About the position
We are seeking a highly skilled SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP) Consultant to join our clients expanding SAP Practice in Johannesburg.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced functional consultant to lead end-to-end payroll transformation projects for leading South African and multinational organisations.
In this client-facing role, you will take ownership of the full implementation lifecycle, from discovery and solution design through configuration, testing, deployment, go-live, and post-implementation support. Leveraging your deep expertise in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll and comprehensive knowledge of South African payroll legislation, you will facilitate design workshops, provide trusted guidance to senior stakeholders, and deliver innovative payroll solutions that meet complex business requirements.
You will work closely with cross-functional project teams, leading functional workstreams while remaining hands-on with system configuration and solution delivery. Your ability to combine technical expertise with strong consulting, communication, and stakeholder management skills will be key to delivering successful business transformation outcomes.
Client Engagement & Design Workshop Leadership
- Lead design workshops: plan, facilitate, and document client blueprint workshops, process walkthroughs, and fit-gap sessions with business and IT stakeholders.
- Requirements gathering: act as the primary client-facing functional expert; elicit, document, and validate business and payroll requirements throughout the project lifecycle.
- Solution blueprint: translate client requirements into functional design documents, configuration workbooks, and solution blueprints aligned to SAP best practices.
- Stakeholder communication: prepare and present project status updates, design decisions, and issue logs to senior client leadership with clarity and confidence.
Payroll Configuration & Technical Delivery
- End-to-end configuration: lead hands-on configuration of SAP Employee Central Payroll (ECP) and/or SAP S/4HANA Payroll — including wage types, schemas, payroll rules, infotypes, and Payroll Control Centre (PCC).
- SA legislative compliance: configure and validate payroll in full compliance with South African statutory requirements: PAYE, UIF, SDL, IRP5/IT3(a) submissions, SARS eFiling integration, and applicable Bargaining Council rules.
- EC integration: configure and support integration between SuccessFactors Employee Central and ECP, covering core HR master data and time tracking.
- Third-party integrations: design and implement interfaces with SARS, benefit providers, pension funds, and other relevant South African third parties.
- Retro and off-cycle processing: configure and support retroactive payroll calculations, off-cycle runs, and post-payroll activities including reconciliation and reporting.
Project Leadership & Delivery
- Workstream leadership: manage and lead functional workstreams across full project lifecycle phases: Prepare, Explore, Realise, Deploy, and Run.
- Testing activities: lead and support unit testing, string testing, payroll parallel runs, and UAT; own defect resolution and sign-off processes.
- Documentation: produce and maintain high-quality, audit-ready configuration documentation, process designs, and integration specifications throughout the engagement.
- Continuous improvement: identify and drive process optimisation opportunities; stay current on SAP SuccessFactors roadmap updates and South African legislative changes.
Based in Johannesburg, this position requires regular on-site engagement with clients and occasional travel within South Africa as project requirements dictate.
Required skills & experience
Non-Negotiable Requirements
- End-to-end implementations: a minimum of 3 full end-to-end SAP Payroll implementations, with demonstrable, hands-on involvement across all project phases from blueprint to go-live. At least one implementation must be in SAP Employee Central Payroll (ECP).
- South African payroll legislation: thorough, current working knowledge of SA statutory payroll requirements — PAYE, UIF, SDL, ETI, IRP5/IT3(a), SARS eFiling, and applicable Bargaining Council obligations.
- Hands-on configuration: proven configuration capability in SAP Payroll — payroll schemas, personnel calculation rules, wage types, infotypes, Payroll Control Centre (PCC), and country-specific South African localisation.
- Workshop facilitation: demonstrated experience leading client-facing design workshops, blueprinting sessions, and fit-gap analyses with business stakeholders at all levels.
- Communication & presentation: articulate verbal and written communicator; able to produce polished design documents, status reports, and functional specifications; confident presenting to senior HR/Finance audiences.
- Location & availability: must be based in Johannesburg (Gauteng) and available and willing to work physically on client sites as required by project scheduling.
Advantageous
- ECP certification: SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll certification is highly beneficial and will be given preference.
- ECP vs S/4HANA advisory: ability to articulate the architectural differences, pros, and cons of ECP versus traditional SAP S/4HANA Payroll to support client solution selection.
- Divestments & consolidations: experience managing payroll system changes during mergers, acquisitions, divestments, or organisational restructures.
- Multi-country payroll: exposure to payroll implementations across other African markets (e.g. Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria) is a competitive advantage.
- Additional SuccessFactors certifications: module certifications beyond ECP will be viewed favourably
Qualifications
- Degree (preferred): a recognised university degree in Information Technology, Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field. Equivalent experience combined with a relevant diploma will be considered.
- SAP / SuccessFactors certifications: certification in Employee Central Payroll is highly advantageous; additional module certifications strengthen the application.
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Desired Skills:
- SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP)
- SAP Payroll Configuration
- End-to-End SAP Payroll Implementations
- SAP Payroll Control Centre (PCC)
- SAP Employee Central (EC) Integration
