Payroll Governance and Transformation Lead (18m FTC)

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions.

The Payroll Governance & Transformation Lead, provides strategic leadership for the overall payroll governance programs and delivers the Payroll Transformation initiatives. This role oversees the Payroll Transformation Office, ensuring programme governance, tracking progress, and supporting initiative owners through stage gates from ideation to implementation. It strengthens payroll governance through robust knowledge management, risk and control frameworks, and drives the adoption of new technologies and a leaner payroll operating model that delivers accurate, timely compensation and exceptional employee experience. Optus People & Culture is committed to creating the best place to work. The Payroll & Governance team, part of Optus People Services & Delivery, comprises 20 professionals and leaders across Payroll Operations, Projects & Systems, Governance & Compliance, and Payroll Accounting. This newly created role leads the Payroll Governance & Transformation function, working closely with Payroll Governance Consultant, Compliance and Reporting Manager, Payroll Operations Manager, ensuring strong governance structures across end-to-end payroll operations, compliance, analytics, and change management. This function drives the Payroll Transformation Programme to uplift payroll function capabilities and embed a compliance mindset supported by fit-for-purpose tools and next generation payroll professionals.

What you’ll be doing

Payroll Governance

• Maintain comprehensive payroll governance frameworks and payroll risk-control universe.
• Strengthen payroll knowledge management through standard process flow, SOPs, checklists, wage code master data, and policy documentation.
• Deliver Spinifex (or equivalent) analytics-based monitoring and compliance tools in partnership with Compliance & Analytics Lead.
• Drive transformation and innovation, championing automation and digital solutions to enhance payroll process governance.
• Monitor and provide strategic advice on the governance of payroll strategic projects. Transformation Programme Leadership
• Oversee the Payroll Transformation Programme and ensure successful execution of initiatives.
• Lead the Transformation Office daily operations and reporting.
• Govern initiative progress through stage-gated implementation model and coach initiative owners from ideation to implementation.
• Scan for acceleration and value creation opportunities and coordinate across workstreams for prioritisation and decision making.
• Ensure benefits realisation across workstreams, measured by employee experience, payroll KPIs, and the adoption of Payroll “New way of working”

Stakeholder Engagement & People Leadership

• Build and maintain effective relationships with payroll and programme stakeholders at all levels.
• Set tone for the programme cadence and delivery.
• Lead, mentor, and influence cross-functional teams and external partners to achieve project outcomes

What makes you perfect for the role?

• Extensive leadership in transformation programmes/projects in a large corporate environment.
• Strong understanding of governance frameworks and risk management.
• Ability to communicate effectively at all organisational levels and influence stakeholders. Ability to translate between business and technical domains.
• Strong leadership and ability to motivate teams through transformation.
• Advanced project/change management skills, of complex, multi-stream initiatives;
• Consulting/vendor management experience preferred not essential.
• A good understanding of Australian Payroll Legislation: knowledge of payroll tax, superannuation, leave entitlements, and enterprise agreements.
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: Demonstrated ability to use data to identify issues, resolve discrepancies, and drive process improvements and compliance outcomes.

Optus is a place where we let you do you. 

• Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners.
• Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
• Vibrant and collaborative office campus that includes cafes, convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare centre.
• Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected’ days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you.
• We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks.
• Direct your own development and build future-ready skills with Optus U’s industry-focused micro-credentials, developed with La Trobe and Macquarie Universities.
• Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
• Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.
• Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon.

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive.

If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email AccessibleRecruitment@optus.com.au or call 1800 309 170. We're here to help. When you contact us, please advise your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch within 48 hours.

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity.