Workday Payroll Lead in Melbourne

Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world.

Through Transformation Powered by Workday, we help HR and Finance define their strategy, technology and approach to become agile, strategic advisors that drive critical business outcomes and revenue. By automating day-to-day tasks, organizations can better align to business strategy and ensure that the right skills and resources are available when they are needed.

The Opportunity

As a member of one of the world’s largest Workday-certified teams, you’ll be part of a team of advisory professionals who deliver more than just technology. You’ll deliver integrated source to pay solutions that put organizations on the fast track to a better way to work.

• Assess, strategize and manage Workday deployments for organisations across the globe.
• Design and deliver future-ready Workday solutions to help organisations optimise their Finance functions and enhance their employees’ experiences.
• Join more than 3,200 professionals certified in Workday, collaborating to drive enterprise-wide transformational projects on a global scale.
• Expand your Workday skills and advance your career with unparalleled training and professional development opportunities.

Role Summary

As a Workday Payroll Lead, you will lead the design, implementation, and delivery of Workday Payroll solutions for clients. You will act as a trusted advisor, driving payroll transformation initiatives while managing teams, engaging senior stakeholders, and contributing to business growth.

Key Responsibilities

Delivery & Solution Leadership

• Lead end-to-end Workday Payroll implementations and transformations, from solution design through deployment and hypercare.
• Own solution architecture and payroll process design, ensuring alignment with client business and compliance requirements.
• Oversee configuration of payroll elements (earnings, deductions, taxes) and ensure data integrity, validation, and reconciliation.
• Govern payroll testing strategy (SIT, UAT) and ensure quality delivery outcomes.
• Execute parallel payroll testing and co-ordinate remediation with customer payroll teams.
• Manage the migration of the payroll solution into a production environment.
• Support the payroll team with the transition onto the new payroll solution and the operational changes they will need to make.

Stakeholder & Client Management

• Act as the primary client interface for payroll workstreams, building strong relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Facilitate workshops and advise on payroll leading practices, transformation strategy, and optimisation opportunities.
• Provide governance, escalation management, and risk mitigation across engagements.

People Leadership

• Lead and mentor cross-functional delivery teams (functional, integration, and testing).
• Drive team performance, capability development, and Workday Payroll knowledge uplift.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and retention of Workday talent.

Sales & Business Development

• Support sales pursuits, proposals, and RFP responses for Workday Payroll opportunities.
• Contribute to solutioning, effort estimation, and commercial modelling.
• Identify and drive add-on opportunities within existing clients (e.g., payroll optimisation, extensions, AMS services).
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders (e.g., Workday practice leads, sales teams) to grow pipeline.

Practice & Capability Development

• Contribute to ANZ Workday Payroll practice growth through asset development, accelerators, and reusable solutions.
• Stay current with Workday Payroll product updates and legislative changes.
• Support internal training, certification, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

Key Skills & Experience

• Extensive experience in Workday Payroll implementations and delivery leadership OR extensive experience in Australian Payroll implementations on other core Payroll solutions.
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end payroll processes and compliance frameworks.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale transformation programs and client engagements.
• Experience managing integration and data migration activities in complex environments.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in pre-sales and solutioning.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Workday Payroll Certification (highly preferred).
• Degree in HR, Finance, IT, or related discipline.
• Proven consulting experience in a client-facing environment.

Nice to have

• Multi-country payroll deployment experience.
• Exposure to Workday HCM modules (Core HCM, Time Tracking, Absence).
• Knowledge of AU/NZ payroll legislation and compliance requirements.
• Experience working with third-party payroll providers and integrations.

Mandatory Requirements

• Australian Citizenship with current or ability to gain Baseline Security Clearance.

Accenture Benefits

To view our Progressive Employee Benefits covering Health, Wellbeing, Progressive Leave Options, Sustainability click on the link below.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement for Australia

At Accenture, we recognise that our people are multi-dimensional, and we create a work environment where all people feel like they can bring their authentic selves to work, every day.