Head of Finance Payroll - Multi-Entity Transformation

Salix Recruitment; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Salix Recruitment is seeking an experienced Head of Department: Finance - Payroll to lead a high-impact payroll function across multiple entities in South Africa. You will combine technical payroll accounting with strategic leadership to ensure accurate processing, controls and service delivery.

You will manage a sizeable team, drive system transformations, and partner with HR and Finance to optimise payroll outputs while staying compliant with tax and statutory requirements across all entities.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in large-scale payroll operations.
• 5+ years managing multiple legal entities and payrolls.
• Experience leading a payroll team of 8–12 employees.
• Expert knowledge of remuneration structuring, tax implications and payroll legislation.
• Experience with African and expatriate payrolls.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end payroll across multiple entities and payrolls.
• Implement and maintain robust payroll controls and reconciliations.
• Ensure PAYE, IRP5 and third-party deductions compliance.
• Drive payroll systems optimisation and digitisation initiatives.
• Lead onboarding, setup and integration of new payrolls from acquisitions.
• Oversee payroll reporting and analytics for decision-making.
• Governance, data privacy and audit support for payroll.
• Lead and develop the payroll team with a culture of excellence.

Skills

Multi-Entity Payroll

VIP Payroll

Sage 300 People

Advanced Excel

Taxation & Compliance

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

Systems Transformation

Education

Degree in Payroll, Finance or Accounting

BCom Honours or equivalent

CA(SA) / ACMA / ACCA membership

Tools

VIP Payroll

Sage 300 People

Kronos

Job description

Salix Recruitment is seeking an experienced Head of Department: Finance - Payroll to lead a high-impact payroll function across multiple entities in South Africa. You will combine technical payroll accounting with strategic leadership to ensure accurate processing, controls and service delivery.

You will manage a sizeable team, drive system transformations, and partner with HR and Finance to optimise payroll outputs while staying compliant with tax and statutory requirements across all entities.