Senior Payroll Test Analyst

Management Level

Equiniti is a leading international provider of shareholder, pension, remediation, and credit technology. With over 6000 employees, it supports 37 million people in 120 countries.

EQ’s vision is to be the leading global share registrar, offering complementary services to its client base and our values set the core foundations to our success. We are TRUSTED to deliver on our commitments, COMMERCIAL in building long term value, COLLABORATIVE in our approach and we IMPROVE by continually enhancing our skills and services. There has never been a better time to join EQ.

Role Summary

The role of a Senior Payroll Test Analyst is to support the Test Manager(s) in the CPD Testing team by system testing configured software platforms that meet customers’ payroll requirements for the Compendia and the Administrator applications. Day-to-day activities will focus on analysing and testing bespoke payroll configuration and core product payroll process enhancements, ensuring they adhere to HMRC legislation and are fully compliant for RTI and Taxation reporting purposes.

As a senior (SME) analyst within the testing team, direct client contact may be required.  Assisting clients as the payroll test specialist to determine acceptance criteria and the level of test coverage by providing detailed breakdown of estimates, recommended test conditions, risk assessments and ultimately the creation of detailed test scripts.  

For smaller to medium size projects a Senior Test Analyst will be required to manage the whole test cycle from test planning, scripting, execution, MI reporting through to delivery.  This may involve leading a small team of test analysts (onshore & offshore) to deliver a quality assured release.

Core Duties/Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Use own technical knowledge and experience to provide practical support to the team in the testing and QA of software and platforms in the pension payroll area to ensure they meet and/or exceeds customer expectations

• Working with Project Managers, Business Analysts, Configurators and Product Developers to produce and agree payroll testing development estimates for project planning

• Work with the Project Manager to derive the main testing milestones with recommendations for the number of test cycles.

• Contribution to the writing on the project test plans (for small to medium projects may be the owner of the test plan)

• Work with the test manager to assess resource requirements for the project or a time-box

• Writing of payroll test conditions, test scripts and test data for testing projects

• Risk assessments to provide guidance for proposed test coverage

• Analysing HMRC legislation papers to determine the specific payroll testing requirements

• Supporting the definition of and test data for payroll projects, test cases and expected results

• Setting up the test environment in co-ordination with the technical services

• Be involved in defining a project test strategy/approach working in conjunction with test managers/leads

• Fully understand how all aspects of their work integrates with the rest of the SDLC

• Monitor any change control to original requirements for impact analysis and capture these changes within a traceability matrix or within TFS/Jira

• Implementing scheduled tests, execution and logging the tests and evaluating the results and documenting any deviations from expected results

• Support the junior testers and offshore test team with clarifications and queries

• Defect management covering - tracking faults, fault investigations and triage of faults incorporating severity ratings

• Writing test summary reports (exit report) based on information gathered during testing

• Ensure successful delivery and conclusion of all test activities to meet the project target date

Skills, qualifications and knowledge

• Must be ISEB qualified to foundation level

• Must have experience of working within the financial sector

• Excellent working knowledge of UK Pension Payroll and HMRC Legislation.

• A broad knowledge on the complexities of UK pension payroll, such as understanding of Bulk Payroll Processes, Pension Increase, CARE Year End, P60 reporting, Taxation checks, Payroll End-of-Year processing, Annual Allowance & Lifetime Allowance checks

• Have comprehensive test analysis skills to be able to interpret test requirements where limited information has been provided

• Have demonstrable experience of producing high quality test documentation and writing client facing test summary reports

• Experience of facilitating fault review sessions that involve working with the Project Manager and Senior developers to resolve defect items

• Have experience of working with the UAT/BAT teams to share knowledge and support final delivery to our clients

• Either SC (Security Check) or DV (Developed Vetting) clearances will be required, so any previous clearances (open or expired) is advantageous

Technical domain expertise and behaviours

• Technical Standards and Processes: Supporting the creation of test plans for a project, ability to assist the Test Manager / Lead by guiding to what level of test coverage is needed to validate payroll processes

• Technical: Support creation/shaping of payroll requirements - ensuring that all such are easily understood and 'testable' 

• Behaviours: Good communication skills with experience of dealing with senior stakeholders and business ambassadors

• Behaviours: Continuously develop a professional, technical, and commercially aware approach

• Behaviours: Reliably follows commitments and actions through to their completion and demonstrates accountability across the business need

• Technical: Provides guidance on functional payroll test automation opportunities, level of coverage, environment requirements, release controls, testing tools and data management

What We Offer

Some great benefits to work at EQ include;

• Save For Your Future - Equiniti Pension Plan; Equiniti matches your pension contributions up to 10%
• All Employee Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – Gives all EQ Colleagues the opportunity to benefit if the current owners successfully sell the company for a profit.
• Health and Wellbeing – Employee Assistance Programme: counselling, legal & wellbeing support for colleagues and their households. Life assurance cover at 4x salary with the ability to purchase enhance cover.
• Employee discounts – Discounts and cashback at your favourite high street stores through our EQ Wins Platform.
• Flexible Benefits – The ability to purchase a wide variety of benefits through our flex plan; gadgets, travel insurance, will writing, holiday trading and more.
• Time Off – Typically 28 days holiday + bank holidays. 2 volunteer days to get involved with a charity of your choosing.
• Winning together – Equiniti ICON award vouchers; recognising the individuals going above and beyond to help the business succeed.
• Learning & Development – Investment in LinkedIn Learning for all colleagues. 

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Please note any offer of employment is subject to satisfactory pre-employment screening checks. These consist of 5 year activity & GAP verification, DBS or Access NI, Credit, Sanctions & CIFAS checks.