Payroll Lead
Port Otago Group’s business comprises a regional container terminal, bulk port activities, cruise and property investment and development. We service South Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, working with customers to streamline their supply chains. Our culture is hands-on, safety focused and encourages continuous improvement.
Our diverse portfolio means there is always something on the go and as a business we are collaborative, fast-paced and always open.
About the role
We have an exciting opportunity for a Payroll Lead to join our People team on a permanent full-time basis in our award winning, vibrant Head Office in beautiful Port Chalmers.
Reporting to the Head of People, this role is responsible for leading the payroll function at Port Otago, which includes:
- Managing the end-to-end pay cycles (weekly, fortnightly, monthly and occasional manual pays)
- Ensuring all payroll processes are compliant with legislation and the terms and conditions of our multiple employment agreements (Individual and Collective)
- Providing timely and accurate payroll support and guidance to team members and leaders
- Preparing and submitting IR filings, managing ACC payments
- Acting as a super user of our payroll and time and attendance systems
About you
You’ll be a payroll guru, who is expert in what you do. You’ll leverage your experience to efficiently learn all things pay at Port Otago and while you’re learning you’ll be on the lookout for how we can improve our processes and systems.
You’ll be a master planner who is methodical, accurate and has exceptional attention to detail. But above all else you’ll have a great sense of humor, have a positive attitude, resilience in stacks and plenty of initiative.
To be successful in this position you will also:
- Have 5 – 10 years’ experience leading a payroll function within a complex environment in NZ
- Have a strong track record of providing accurate and timely payments
- Have a great working knowledge of The Holiday’s Act and remain up to date with changes in payroll legislation and best practice
- Have experience identifying and implementing process and system improvements to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of payroll
- Manage sensitive information with complete confidentiality
- Be a confident user of the MS office suite; especially excel
- Be thorough, but efficient, love problem solving and have high risk awareness
- Have plenty of initiative and comfortable to challenge the way we do things
What’s in it for you?
In return, you can look forward to working for a successful company which prides itself on continually striving to improve performance; this enables our people to make a contribution that makes a difference and for us to appropriately reward our people for their contributions.
You will also be entitled to comprehensive health insurance cover for you, your partner, and any dependent children, as well as a 7% employer superannuation contribution.
We also offer a raft of other benefits including but not limited to, free onsite parking, amazing Otago Harbour views from your desk, fruit boxes delivered weekly to our break areas, Nespresso machines onsite for your daily coffee fix, full uniform provided, and various wellness initiatives throughout the year.
Heads up:
- A full clean NZ Drivers licence is essential
- You must be able to pass Ministry of Justice, ACC checks and a medical which includes a drug and alcohol test as part of our recruitment process
- We complete random drug and alcohol testing
How do I apply?
If you have any questions about the role contact Leigh Carter, Head of People on 027 579 5063. Or if you’re ready to apply, applications need to be submitted online via our Port Otago Careers page. Please ensure that you include a cover letter and a copy of your up-to-date CV along with your application.
Applications close: 5pm, Friday 11 July 2025. Don’t delay as we will be shortlisting as applications come through.
