Senior Payroll Manager

Xero; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Xero is seeking a Senior Payroll Manager for the APAC region to lead payroll operations across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. You will drive accuracy, governance, and efficiency, partnering with finance and people teams to support scalable, compliant payroll services.

You will champion automation, reduce manual processes, and enable seamless data flow between Workday and our payroll engines while navigating evolving legislation.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of Australian payroll legislation (Fair Work rules, superannuation).
• Proven ability to lead and coach payroll teams.
• Interest in automation and systems integration to reduce manual work.

Responsibilities

• Lead APAC payroll operations and governance.
• Partner with People Experience and Finance teams for end-to-end delivery.
• Stabilise and optimise Ramco payroll system to reduce issues.
• Prepare systems for payday super legislation and evolving regulatory requirements.
• Implement automated data flows between Workday and payroll engines.

Skills

Payroll governance

Leadership

Automation

Systems integration

Australian payroll legislation

Tools

Ramco Payroll

Workday

Job description

The role / impact

As the Senior Payroll Manager for the APAC region, you will lead the operational excellence of our payroll function, ensuring precision and efficiency for our people across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Working closely with the GM of Payroll, you will navigate a rapidly changing legislative landscape to ensure every deliverable meets the highest standards of compliance.

The role / impact

As the Senior Payroll Manager for the APAC region, you will lead the operational excellence of our payroll function, ensuring precision and efficiency for our people across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Working closely with the GM of Payroll, you will navigate a rapidly changing legislative landscape to ensure every deliverable meets the highest standards of compliance.

Your focus will be on moving the team away from manual data entry and toward a sophisticated validation model by leveraging automation and AI. You will play a vital role in championing payroll governance and strategic regional growth, ensuring our processes remain robust as we continue to scale as a global SaaS company.

The Team / How They Connect

You will lead a capable and diverse team of payroll professionals across Melbourne and New Zealand, fostering a culture of coaching, empowerment, and psychological safety. This role acts as a critical partner to our People Experience and Finance teams, ensuring the end-to-end employee journey is supported by timely and accurate information.

The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on

• Stabilising and refining the recently implemented Ramco payroll system to eliminate teething issues and improve process effectiveness.
• Preparing our systems and people for the transition to 'payday super' legislation and other evolving Fair Work and ATO requirements.
• Implementing automated integration solutions, potentially using AI, to streamline data flow between Workday and our payroll engines.
• Enhancing process documentation and issue registers to drive maturity and reduce recurring operational bottlenecks.

Where And How You Can Work

We embrace a hybrid working model that balances the flexibility of remote work with 'boost days' in the office to collaborate, connect, and nurture our team culture.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

• You bring a deep understanding of Australian payroll legislation, including Fair Work rules, long service leave, and superannuation requirements.
• A natural ability to lead and coach other leaders, with a focus on human-centric management and supporting team growth.
• You possess a mindset geared toward automation and systems integration, looking for ways to use technology to solve complex manual challenges.
• Experience navigating the fast-paced environment of a global organisation, ideally within the SaaS or technology sector.
• Your communication style allows you to distill intricate technical payroll or tax information into clear, actionable insights for diverse stakeholders.
• You value partnership and collaboration, building strong relationships across Finance and People teams to ensure seamless delivery.