Payroll Manager - 8 Month Contract at MECS (Pty) Ltd

• This is an 8-month maternity cover contract and a standalone Payroll Manager role, requiring full ownership of the payroll and benefits function with minimal supervision. The organisation has approximately 350 employees across South African and international entities and is seeking someone who can hit the ground running from day one.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the full end-to-end South African payroll for approximately 350 employees.
• Process starters, terminations, salary changes, allowances, benefits and employee movements.
• Oversee UK and Ireland payroll activities, including movements, expenses and payment approvals.
• Manage statutory submissions, EMP501, payroll tax reconciliations, WCA, and payroll compliance.
• Perform payroll-to-ledger, creditor and remuneration reconciliations, including month-end journals.
• Administer employee benefits including medical aid, provident fund, risk benefits, gap cover, Vitality and EAP.
• Manage leave administration, payroll queries and employee support.
• Maintain strong payroll controls, records and documentation.
• Work closely with the Remuneration & Benefits team and ensure a smooth maternity-cover handover.

Ideal Candidate

• Extensive end-to-end payroll and benefits experience.
• Experience managing 300+ employees.
• Advanced Sage 300 People – essential.
• Strong knowledge of payroll tax, statutory submissions, reconciliations and compliance.
• Experience with EMP501, WCA, payroll-to-ledger reconciliations and month-end journals.
• International payroll exposure, particularly UK/Ireland, advantageous.
• Highly accurate, detail-oriented and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Accounting or tax qualification advantageous but not essential.
• Must be able to hit the ground running from day one.

Non-Negotiables

• Advanced Sage 300 People
• Full end-to-end payroll experience
• Payroll of 300+ employees
• Strong statutory, tax and reconciliation experience
• Strong payroll and benefits knowledge
• Ability to work independently and take full ownership of the function