Senior Payroll Advisor

Archway Recruitment; Wellington; On-site; NZD 111,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

Archway Recruitment in Wellington seeks an experienced Senior Payroll Advisor for a focused two-month engagement, starting 28 September 2026. You will coordinate daily payroll activities and ensure timely fortnightly pay runs within a large national organisation.

You will mentor Payroll Advisors, handle complex processing queries, and provide trusted payroll advice while ensuring compliance with NZ payroll legislation and privacy requirements.

Qualifications

• Three+ years of payroll experience.
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end payroll processes.
• Understanding NZ payroll and employment legislation.
• Experience interpreting employment agreements and policies.
• Ability to resolve complex payroll queries.

Responsibilities

• Overseeing end-to-end fortnightly pay run processing.
• Checking payroll data, reporting and reconciliations.
• Processing appointments, salary changes, allowances, overtime, deductions and cessations.
• Completing manual calculations, including employee backpay.
• Providing advice on leave, statutory entitlements and employment agreements.
• Resolving complex payroll processing issues and escalating matters.
• Supporting quality assurance and maintaining payroll data integrity.
• Mentoring Payroll Advisors and coordinating team workflows.
• Ensuring payroll processes meet legislative, privacy and audit requirements.

Skills

Payroll processing

Excel

Attention to detail

Communication

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Payroll Advisor to join a large and complex national organisation based in Wellington. This is a short-term, two-month engagement providing essential cover while members of the payroll team are on leave, commencing on 28 September 2026.

About The Role

Working within an established payroll team, you will help coordinate daily payroll activities and ensure the smooth delivery of accurate and timely fortnightly pay runs.

This is a hands-on senior payroll position where you will manage complex processing queries, support Payroll Advisors and provide trusted payroll advice across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Overseeing end-to-end fortnightly pay run processing
• Checking payroll data, reporting and reconciliations
• Processing appointments, salary changes, allowances, overtime, deductions and cessations
• Completing manual calculations, including employee backpay
• Providing advice on leave, statutory entitlements and employment agreements
• Resolving complex payroll processing issues and escalating matters where appropriate
• Supporting quality assurance and maintaining payroll data integrity
• Mentoring Payroll Advisors and helping coordinate team workflows
• Ensuring payroll processes meet legislative, privacy and audit requirements

About You

You will be an experienced payroll professional who can quickly become productive in a complex environment. You will be confident working through detailed payroll issues while supporting colleagues and communicating clearly with stakeholders.

Ideally, You Will Bring

• At least three years of payroll experience
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end payroll processes
• A working understanding of New Zealand payroll and employment legislation
• Experience interpreting employment agreements, policies and conditions
• Confidence resolving complex payroll queries and processing issues
• Experience managing workflows and mentoring payroll team members
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills
• Strong numerical ability and excellent attention to detail
• Clear written and verbal communication skills

Most importantly, you must be available to start on 28 September 2026. Candidates requiring a four-week notice period will not be able to be considered for this assignment.

The Benefits

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Secure a focused two-month engagement within a large national organisation
• Apply your senior payroll expertise in a complex and varied environment
• Support an experienced payroll team during a critical period
• Take ownership of complex payroll processing and fortnightly pay runs
• Gain further experience within a substantial Wellington-based organisation

You must have the right to live and work in New Zealand to apply for this job.