JD Group Plc
People Technology EMEA Solution SME - Pay

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About the JD Group
Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally. We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.
Role Overview
Advance the People Teams impact by delivering and maintaining the configuration of a full HRIS programme aimed at positioning JD as an employer of choice. The JD People team puts the colleague at the heart of what we do to develop a level of service that emulates the JD brand and maximises colleague experience.
We are looking for an excellent PAY SME to help guide and improve the configuration of technical solutions. As a PAY SME within the People function, your duties will include evaluating organisational needs and recommending suitable solutions from one or more specific area of the People function and contributing to the development, testing, and implementation of software solutions and improvements. A successful SME should possess a good track record in evaluating organisational needs and configuration of solutions, improving organisational efficiency by applying their expert knowledge of one or more areas of the People function to resolve complex challenges.
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Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
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StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
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Key Duties/Responsibilities:
- Applying subject expertise in evaluating business operations and processes
- Identifying areas where technical solutions would improve functional performance
- Consulting across various operations, providing mentorship, and contributing specialised knowledge
- Recommending technical solutions that determine software requirements or configuration
- Manage competing priorities
- Maintain an understanding of legislative requirements for HCM, Time Capture and Pay
- Determining whether technical solutions meet defined requirements
- Verifying technical reference information, including user guides, training manuals, and system requirements
- Design, build and test integrations between HCM solution and other product worksteams
- Synchronise with the other HR experts to complete the following activities to the best of your ability: Compliance, SKU Testing, BAU Changes, design consistency and more


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Skills/Experience/Knowledge Needed:
- Demonstrable credentials as a leading Subject Matter Expert of a People Discipline
- Experience with Administering and Managing a Pay and Benefits systems is essential
- At least intermediate Payroll processing knowledge is required
- Experience with configuring a Pay and Benefits system is preferred
- Advanced ability to recommend and implement technical solutions for cross-functional projects
- Exceptional leadership and mentorship abilities to introduce and implement technical solutions
- Excellent recordkeeping, as well as written and verbal communication skills
Benefits
We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.
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