Payroll Officer

JobSpace; Dunedin; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 84,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is recruiting for a payroll-focused role in Dunedin. The position offers the chance to extend payroll skills or start a career in payroll within a large health system.

The payroll team handles end-to-end processing for over 6,300 Southern employees across Otago, Southland and surrounding areas. This is a permanent full-time role, based at Wakari Hospital with hours 8.30AM–5.00PM, Monday–Friday.

Qualifications

• Experience with payroll or strong administration background and willingness to learn payroll.
• Familiarity with NZ Payroll legislation advantageous.
• Eligible to work in New Zealand.

Responsibilities

• Process end-to-end payroll for just over 6,300 Southern employees.
• Based at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin, working with Finance and administration teams.
• Ensure accuracy and timeliness of payroll processing and reporting.

Skills

Payroll skills

Administration

Attention to detail

Communication

Tools

DataPay

Payroll software

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Salary $80,186 - $83,884, depending on experience

This is an opportunity to extend your payroll skills or start a career in payroll.

With over 20 different collective agreements, and numerous individual employment agreements, we can provide you with the unique opportunity to grow and develop your Payroll skills in an environment that supports your existing skills.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

If you already have Payroll skills, this is an opportunity to grow and extend those skills. Alternatively, if you have a strong administration background and are keen to learn payroll, this is an opportunity to start at ground level and develop your skills.

Our payroll team is responsible for end-to-end processing payroll for just over 6,300 Southern employees, geographically located south of the Waitaki River and including Otago, Southland, Queenstown Lakes, and North Otago.

Our key focus is to provide a quality payroll service to our fellow colleagues. We stride for excellence in everything we do and are always open to new ideas on how to improve our service.

This is a permanent role, working 80 hours per fortnight (1 FTE), Monday to Friday, between the hours of 8.30AM to 5.00PM. The role is employed under Dunedin Hospital, however, will be based at the Wakari Hospital alongside other administration functions, including Finance. There is a staff cafeteria, and plenty of free onsite parking.

About the Team/Service/Location

Our team consists of 7 Payroll Officers and 3 Payroll Technical staff.

With nearly 6,300 employees, we are the Southern region's largest employer, which means the opportunities here are endless. Our main locations are Dunedin and Invercargill Hospitals, as well Oamaru and Queenstown Lakes, but we are spread across the region and service all parts of the community. Our work can be challenging, but we are up for it. We have a great team and we work hard to make a difference. We value integrity, innovation, respect and teamwork.

About You

We are looking for applicants who have:

• motivation, embrace change and are customer focused to work in a fast-paced environment,
• strong administration skills with meticulous attention to detail,
• proven ability to work self-directed within a small team,
• excellent written and oral communication skills,
• demonstrated ability to engage with and develop employees' skills around the use of new technology, when working with wide ranging levels of IT competency,
• proven ability to foster collaboration with stakeholders.

To succeed in this role, you will have an interest in payroll and working with Payroll/HRIS applications.

It would be advantageous if you have knowledge of NZ Payroll related legislation, experience with payroll systems and experience with using DataPay. However, this is not essential as training will be provided to the right candidate who has a strong administration background and is keen to develop their career in payroll.

The successful candidate must be eligible to work in New Zealand or hold a valid NZ visa at the time of applying.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.