Woolworths Financial Services, or WFS as it is better known, is a Joint Venture with Absa Bank, that supports the Woolworths retail business by providing in-store credit in the form of the Woolworths Store Card and offering value-added services including credit cards, personal loans and short-term insurance as well as life insurance linked to other products.

Woolworths Financial Services is a proud South African brand, who is committed to transformation. Meeting our employment equity goals will be taken into account in our recruitment decisions.

Main Purpose

The Reward Specialist supports the People & Culture (P&C) team through the management and administration of the organisation's remuneration, benefits, incentive, payroll governance, job evaluation and people cost management processes. The role is responsible for ensuring accurate and compliant payroll delivery, supporting the annual remuneration cycle, maintaining sound reward practices, providing people cost insights, and ensuring competitive market positioning through job grading and benchmarking.

This position will work collaboratively with internal and external resources to implement, review and improve compensation and benefit processes.

Key Responsibilities Reward Management Review, develop and roll out the required reward policies and ensure remuneration practices align with these policies and governance requirements. Coordinate and administer the annual salary review process. Support the design, implementation and governance of annual remuneration changes. Support Long-Term Incentive (LTI) administration and communication. Prepare remuneration modelling, costing and affordability analyses. Monitor internal pay equity and market competitiveness. Conduct remuneration analyses and provide recommendations to business leaders. Support the consolidation of Reward reports for Board. Act as an internal consultant on remuneration practices, policies and programs. Job Evaluation and Benchmarking Conduct job evaluations. Maintain organisational grading structures. Benchmark positions using REMChannel and other market data sources. Ensure consistency and integrity of grading decisions. Provide P&C and hiring managers recommendations on grade placement and remuneration positioning. Participate in organisational design and role review initiatives. Review and approve remuneration offers for new hires, ensuring fairness, market competitiveness and internal equity of offers. Payroll Governance and Oversight Drive the day-to-day operations of the P&C payroll administration. Oversee, train, and evaluate the work activities of payroll support staff. Oversee payroll operations delivered efficiently and correctly through the outsourced payroll provider. Review and approve payroll inputs and outputs. Perform payroll sign-off prior to payment processing. Ensure statutory compliance relating to payroll and tax requirements. Manage payroll audits and resolve payroll-related issues to ensure compliance and payroll accuracy across payments and benefit management. Implement controls to ensure payroll accuracy and data integrity. Maintain payroll governance processes and documentation. Develop, implement, enhance and communicate payroll policies, processes and procedures. Ensure timely and correct capturing of new-hire documents, change of status forms, terminations, and all other payroll and/or benefit related documentation. Compile and reconcile Payroll and Benefits billing. Employee Benefits Communication and Enablement Ensure full compliance across all plans with applicable policies and local regulations concerning employer-sponsored benefits, including: Managing all medical aid and gap cover queries and audits annually. Preparing necessary record keeping and reporting for retirement fund purposes. Leveraging external partners to stay on top of all requirements. Manage monthly billings from any service providers and other vendors, including review billings for accuracy, codes, and advance for payment. Develop benefits information, and statistical data for management reporting. Assist with internal communication, promotion, and education efforts for WFS benefits. Co-design benefits with stakeholder’s and outsourced service provider when required. Act as the local subject matter expert on employee benefits. Ensure employees understand available benefits. Support benefit awareness campaigns. Facilitate communication and employee education sessions. Partner with the parent company on benefit-related initiatives. Respond to employee benefit queries and escalations. People Cost Budgeting and Workforce Cost Management Support P&C and Finance with annual people cost budgeting. Prepare remuneration forecasts and workforce cost projections. Analyse salary increase scenarios and their financial impact. Monitor actual people costs against budget. Provide management reporting on workforce expenditure. Support business cases involving remuneration and organisation design. Variable Pay Committee Support Coordinate activities of the Variable Pay Committee. Prepare committee packs and remuneration analyses. Track committee decisions and actions. Support governance, policy and guideline development, and control requirements relating to variable pay programmes. Leadership and Team Management Manage and develop the Payroll Administrator. Establish service standards and performance objectives. Drive continuous improvement within payroll and reward processes. Build reward and payroll capability within the P&C team. Minimum Qualification Degree in P&C, Finance, Accounting or equivalent Analytical and Financial Qualification. Reward or remuneration certification advantageous. Job Grading and Evaluation certification (Paterson preferred). Experience Required 5+ years’ experience within remuneration, data analysis, job evaluation, grading and employee benefits administration. Supported management of incentive schemes. Process development and policy design. Preferred Experience Management experience working across different occupational levels. Experience with payroll processes and governance. Experience with STI, LTI and other remuneration modelling. #J-18808-Ljbffr