Senior Payroll Officer

Looking for Philippines-based candidates

Job Role: Senior Payroll Officer (AU

Work Schedule: This role is expected to align with the AU business hours (approx. 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday to Friday) for collaboration

Compensation range: 3,300 to 3,800 AUD / Month

Contract Type: Independent Contractor Agreement with the possibility of transitioning to an Employer of Record (EOR) setup in the future; Remote; Full-Time

Who We Are:

At Hunt St, we help Australian companies hire top remote talent in the Philippines. For this role, you will be engaged directly by the client as an independent contractor. We are not an outsourcing agency. All of our roles are 100% remote so you'll be able to work from home.

Who The Client Is:

This company is a trusted business solutions provider that supports organizations in managing their financial operations with precision and efficiency. They combine innovative technology with professional expertise to help businesses streamline bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and advisory functions. Their mission is to empower clients to make informed financial decisions by providing clear insights and reliable support from a team of experts.

With a strong presence across Australia and New Zealand, they serve a wide range of industries, from startups to established enterprises, ensuring that every client receives tailored solutions that fit their growth stage. Their collaborative culture, commitment to excellence, and modern approach to finance make them a leading partner for businesses seeking long-term stability and scalability.

Role Overview: 

The Senior Payroll Officer plays a critical leadership role in ensuring the seamless, accurate, and compliant delivery of payroll services at scale. This position oversees the full operational workflow, driving excellence across accuracy, timeliness, quality assurance, and customer experience. You will lead a growing team of payroll specialists, mentor talent, and enhance processes to support a high-performing and scalable payroll function.

In this role, you'll be the operational backbone of the payroll team, taking ownership of end-to-end workflow management, SLA performance, and escalation handling. You will champion quality and process improvements, conduct root-cause analysis, and deploy preventive solutions to maintain consistency and operational integrity. As the business evolves, you will also play a key part in shaping a more automated, tech-enabled payroll delivery model by collaborating closely with Product, Engineering, Customer Success, and other cross-functional partners.

This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, excels at building structured systems and scalable operations, and has a strong technical foundation in payroll—preferably across AU and NZ. If you're passionate about elevating standards, developing people, and transforming operations through innovation and automation, this role offers the opportunity to help build the future of modern payroll delivery.

Key Responsibilities: 

Operational Leadership

• Own end-to-end payroll workflow delivery to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and compliance
• Monitor, manage, and enforce SLAs, proactively identifying and resolving capacity risks
• Oversee escalations and complex customer issues, ensuring high-quality outcomes

Quality & Process Excellence

• Implement and continuously refine robust quality control practices with our Process & Quality team
• Lead root-cause analysis, document findings, and implement preventive solutions
• Maintain and enhance standard operating procedures and knowledge assets

Scaling & Transformation

• Build and optimise scalable onboarding processes to reduce key-person dependency
• Act as the technical payroll SME as we transition toward a marketplace and tech-enabled delivery model
• Partner closely with Product & Engineering to improve workflows, automate manual tasks, and unlock efficiencies

People Leadership

• Develop, mentor, and upskill payroll specialists to maintain high performance
• Support hiring, onboarding, and capability development across the payroll team

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Customer Success, Implementations, and Quality to continuously improve service delivery
• Provide insights and operational feedback to influence roadmap and strategic priorities

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in payroll leadership, with a strong track record in operational delivery
• Demonstrated ability to execute efficiently while maintaining high-quality outcomes at scale
• Strong focus on accuracy, compliance, and consistency across all payroll processes
• Experienced in building and optimizing scalable systems, workflows, and operational structures
• Deep knowledge of payroll operations and compliance, ideally across Australia and New Zealand
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to think strategically and design effective end-to-end systems
• Comfortable working closely with product and engineering teams to improve tools, automation, and overall efficiency
• Motivated to contribute to the evolution of a modern, tech-enabled payroll delivery model

Bonus Points:

• Have experience transitioning teams to marketplace, BPO, or distributed delivery models
• Have implemented or enhanced payroll platforms and automation
• Have worked in a startup or high-growth environment
• Have experience across multiple payroll systems and regional compliance environments

Work Arrangement & Expectations:

This is a remote role that will be set up via an Employer of Record (EOR) service.

To ensure alignment and transparency, successful candidates will be expected to:

• Be available for meetings and collaboration during core [AEST or PHT] business hours
• Disclose any existing ongoing roles or client work
• Reflect this engagement on their LinkedIn profile