Dayforce Payroll Specialist - Project

Ambition Recruitment; Sydney; On-site; AUD 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Ambition Recruitment seeks an experienced Dayforce Payroll Specialist to join a major payroll transformation project in Sydney CBD. This contract role focuses on the Dayforce implementation beyond BAU and will start with about 750 corporate employees, expanding through additional phases.

You will work with an internal project team and external partners, bringing payroll systems expertise, data mapping, testing, and validation to ensure accurate payroll outcomes during go-live and stabilisation.

Qualifications

• Hands-on Dayforce Payroll experience required.
• Experience in a Dayforce implementation or major project.
• Strong Australian payroll knowledge.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Testing, data validation and reconciliations experience.

Responsibilities

• Act as a key Dayforce payroll resource throughout the project.
• Validate payroll requirements with project team and partner.
• Provide Dayforce payroll technical knowledge.
• Support data mapping, migration and validation.
• Assist with system configuration reviews and payroll impacts.
• Support testing: system, parallel and UAT.
• Validate payroll calculations and outcomes in Dayforce.
• Identify issues and drive resolution with teams.
• Support transition through implementation, go-live and stabilisation.
• Collaborate with payroll and project stakeholders at each stage.

Skills

Dayforce Payroll

Payroll systems

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Testing & data validation

Australian payroll knowledge

Tools

Data mapping

System testing

Job description

Sydney CBD | Day rate| 6-12 Month Contract | Major Dayforce Project

An exciting opportunity has become available for an experienced Dayforce Payroll Specialist to join a large organisation at the beginning of a significant payroll transformation project.

The business is commencing a Dayforce implementation and is looking for someone who brings a strong combination of payroll knowledge and hands‑on Dayforce experience to join the internal project team and work closely with their external implementation partner.

This is not a BAU payroll processing role. We are looking for someone who understands payroll from a systems and technical perspective and can represent payroll requirements throughout the Dayforce project.

The first phase will focus on approximately 750 corporate employees, with further phases to follow.

The Role

You will join an established project team that includes an Executive Project Manager, Project Manager and Payroll SME, working closely with the external Dayforce implementation team.

Depending on your experience, your involvement is likely to include:

• Acting as a key Dayforce payroll resource throughout the project
• Working with the project team and implementation partner to understand and validate payroll requirements
• Providing technical Dayforce knowledge from a payroll perspective
• Supporting payroll data mapping, migration and validation
• Assisting with system configuration reviews and identifying potential payroll impacts
• Supporting testing, including system, parallel and UAT activities
• Validating payroll calculations and outcomes within Dayforce
• Identifying issues and working with the relevant teams through to resolution
• Supporting the transition through implementation, go-live and stabilisation
• Working closely with payroll and project stakeholders throughout each stage of the implementation

About You

We are particularly interested in speaking with payroll professionals who have:

• Strong hands‑on experience with Dayforce Payroll
• Previous exposure to a Dayforce implementation or major Dayforce project
• Strong end‑to‑end Australian payroll knowledge
• A good understanding of how payroll requirements translate into payroll systems
• Experience with testing, data validation, reconciliations and/or system projects
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Confidence working with project teams, technical resources and external consultants
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

You may currently be working as a Payroll Systems Specialist, Payroll Systems Analyst, Dayforce Specialist, Senior Payroll Specialist, Payroll Project Specialist or Payroll Business Analyst - we're more interested in your Dayforce and payroll capability than your current job title.

What's on Offer

• 6-12 month contract
• Join a major Dayforce project from the beginning
• Work alongside an experienced internal project team and external implementation partner
• Initial phase covering approximately 750 corporate employees
• Sydney CBD location
• Initially 4-5 days onsite during the first few weeks, transitioning to approximately 3 days per week in the office

This is a great opportunity for someone who knows Dayforce Payroll inside and out and would enjoy applying that knowledge within a significant payroll transformation project.