Payroll Governance Consultant

Optus; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discounts

Flexible work arrangements

Parental leave up to 16 weeks

Job summary

Optus is seeking an experienced Payroll Governance Consultant to join our Payroll & Governance team. This role focuses on governance, compliance, controls, reporting and continuous improvement beyond processing.

You will drive payroll governance, conduct audits, analyze data, investigate discrepancies, and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure audit readiness and standards across the Australian payroll landscape.

Qualifications

• Experience in payroll governance, compliance, audit, risk management, reporting, or payroll operations.
• Strong knowledge of Australian payroll legislation, including awards, enterprise agreements, superannuation and taxation requirements.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret payroll data, identify issues and drive effective resolutions.
• Proficiency in Excel and enterprise payroll systems such as SAP ECP or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

• Drive payroll governance and compliance activities, aligning processes with laws and org requirements.
• Conduct payroll audits, control testing and data analysis to identify risks and improvement opportunities.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, perform root cause analysis and coordinate resolutions.
• Monitor payroll reporting, metrics and governance registers to provide actionable insights.
• Support payroll transformation initiatives and system enhancements to boost efficiency.
• Collaborate with Payroll, Finance, Employee Relations, Technology and People & Culture to strengthen governance.

Skills

Payroll governance

Compliance

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Tools

Excel

SAP ECP

Job description

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions.

As we continue to strengthen our payroll governance and compliance capability, we're looking for an experienced Payroll Governance Consultant to join our Payroll & Governance team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a payroll professional who enjoys looking beyond processing and is passionate about governance, compliance, controls, reporting, and continuous improvement. You'll play a key role in helping ensure payroll processes remain compliant, effective, and employee-centric while supporting the ongoing uplift of payroll governance across the organisation.

What You'll Do

• Drive payroll governance and compliance activities, ensuring payroll processes, controls and documentation align with legislative and organisational requirements.
• Conduct payroll audits, control testing and data analysis to identify risks, exceptions and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, perform root cause analysis and partner with stakeholders to deliver timely and effective resolutions.
• Monitor payroll reporting, compliance metrics and governance registers, providing actionable insights to support informed decision-making.
• Support payroll transformation initiatives, system enhancements and testing activities to improve operational efficiency and control effectiveness.
• Collaborate with Payroll, Finance, Employee Relations, Technology and People & Culture teams to strengthen governance frameworks and ensure audit readiness.

What Makes You Perfect for the Role?

• Experience in payroll governance, compliance, audit, risk management, reporting, or payroll operations.
• Strong knowledge of Australian payroll legislation, including awards, enterprise agreements, superannuation and taxation requirements.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret payroll data, identify issues and drive effective resolutions.
• Proficiency in Excel and enterprise payroll systems such as SAP ECP or similar platforms.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and present insights clearly.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, with experience supporting continuous improvement, controls testing, audits and payroll transformation initiatives.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners.
• Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
• Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected' days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you.
• We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks.
• Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
• Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 - in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.
• Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon.

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying 'yes' to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email ***************@optus.com.au or call 1800 309 ***. We're here to help. When you contact us, please advise your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch within 48 hours.

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity

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