Senior Manager - Payroll Advisory

BDO; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

BDO Australia is seeking a Payroll Consultant to join our growing payroll compliance team in Melbourne. You will support clients by assessing underpayments against Industry Awards and Enterprise Agreements, and lead reconciliation projects to identify and remediate gaps.

The role involves working across multiple stakeholders, analysing data in Excel/Power BI and guiding clients through governance, risk mitigation and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary degree/qualification.
• Demonstrated strategic leadership and contribution to service development.

Responsibilities

• Address payroll compliance and reconciliation matters across awards and EBAs.
• Review reconciliation tool design and implementation.
• Organise stakeholder meetings and manage client relationships.
• Develop junior staff and support payroll transformation initiatives.
• Advise on payroll governance and risk mitigation.

Skills

Payroll compliance

Excel

Power BI

Alteryx

Project management

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Relevant tertiary degree

Job description

We’re BDO, a global professional services firm connected to local markets. Our people work together to provide specialist expertise, helping businesses achieve their goals.

We inspire others, to go further. We create together, to reach higher. We build trust, to lead purposefully.

Whether you're building your future or starting your career with us, you won’t do it alone. From creating solutions for our clients to building careers for our people, we shape what matters, and that’s where you come in.

About The Role

Our Payroll Consulting team is an exciting, fast-paced, ever-changing and growing environment. As employers discovered the difficulties in maintaining compliance with their Industry Award or Enterprise Agreement, and Underpayments became apparent, the need for this service grew. Criminalisation has brought even higher focus to the importance of this area. We assist clients with understanding whether they are at risk of underpaying their employees in line with the relevant Industry Award or Enterprise Agreement, and calculate those underpayments through historical reconciliations.

Key Responsibilities

Work across all aspects of payroll compliance projects, focused on Award & EBA employee underpayment reviews and reconciliation, including:

• Address matters relating to payroll compliance, industry awards, data cleansing, and reconciliation modelling
• Review of reconciliation tool design, build and implementation (using excel and other platforms)
• Create, maintain and monitor project plans, schedules and tasks (in alignment to frameworks)
• Organise and attend stakeholder/client meeting, manage client relationships
• Key Client Contact – build and seek new relationships with target clients and advisors
• Ownership of Projects and tasks to completion
• Implementation of Continuous Improvement and Growth initiatives
• Develop junior staff
• Support clients with payroll transformation initiatives, including process redesign and control implementation.
• Advise on payroll governance framework and risk mitigation strategies

Skills Required

• Highly proficient in Excel, Alteryx, Power BI or similar platform
• Project management or coordination experience — especially in multi-stakeholder or cross-border environments. Committed to the successful delivery of projects and outcomes
• Proactive attitude / Uses Initiative
• Analytical/forensic thinker
• Problem Solving and decision-making skills
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, fostering trust and collaboration with both clients and internal teams
• Ability to multi-task
• Detail-oriented mindset
• Experience with payroll compliance / pay remediation projects
• Understanding of payroll controls and transformation methodologies
• Good knowledge and understanding of pay compliance landscape
• Awareness of Fair Work legislative updates and regulatory reforms
• We are looking for an individual that is interested in learning and developing, willing to give and receive feedback and bring a positive, self-motivated approach to the role.

Qualifications And Experience Required

• Relevant tertiary degree/qualification
• Demonstrated strategic leadership and contribution to service development.

Why BDO?

Working for BDO you will be part of a growing and market leading professional services firm.

Our national and global footprint provides our people with opportunities to work on interesting client engagements, across diverse industry sectors and services.

Our open and collaborative culture ensures access to Partners and professional mentors, to guide and accelerate your professional career, across a wide array of career pathways.

We provide our people with various health and wellbeing, social, financial, and professional development benefits to help realise what’s possible.

Participate in fitness challenges or take advantage of exclusive discounts to corporate health insurance, gym memberships and wellness facilities via our BWell program. Access benefits such as travel perks, retail discounts, employee referral rewards, study, and professional development support.

Our leave options cater to the unique needs of our people; and include enhanced family support, cultural and religious leave, and options to purchase additional leave. You can also give back and get involved in community initiatives via our BCaring program.

With a strong focus on learning and growth, we provide on the job training and formal development programs to help you succeed in your role and develop your skills and experience.

Our culture is underpinned by our core values (One, Bold, Human, Heart and Strive).

We are proud to be recognised as an Inclusive Employer for 2025-2026 by Diversity Council of Australia and a 2024-2025 Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

BDO is committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment practices.