the Province’s payroll, and the accurate maintenance of all HR master data within the SAP system.  

About Our Opportunity

Under the general direction of the Manager, you will be responsible for leading and supervising the performance of 9-10 Payroll Specialists in the delivery of the Province’s payroll.    
As the Supervisor you are responsible for overseeing the daily work of the Payroll Specialist team.  The work associated with the preparation, processing, and maintenance of pay related transactions; and documentation of bi-weekly and monthly payroll for the Province of Nova Scotia and its clients.  Within the flexible work arrangements, you will need to effectively supervise staff remotely and maintain open communication while ensuring data integrity. You’ll also develop, implement, and enhance necessary processes to support the timely and accurate preparation of payroll.

You advocate effective and consistent application and clarification of pay transactions to ensure the processes, practices, and outcomes of the payroll function are compliant with the National Payroll Institute (NPI), Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the Province’s legislation and collective agreements.

You’ll provide payroll related expertise and support to clients and colleagues, both internal and external, to the Province of Nova Scotia on a wide range of topics such as paid and unpaid leaves, claims and repayments, annual adjustments, contract and settlement payments, retirements, year end processing and Province wide project work.  You will be responsible to build strong client partnerships, work collaboratively and leverage relationships with subject matter experts and to keep a focus on the potential system wide impacts and implications of all decisions.  

About You

To be successful in this role, you must have a payroll certification through the National Payroll Institute and a minimum of four years of related experience in a complex unionized payroll environment, including the supervision of team members. Completion of a Bachelor of Business Administration/Commerce, or a related degree is considered as asset.  An acceptable equivalent combination of formal education and experience may be considered.  Equivalencies include, but are not limited to, several years of related experience in payroll, employee/labour relations, human resources and/or team lead in a customer service environment.

You are customer focused, a strong team lead and have excellent communication skills. You will have demonstrated ability to set priorities to effectively manage multiple deadlines, superior organizational and time management skills and work well under pressure in a high-volume environment.

Additionally, you have demonstrated in your previous work experience, the ability to exercise initiative and sound judgement, strong troubleshooting skills, leadership competencies and human resource management skills.  You have experience in supervising and motivating a team that works in person and remotely.

You conduct your work with a focus on client service excellence, responding to requests with tact and diplomacy. It requires professionalism and discretion to ensure confidentiality of sensitive information.  You demonstrate the ability to build and maintain effective work partnerships with colleagues across the organization.

Demonstrated proficiency in SAPHR/Payroll Module or a comparable large Enterprise Resources Planning Application (ERP) is essential. You are proficient in the use of computer systems, database systems, internet-based applications, spreadsheets, and word-processing packages.  Previous experience with Success Factors would be a benefit.

Leadership competencies required at this level of work are: Conceptual thinking, Strategic Orientation, Outcome Focus, Initiative, Effective Interactive Communication, Partnership and Relationship Building, Intercultural and Diversity Proficiency.

We will assess the above qualifications and competencies using one or more of the following tools: written examination, standardized tests, oral presentations, interview(s), and reference checks.

Equivalency

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs.  For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees.

What We Offer

• Normal work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day.
• This position qualifies for Flexible Work Arrangement (FAW) working hours.
• Time is spent in an office setting with flexible working from home arrangements.
• May be required to work overtime on occasion.