People Systems and Payroll Analyst

New Zealand Government; Wellington; On-site; NZD 77,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working culture

Extra paid leave between Christmas and

Relocation support

Job summary

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in Wellington is seeking a People Systems & Payroll Analyst to combine technical payroll expertise with data insights and strong customer service.

Reporting to the People Systems & Payroll Lead, you will own payroll processes, workforce reporting, remuneration analysis, and system improvements to support accurate pay and informed leadership decisions.

Qualifications

• Proven payroll experience within a complex organisation.
• Strong analytical, reporting, and information management skills.
• Experience producing reports, dashboards, and presentations for diverse audiences.
• Excellent problem-solving and high attention to detail.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Knowledge of NZ payroll legislation including Holidays Act.

Responsibilities

• Own payroll processes and ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Maintain and enhance HR and payroll systems for a great employee experience.
• Provide workforce reporting and remuneration analysis insights.
• Turn people data into meaningful insights for leadership decisions.
• Support continuous improvement of payroll and related processes.

Skills

Payroll experience

Analytical skills

Reporting & dashboards

Excel

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Tools

SAP SuccessFactors

MYOB PayGlobal

Job description

As New Zealand's environmental regulator, the work we do today helps shape the future of our tomorrow. Our purpose | To tatou kaupapa We are the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Aotearoa New Zealand's independent environmental regulator. Our role is important: to help protect our country's unique way of life by looking out for the health of its environment, its economy and its people.

Our kaupapa is about making the right decisions based on evidence, mātauranga, and science. At the EPA, we encourage big ideas and bold goals.

What we achieve today helps shape the future of New Zealand for generations to come.

Jump in the waka - make history with us.

About our group | Mō te roopu

The Corporate Services Group works in close partnership with the wider business to lead, support, and enable the EPA to achieve its strategic intentions and effectively and efficiently deliver its core functions.

There are five key functions within the Corporate Services Group. These are: Information Management and Technology, People and Capability, Communications and Customer, Finance and Business Services and Enterprise Projects.

People and Capability

Leads and delivers programmes of work, policies, and processes that support the EPA's strategic objectives and underpin organisational capability, capacity, and culture. The function oversees and manages the EPA's approach to recruitment, learning and development, employment relations, remuneration, performance management, and health and safety.

About the role | Mō te tūnga

This role is based in our Wellington office. While we're happy to consider work-from-home arrangements, this role is not designed for full-time remote working.

We're looking for a People Systems & Payroll Analyst who enjoys combining technical expertise, data-driven insights, and great customer service to make a real impact across the organisation. Reporting to the People Systems & Payroll Lead, you'll be the subject matter expert for payroll, people systems, workforce reporting, and remuneration analysis, helping ensure our people are paid accurately, our systems operate effectively, and our leaders have the insights they need to make informed decisions.

Key focus areas

• Payroll excellence - ensuring payroll processes are accurate, compliant, efficient, and continuously improved.
• People systems - maintaining and enhancing HR and payroll systems to support a great employee experience and reliable business processes.
• Workforce analytics and reporting - turning people data into meaningful insights that support organisational decision-making.
• Remuneration and workforce analysis - providing modelling, benchmarking, and analytical support for remuneration and workforce initiatives.
• Continuous improvement - identifying opportunities to automate processes, improve data quality, and increase operational efficiency.

About you | Mōhou ake

We are looking for someone with a range of skills and experience - if you have some or all of the below, we would love to hear from you.

• Proven payroll experience within a complex organisation.
• Strong analytical, reporting, and information management skills, with the ability to turn data into meaningful insights.
• Experience producing reports, dashboards, and presentations for a range of audiences.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a high level of attention to detail.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of New Zealand payroll legislation, including Holidays Act compliance requirements.
• Ability to build effective relationships, influence stakeholders, and work collaboratively across teams.
• Experience with SAP SuccessFactors. (desirable)
• Knowledge of MYOB PayGlobal. (desirable)

What's in it for you | Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou

There are extra benefits to working at the EPA:

• flexible working culture
• three additional paid leave days between Christmas and New Years in addition to four weeks' annual leave
• $400 non-taxable payment to help you set up working at home
• An annual paid EPA Environment Day to support the community with environmental initiatives
• in-house Māori cultural capability building programme
• learning opportunities, including the annual EPA Symposium
• active and lively social club, and diverse groups and support networks
• EPA awards recognising individual and team effort
• relocation help for those moving to New Zealand from overseas.

Salary range

$77,045 - $115,567 per annum (midpoint $96,306).

This is the full salary range of the band, from 80% - 120%. Appointments will generally be made at or below the midpoint of this range, depending on skills and experience.

Applications close

5pm Tuesday, 1 September 2026

We will review applications as they are submitted and may begin our selection process prior to the end of the application stage