Location: Melbourne - Inner City Suburbs
Industry: Retail
Reports To: Payroll Manager
Employment Type: Full-time
Our client is a well-known and fast-growing retail organisation with a strong presence across Australia. They pride themselves on delivering exceptional customer experiences and fostering a supportive, high-performance culture. As the business continues to expand, they are seeking a skilled Payroll Team Leader to guide the payroll function through continued growth and operational excellence.
The Payroll Team Leader will oversee the end-to-end payroll function and lead a small team to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing across the organisation. This role requires strong leadership capability, deep payroll knowledge (including awards and EBAs), and the ability to drive continuous improvement in payroll processes and systems.
Oversee and support the team in delivering accurate, timely end-to-end payroll for weekly/fortnightly pay cycles.
Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, awards, EBAs, superannuation, and company policies.
Review payroll outputs including adjustments, terminations, leave calculations, overtime, and reporting.
Maintain high data integrity across payroll systems and employee records.
Supervise and mentor payroll officers, providing guidance, training, and performance support.
Allocate workload, set priorities, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
Foster a positive, collaborative team culture.
Ensure compliance with Fair Work, ATO, superannuation, and payroll tax requirements.
Manage internal and external audit queries.
Stay up to date with changes in payroll legislation and retail industry awards.
Identify opportunities to streamline payroll processes and enhance automation.
Work closely with HR and IT on system upgrades, integrations, and data accuracy.
Support implementation of new payroll systems or enhancements.
Prepare regular payroll reports for Finance and HR.
Reconcile payroll-related accounts and ensure accurate month-end reporting.
Provide insights and recommendations based on payroll data and trends.
5+ years' payroll experience, including 1-2 years in a leadership or senior payroll role.
Proven experience within the retail sector or other high-volume, multi-site environments (preferred).
Strong understanding of Australian payroll legislation, awards, EBAs, tax, and superannuation.
Experience with modern payroll and HRIS systems (e.g., SAP, Workday, Chris21, ADP, Preceda, Micropay).
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and support stakeholders.
High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and commitment to confidentiality.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work in fast-paced environments and manage competing priorities.
