Payroll Manager

Pūmanawa Tangata | People and Culture
Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

• Leadership opportunity on a full time, fixed term basis (12 months)
• Lead payroll for a large, complex and purpose-led organisation
• Based on campus
• Support a capable and cohesive team through BAU delivery and meaningful systems change
• 37.5 hours per week

Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!
He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Payroll Manager? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.

Āu Mahi | What You Will DoThe University of Canterbury is looking for an experienced Payroll Manager to join its People and Culture team on a 12-month fixed-term basis, covering parental leave. This is an opportunity to step into a highly visible leadership role within a large, values-led organisation where accuracy, trust and service delivery are critical. With a workforce of approximately 4,000 - 4,500 people, including permanent, fixed-term and casual staff, UC's payroll environment is busy, complex and central to the smooth running of the University.
 
Leading a team of around 10 payroll specialists and support staff, you will provide the steady, confident leadership needed to keep BAU payroll delivery running well, while supporting the team through a period of change. Alongside BAU, UC is progressing a significant HR and finance systems project, including the implementation of Workday. While this role is not responsible for leading that project, it will sit close to the change. You will be working in the current PeopleSoft environment, helping the team stay focused, supported and ready as the organisation moves toward a new system future.

Reporting to the Director, People and Culture, you will lead a capable payroll team and take responsibility for the quality, compliance and performance of the payroll function.
 
This role will suit someone who enjoys the balance of technical payroll leadership, people leadership and operational problem-solving. You will be joining a supportive People and Culture environment, leading a close-knit team that knows its work well and needs someone who can bring clarity, confidence and momentum.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading, supporting and developing the payroll team
• Ensuring accurate and timely fortnightly payroll delivery
• Overseeing payroll compliance, PAYE, audit and quality assurance requirements
• Managing payroll risks, controls, reporting and business continuity processes
• Supporting effective use of PeopleSoft and related payroll systems
• Working closely with People and Culture, Digital, Finance, auditors and external advisors
• Providing visible, practical leadership during a period of systems change

Mōu | Who You AreYou will be an experienced payroll professional who knows how important good payroll leadership is. You understand the detail, the deadlines and the compliance requirements, but you also know that successful payroll teams need trust, structure and clear communication.
 
You may come from a large corporate, public sector, tertiary, health, local government, shared services or similarly complex environment. What matters most is that you can step in with confidence, build credibility quickly and lead a capable team without needing to reinvent everything on day one.

You will bring:

• Significant payroll experience within a large or complex organisation
• Proven people leadership experience
• Strong understanding of payroll legislation, PAYE, audit and compliance processes
• Experience with large payroll or HRMS systems, ideally PeopleSoft, Oracle, Workday or similar
• Sound judgement and strong problem-solving ability
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders
• A calm, practical and collaborative leadership style
• An alignment with our organisation's values and culture, promoting a positive and inclusive work environment

Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work WithWe recognise and value people as our most precious resource and the mahi undertaken in the People and Culture Team is the catalyst for positive changes in our organisation. Our Payroll Team are a bunch of dedicated professionals passionate about what we do, and we love to have fun while we do it. Check us out here.

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UCWe offer a range of benefits, for more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/work-at-uc/benefits-working-uc . *(*For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/ )

**The closing date for this position is: Sunday 23 August 2026 (midnight, NZ time)**Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place before the close date.

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.

Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to [email protected]

Please note, this is an onsite position.