Job Description

Department of Personnel Management

Designation : Assistant HR/Payroll Officer-Governance & Oversight (Code- DPM 14-17)

Job Description / Responsibilities:

1. IDENTIFICATION

AGENCY:

Department of Personnel Management

SYSTEM POSITION# (10-Digits):

 

REF#:

DPM14-17

OFFICE:

Office of the Public Service HR/Payroll Services

DESIGNATION/CLASSIFICATION:

Assistant HR/Payroll Officer/Grade 10

DIVISION:

HR/Payroll System Governance & Training

LOCAL DESIGNATION:

Assist. HR/Payroll Officer - Health Sector Payroll Support Team

BRANCH:

HR/Payroll System Governance & Oversight

REPORTING TO:

Team Leader

SYS POS# (10-Digits):

 

REF#:

DPM14-14

SECTION:

Health Sector Payroll Support Team

LOCATION:

Central Government Office, Level 3, Waigani, NCD
       

HISTORY OF POSITION

 

 

FILE REFERENCE

DATE OF VARIATION

DETAILS

AGENCY REFERENCE/FILE NO:

Structure Approved Date:

27th March 2025

2. PURPOSE:

The Assistant HR/Payroll Officer - HR/Payroll System Governance & Oversight is responsible for supporting the oversight, compliance, and monitoring of the Ascender Pay Integrated HR/Payroll System. This role ensures that data integrity, payroll discipline, and system governance standards are upheld within agencies and across the public service payroll operations.

  • The position contributes to the Department’s objective of ensuring proper governance, accountability, and transparency in the use of public funds through effective payroll management.
  • It supports whole-of-government payroll reform by contributing to the system's day-to-day operations, validation, and control checks.
  • Without this position, critical oversight and support functions - such as payroll report validation, anomaly detection, and data cross-verification - would be delayed or compromised.
  • This job is essential for maintaining the integrity and operational effectiveness of payroll compliance under the HR/Payroll System Governance Framework.

3. DIMENSIONS:

  • Scope of Responsibility: Covers all public service agencies utilizing the Ascender Pay IHRP System.
  • Payroll Records Reviewed: Supports validation of payroll data across an estimated [insert approximate number] agencies and thousands of employees.
  • System Oversight: Contributes to ensuring compliance of system users, user access logs, and transaction audit trails.
  • Financial Impact: Indirectly supports control over the fortnightly payroll expenditure valued in millions of Kina.
  • Staff Supervision: None, but may mentor interns or junior data entry support.
  • Resources Used: Ascender Pay IHRP, Microsoft Excel, reporting templates, standard operating procedures.

4.  PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES:

  1. Ensure timely extraction and validation of payroll reports in support of system governance and oversight functions.
  2. Identify data anomalies, access irregularities, and potential breaches of payroll procedures and escalate them for corrective action.
  3. Maintain data logs and registers to support payroll system audit trails and compliance monitoring.
  4. Assist in ensuring agency compliance with system rules, workflows, and reporting formats.
  5. Contribute to fortnightly and monthly reporting requirements to senior management.
  6. Support the enforcement of standards and operating procedures as part of the Digital HR Transformation program.

5.  MAJOR DUTIES:

The position will be responsible for:

  1. Assist with validating and analyzing payroll transactions across assigned agencies.
  2. Generate system-based reports and cross-check personnel and position data.
  3. Support the review of user access logs to ensure compliance with governance protocols.
  4. Document findings from payroll oversight activities for internal review.
  5. Liaise with agency focal points to request clarification on data inconsistencies.
  6. Assist in building summary dashboards and compliance checklists.
  7. Support the implementation of controls and preventive mechanisms against misuse or abuse of system access.
  8. Participate in system testing and report issues to the Governance Unit.
  9. Maintain and update procedural manuals and support documentation.

6. NATURE AND SCOPE:

The position sits within the Payroll Governance and Compliance stream of the HR/Payroll Division. It reports directly to the Team Leader or Officer-in-Charge of the HR/Payroll System Governance & Oversight Unit and supports broader governance and policy functions of the Department of Personnel Management.

The position plays a technical and administrative support role in ensuring agencies comply with system standards and reporting obligations. It is designed for an officer with foundational technical skills who can contribute to large-scale payroll governance reforms.

6.1 Working Relationship:

(a) Internal:

  • HR/Payroll Officer - HR/Payroll Governance & Oversight
  • Other Officers in the Governance & Oversight Branch
  • Ascender Pay Systems Support Team
  • HR Policy and Reform Units

(b) External:

  • Agency HR and Payroll Focal Points
  • Department of Finance - Expenditure Control Teams
  • Department of Treasury - Budget Units (on request)
  • Auditor General's Office (as needed)

6.2 Work Environment:

The position operates in a specialized and technical work environment, focused on the application of system governance protocols. It involves system-based tasks and report validations that contribute to payroll transparency, discipline, and reform. The job requires accuracy, discretion, and attention to compliance processes.

7. CONSTRAINTS FRAMEWORK AND BOUNDARIES:

  • Rules/Procedures: Must operate within General Orders, the Public Finance Management Act, internal payroll compliance manuals, data governance policies, and ICT security protocols.
  • Decision: Can verify and flag irregularities but refers final decisions to the Team Leader.

Recommendations: Recommends improvements to payroll workflows, reporting templates, and system usage practices.

8. CHALLENGES:

The greatest challenge is managing and validating large volumes of complex payroll data under tight deadlines while ensuring that all reports meet the required standards for governance. The position must also be able to quickly learn and adapt to evolving system changes and policy reforms while maintaining high standards of integrity and confidentiality.

9. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS:

Qualifications

  • Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Public Administration, Business, ICT, or related field.

Knowledge

  • Understanding of government payroll operations and financial regulations.
  • Familiarity with the Ascender Pay IHRP System (or willingness to learn).
  • Awareness of system governance and digital HR reform processes.

Skills

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and report generation.
  • Analytical and investigative skills.
  • Strong attention to detail.
  • Basic data auditing and reporting skills.
  • Interpersonal and communication skills.

Work Experience

  • At least 1-2 years’ experience in a government payroll, finance, ICT, or HR support environment.
  • Experience in data monitoring, compliance reporting, or systems administration is desirable.

Job Type:

Full Time

Language Requirements:

English

Salary(per annum):

K32404.00

Job Location:

Waigani

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