NZ Payroll Officer

Downer; Auckland; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional development programs

Flexible work arrangements

Parental leave

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Downer NZ is seeking a detail-oriented Payroll Officer to join the New Zealand Business Services Centre on a 12-month fixed term contract. You will support payroll operations, ensuring accurate and timely processing of wages and salaries in line with SLAs, legislation, and organisational standards.

Working in a collaborative payroll team, you will manage time entry, payroll processing, and stakeholder support, drive process improvements, and contribute to data integrity and compliance across

Qualifications

• Experience in payroll processing or high-volume data entry environments.
• Exposure to ERP systems such as SAP or JDE is desirable.
• Strong understanding of payroll processes, time entry, and employment agreements.

Responsibilities

• Process payroll for waged (fortnightly) and salaried (monthly) employees with accuracy and timeliness.
• Enter and validate timesheets, ensuring alignment with payroll cut-offs and compliance requirements.
• Interpret employment agreements and applicable payroll legislation.
• Maintain leave registers and support job/labour costing activities.
• Respond to payroll and time entry queries, partnering with stakeholders including Site Administrators, HR and Finance teams.
• Complete daily payroll checks and ensure data integrity across systems.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and support operational excellence within the BSC.
• Participate in team huddles and visual management activities.
• Support team members and contribute to a collaborative, high-performing environment.
• Ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and safety standards, including Zero Harm principles.

Skills

Payroll processing

High-volume data entry

Stakeholder engagement

Attention to detail

Tools

SAP

JD Edwards (JDE)

Job description

An opportunity is available for a detail-oriented Payroll Officer to join the New Zealand Business Services Centre (BSC) on a 12- Month Fixed Term contract basis. This role plays a key part in supporting payroll operations, ensuring accurate and timely processing of wages and salaries in line with service level agreements, legislation, and organisational standards.

Working as part of a collaborative payroll team, you will contribute to delivering high-quality outcomes across time entry, payroll processing, and stakeholder support, while driving continuous improvement in processes and systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Process payroll for waged (fortnightly) and salaried (monthly) employees with accuracy and timeliness
• Enter and validate timesheets, ensuring alignment with payroll cut-offs and compliance requirements
• Interpret employment agreements and applicable payroll legislation
• Maintain leave registers and support job/labour costing activities
• Respond to payroll and time entry queries, partnering with stakeholders including Site Administrators, HR and Finance teams
• Complete daily payroll checks and ensure data integrity across systems
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and support operational excellence within the BSC
• Participate in team huddles and visual management activities
• Support team members and contribute to a collaborative, high-performing environment
• Ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and safety standards, including Zero Harm principles

What You Will Bring

• Experience in payroll processing or high-volume data entry environments (shared services experience advantageous)
• Exposure to ERP systems such as SAP, JDE, or similar (desirable)
• Strong understanding of payroll processes, time entry, and employment agreements
• High attention to detail with a focus on accuracy and meeting deadlines
• Effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Ability to manage workload independently in a fast-paced environment
• Problem-solving mindset with a focus on continuous improvement
• Collaborative approach and commitment to delivering quality customer outcomes

Benefits Of Working with Downer

• Work with an ASX listed company, working with market leaders.
• Grow your career with us, we are passionate about giving our people opportunities to grow through personal and professional development and continuous learning:
  • Professional development programs
    • Access to professional memberships and industry networks
• Be part of a team that cares, we foster a work environment built on support that is flexible around our employee's wellbeing needs:
  • Flexible work arrangements
    • Parental leave
    • Employee Assistance Program
    • Programs promoting diversity and inclusion
• A range of Corporate Benefits, including:
  • Discounted services (car hires, hotels, insurance, retail stores, gyms)

Why Downer?

You want your work to matter and so do we. With over 26,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, our team is made up of individuals with unique perspectives, backgrounds, and ideas.

We know that diversity makes us stronger and we actively celebrate it through our commitment to inclusion and belonging.

We're committed to building a team that reflects the diverse communities we serve and we welcome people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, abilities, and lived experiences. We especially encourage applications from those whose voices have traditionally been underrepresented in our industry, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Māori and Pasifika Peoples, veterans, people with disability, and neurodivergent individuals. Even if your experience doesn't align perfectly with this role, we'd still like to hear from you. If it feels like the right fit, apply - potential counts, and so do you.

As a WORK180 Endorsed Employer, we support flexibility that works for your life, inclusive leadership that values your voice, and equitable access to opportunity so you can do your best work and bring your whole self to it.