Pension Administration and Payroll Manager – Representative Church Body

Closing date: 12/07/2024

The role will manage pension administration and payroll for the RCB.  The Pension Administration and Payroll Manager is a key role within the organisation and interacts with Clergy including Archbishops & Bishops, Diocesan Secretaries, Pensioners and surviving spouses and dependents throughout the Church of Ireland.  The Pension Administration and Payroll Manager will report directly to the Head of Finance and will be part of the wider Finance and IT Department. The role is located at the RCB offices in Church of Ireland House, Rathmines, Dublin 6.

The RCB is the registered administrator for the Clergy Pension Fund which is a cross–border defined benefit pension scheme, which closed to future accruals and new members in May 2013. The Pension Administration team provides defined benefit pension administration support to over one thousand active, deferred and retired members of the Clergy.  The team are customer focused and required to meet statutory and pension regulations.

Pension Administration is also central in supporting the Clergy Defined Contribution Pension Schemes – Republic of Ireland Section and Northern Ireland Section – with the registered administrators Zurich Ireland and Scottish Widows and providing enhanced member experience. These schemes are transitioning to Master Trust arrangements during 2024.

The RCB provides a central payroll function for the payment of over 1,000 serving clergy, retired clergy pensioners and staff in both Ireland and the UK and supports the Dioceses of the Church of Ireland with payroll administration and reporting along with the tracking and management of funding from the Dioceses to support stipend payments.

The Pension Administration and Payroll Manager will support various Church committees which will include the Stipends Committee, the Clergy Pension Fund Trustee DAC, the Church of Ireland Clergy Pension Board and from time to time the RB Executive Committee.

One of the core responsibilities of the role is to enhance Clergy’s experience in all aspects of pension administration and payroll services provided through the RCB.

Reporting

The role will report to the Head of Finance. 

Responsibilities can be split under various headings which include:

Management & Leadership

• Management, leadership and development of the pension administration and payroll teams

• Scheduling, priorities, delegating and managing the various work flows in a timely manner

• Day to day staff management

• Development of the teams and personal development training plans

• Being an integral part of the internal finance management team (Pension Administration & Payroll Manager, IT Manager, Accounts Manager & Investment Administration Manager)

Payroll

• Managing the monthly payroll processes in Ireland and the UK
• Meeting payment and reporting deadlines for the processing of all payrolls
• Close out of all payroll reporting within 5 working days of month end
• Compliance with relevant revenue (RC & HMRC) payment & reporting requirements
• Managing grant payment process and working closely with the trust manager
• Preparation of payroll reports for the General Synod and Book of Reports
• Working closely with Diocesan Secretaries on payroll related matters
• Supporting Stipends Committee with annual reviews of MAS, Locomotory & Office allowances and other such work as required

Pension Administration

• Managing day to day pension administration for the CPF in Ireland and the UK (see detailed process of various elements which make up pension administration)
• Preparing CPF triannual reports and annual reports as required to allow actuarial reports be completed
• Development of an annual work flow calendar to schedule CPF tasks
• Managing statutory reporting requirements for the Clergy Pension Fund which will include but not be limited to annual benefit statements and leaving service options statements
• Calculation, reconciliation and reporting of Diocesan levies to support the Clergy Pension Fund levy
• Preparation of the Clergy Pension Fund annual financial statements and dealing with audit
• Preparation of pension reports for the General Synod and Book of Reports
• Attendance at the Clergy DC ROI & NI Trustee meetings in respect of relevant areas
• Management of the  monthly pension contributions for Clergy DC ROI and NI schemes
• Supporting the annual audit of the Clergy DC Pension Scheme audits
• Monitor and update live pension listing / workflow system to ensure that all work can be tracked effectively and managed within an acceptable timeframe
• Reporting of key performance indicators for pension administration service levels
• IORP II compliance & implementation
• Development of Risk Management processes in line with IORP II requirements
• Supporting pension related committees
• Dealing with day to day pension queries

Compliance

• Keeping up to date with relevant changes in taxation legislation which impact pension benefits and payroll payments
• Keeping up to date with relevant pension legislation
• Keeping up to date with relevant payroll legislation
• Annual review of pension administration processes – compliance health check
• Annual review of payroll processes – compliance health check
• IORP II compliance

Group Risk – Death in Service

• The annual renewal of risk benefits for death in service and any necessary interaction with the relevant providers
• Management of Clergy death in service claims

Systems

• Managing the maintenance of the RL pension & payroll database
• Development projects as required for Pension Administration and Payroll
• Supporting with necessary finance wide system projects such as Agresso upgrades and the transition to SORP Charities reporting

Other

• Such other additional duties as may be assigned from time to time
• Supporting various committees

The list of duties and responsibilities outlined above is not intended to be comprehensive but is provided to give potential applicants a broad overview of the scope of the role.

Training & Development

The role will require to keep up to date with relevant pension and taxation legislation.  It will be necessary to annually complete continuous professional development in pension administration and payroll.  Particular training focus will be placed on knowledge of Irish and UK pension administration, payroll & taxation rules and IORP II directive.

What you will need to have

• Qualified Accountant with a minimum of 10 years post qualification experience
• Other qualification in pension administration would be an advantage
• Excellent management and organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and excellent people management skills
• Effective communication skills both written and verbal
• Knowledge of the Church of Ireland and its structures would be an advantage
• Strong knowledge of pension administration and payroll
• Knowledge of Resource Link Payroll and Pension Database would be an advantage
• Ability to read legal documents, draft bills & legislation would be a distinct advantage
• Ability to problem solve
• High level of accuracy/attention to detail
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to provide a high level of customer service and effectively track performance
• Ability to work with Microsoft Excel to at least intermediate standard; previous working experience of Microsoft Excel formulae, pivot tables and V look–ups required

TO APPLY

Send an up–to–date copy of your CV to recruit@rcbcoi.org by 5.00pm on 12th July 2024.