Position overview - Payroll Manager

About the Company

Our client is a highly respected and well-established Australian organisation with a national footprint and a strong reputation for excellence within their industry. Due to continued growth and transformation, they are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to oversee and manage their outsourced payroll function while ensuring compliance, accuracy, and exceptional stakeholder service across the business.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a hands-on payroll professional who enjoys working in a large, complex environment and partnering with both internal stakeholders and external payroll providers.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Head of People & Culture, the Payroll Manager will take ownership of the end-to-end payroll governance function for a large national workforce. While payroll processing is outsourced, this role remains critical in managing the relationship with the external provider, ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance with legislation and awards, and driving continuous improvement initiatives.

The successful candidate will act as the key escalation point for payroll matters and will work closely with HR, Finance, and operational leaders to ensure payroll services are delivered efficiently and accurately.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the relationship and performance of the outsourced payroll provider
• Oversee end-to-end payroll operations for a large national workforce
• Ensure payroll processing is accurate, compliant, and delivered within strict deadlines
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex payroll queries and issues
• Interpret and apply relevant Awards, Enterprise Agreements, and employment legislation
• Ensure compliance with all statutory obligations including PAYG, Superannuation, Payroll Tax, STP, and WorkCover
• Review payroll reconciliations, reporting, and month-end payroll journals
• Partner with HR and Finance teams to support onboarding, terminations, remuneration changes, and system integrations
• Lead payroll audits and ensure appropriate governance and controls are maintained
• Identify and implement payroll process improvements and efficiencies
• Support payroll-related projects, system upgrades, and transformation initiatives
• Maintain up-to-date payroll policies, procedures, and documentation
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and technical guidance to payroll team members and stakeholders

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in a Payroll Manager or Senior Payroll leadership position within a large organisation
• Strong experience managing outsourced payroll providers
• Extensive knowledge of Australian payroll legislation, Awards, and compliance requirements
• Experience overseeing high-volume and complex payroll environments
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• High attention to detail with excellent problem-solving capabilities
• Demonstrated ability to manage payroll audits, reconciliations, and reporting requirements
• Experience with large ERP/payroll systems such as SAP, Chris21, Workday, ADP, Dayforce, Ascender or similar
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment