SAP Functional Analyst

Position Description

The SAP ERP Payroll & HR Functional Analyst will have strong hands-on SAP functional, analytical, and stakeholder engagement expertise, holding primary responsibility for the end-to-end ownership, optimisation, and support of the SAP Payroll and HR landscape.

This role requires a deep functional understanding of Payroll processes combined with strong hands-on expertise across HR modules.

Within the SAP Service Delivery team, this position operates as a senior Subject Matter Expert (SME) responsible for ensuring design integrity, configuration quality, and testing excellence across Payroll, Time & Attendance, Compensation Management, and Concur (Expenses & Travel).

You will work within a high-performing SAP team, driving continuous improvement, system stability, and business value realisation, while ensuring tight integration and alignment across HR modules and the wider SAP ecosystem. This role is pivotal in ensuring that HR and Payroll systems are robust, compliant, and aligned with strategic business objectives.

Technology plays a leading role in enabling organisational transformation and delivering ESB’s transition to a digital, low carbon utility, and it is our people who ensure we succeed. With almost 800 people working across our IT Delivery and CIO functions, together we design, build and support a broad range of technologies and services to deliver on our mission to bring sustainable and competitive energy solutions to all customers. We achieve this by harnessing all our resources, investing in our people and working collaboratively together.

To further enhance our Tech/IT capabilities, we are looking for talented professionals to start their journey with us to lead the transition to reliable, affordable low-carbon energy – a brighter future for the benefit of all.

Key Responsibilities

Responsibilities of this role include but are not limited to:

- Provide senior subject matter expertise and end user support for the SAP ERP/ECC S4Hana and SAP Cloud (Concur & SuccessFactors) applications with an emphasis on Payroll (UK & IE), including PA, OM, TM, TE, ESS, MSS, Benefits and Compensation Management modules.

- Investigate and resolve support calls raised by the business.

- Work on internal SAP projects and change requests as required, including gathering, solution scoping and effort estimation alongside hands-on configuration, enhancements delivery, documentation, and effective stakeholder engagement.

- Take full ownership of functional configuration, including development and testing of enhancement/modifications, ensuring adherence to best practice and business requirements.

- Co-ordinate workloads across the relevant SAP Support teams, ensuring workload prioritisation, issue resolution, and delivery alignment.

- Take the Lead on certain activities/processes (e.g. Site Switches, System Refreshes, support packs), stakeholder engagement, Incident resolution.

- Consult with a variety of stakeholders in the specification, development and testing of enhancements / modifications to the SAP solution.

- Complete knowledge transfer for respective application area to other members of support team, and function as transition rep for project changes.

- Manage change request scoping to include hands-on functional and configuration work, liaising closely with ABAP/Basis/Security, creating and maintain documentation to allow smooth transition of project work to support.

- Preventative maintenance tasks to ensure IT systems are operational and secure, and to prevent future incidents.

- Batch monitoring and recovery of failures with a view to improving the system / batch performance.

Experience and Qualifications

Essential

- Minimum of 5 years’ functional experience across SAP ERP/ECC (Payroll and HR), SAP Concur (Expenses and Travel), SAP SuccessFactors, or similar, with a strong focus on end-to-end support and issue resolution, including root cause analysis, debugging, and resolution of complex functional and integration issues.

- Third level qualification in a Computing / Business discipline or equivalent work experience.

- Proven experience delivering across multiple end-to-end SAP lifecycle implementations, system upgrades, and change requests.

- Strong experience in end-to-end SAP HR business processes, including business process definition configuration, incident management, and change delivery.

- Proven experience operating as a senior SME, with excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills

- Experience of software development lifecycle, including solution design, development, and release management.

- Knowledge of standard testing practices for SAP Projects and changes with functional/integration/performance testing/regression testing is necessary.

Desirable

- Strong ability to interpret and translate both functional and non-functional business requirements into effective solutions, with extensive experience in implementing robust technical and integrated system solutions.

- Experience with HP Quality Centre (or similar test management tools) is an advantage, including the creation and execution of test scripts and the logging and resolution of defects. Proven ownership of end-to-end testing cycles, covering the design and execution of functional, integration, regression, and payroll validation testing.

- Strong documentation/writing skills, with experience of developing process maps, flow charts, user requirements documentation.

- Knowledge of structured project management techniques for IT related projects including design, development, test and release management.

Above all, you must be innovative in your approach and be able to demonstrate your ability to actively contribute to a team that delivers results.

Location

This position will be based in ESB Head Office,27 Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2.

Smart Working at ESB is designed to make ‘in-person’ time together as purposeful as possible while also enabling the effective use of digital tools and hybrid arrangements to preserve our commitment to flexibility. The successful candidate may work flexibly within the jurisdiction where they have been employed, with attendance at the workplace for in-person collaboration at least two days per week . All Smart Working arrangements are subject to regular review based on the operational requirements of the role, the team, and the business.

Reporting To

The successful candidate will report to the SAP PHR & Sap Security Support Team Lead, Enterprise Services

Why Work with Us?

- Opportunity to lead Ireland’s transition to net zero carbon future

- Career development through mentoring and training

- Corporate Social Responsibility Opportunities

- Sports and Social Clubs

- Networking opportunities

- Credit Union

- Generous Pension

- Access to staff well-being programmes

- Generous parental leave entitlements

- Strong values-based and inclusive culture

- Strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

- Great team environment working to our Core Values: Courageous, Caring, Driven and Trusted

Salary

€59,900 - €70,500 per annum (depending on experience)

Closing Date

16th October 2026

Interview

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will complete a Behavioural Interview based on each of the following Behaviours, which underpin how we work at ESB and are critical to delivering our strategy:

- Accountable and Ethical

- Collaborative

- Growing and Adaptive

- Proactive

- Respectful and Supportive

More information available on Our People Promise

Notes

Your application will be held in reserve for 6 months should you be suitable for the role.

The successful candidate will be required to evidence their right to work in the Republic of Ireland prior to commencement of employment.