Senior Payroll Specialist in Sydney

At Cotality, we are driven by a single mission—to make the property industry faster, smarter, and more people-centric. Cotality is the trusted source for property intelligence, with unmatched precision, depth, breadth, and insights across the entire ecosystem. Our talented team of 5,000 employees globally uses our network, scale, connectivity and technology to drive the largest asset class in the world. Join us as we work toward our vision of fueling a thriving global property ecosystem and a more resilient society. Cotality is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work culture that inspires innovation and bold thinking; it's a place where you can collaborate, feel valued, develop skills and directly impact the real estate economy.

We are seeking a payroll professional who is passionate about operational excellence and enhancing the employee experience to join our team. This is a strategic, yet hands-on role dedicated to delivering accurate, compliant, and exceptional payroll execution across Australia and New Zealand. As the dedicated in-country expert, you will balance the technical complexities of end-to-end payroll processing with a customer-focused approach, providing guidance on payroll matters, employee entitlements, and legislative requirements. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Global Payroll (with key alignment to the US Payroll Leader), you will serve as a trusted point of contact for employees, managers, and stakeholders throughout ANZ.

You will partner closely with colleagues across the global payroll and HR teams to deliver a seamless employee experience, from onboarding through offboarding, while supporting both monthly and fortnightly payroll cycles, maintaining data integrity, and driving continuous improvement in payroll systems and processes.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Assist with end-to-end processing of Australian and New Zealand monthly and fortnightly payrolls, ensuring high accuracy, compliance, and timely delivery.
• Execute complex payroll calculations and transactions, including pro-rata arrangements, bonuses, commissions, salary sacrifice, variable pay, terminations, and redundancies.
• Calculate and manage employee entitlements (e.g., Long Service Leave, Modern Awards, overtime) and verify hours via Time & Attendance systems.
• Manage statutory setup and filings, including Superannuation/SMSFs, WorkCover claims, Centrelink GPPL payments, Separation Certificates, STP reconciliations, and Inland Revenue submissions.
• Ensure full compliance with Fair Work, Award updates, ANZ tax regulations, and internal employment policies.
• Serve as an HRIS "Source of Truth," maintaining data integrity across Workday, Dayforce, and SharePoint to keep records audit-ready.
• Help design, test, and optimise payroll systems, calendars, workflows, and process documentation to drive operational efficiency.

Stakeholder Support & Service Delivery:

• Act as the dedicated in-country expert, answering employee Workday tickets within SLAs and providing clear guidance on payroll, leave, and policy matters.
• Partner with Global Payroll and cross-functional teams to deliver scheduled reporting and ensure a seamless employee experience from onboarding to offboarding.
• Assist leadership with ad hoc payroll initiatives, special projects, and Work Health & Safety (WHS) compliance obligations.

Job Qualifications:

What You Will Bring:

• 8+ years of end-to-end processing experience with strong knowledge of Fair Work, Awards, STP, Superannuation, AUNZ tax regulations, and Inland Revenue requirements.
• Proven skill in executing complex transactions, including pro-rata pay, bonuses, commissions, salary sacrifice, terminations, and redundancies.
• Meticulous attention to detail with high accuracy in data verification and maintaining HRIS system integrity.
• Exceptional written and verbal skills, with an approachable style that simplifies complex payroll advice and resolves employee tickets within SLAs.
• Strong organisational skills to manage competing deadlines and fast-paced priorities.

Preferred:

• Hands‑on experience with modern enterprise systems (Workday, Dayforce, SharePoint, and Time & Attendance tools).
• Background working as an in-country specialist within a global, matrixed HR and payroll function.
• Experience identifying workflow bottlenecks and assisting with payroll process optimisation.

Why Join Cotality?

Cotality has a culture of collaboration- we champion ownership, initiative and leadership! To support your whole self, our benefits are built to help you thrive at work and in life.

In addition to modern offices across Australia and New Zealand, our hybrid working model provides you with the opportunity for flexible working conditions that work best for you and the business; 10 half days of Wellbeing leave each year to help you recharge and access to our Employee Assistance Program; $600 AUD annual wellbeing allowance for gym memberships, wellness apps, ergonomic gear and more; Generous Parental leave offering, $750 AUD in Baby Bucks and our peer recognition turned into rewards program - Bravo! Free subscription to the Calm app as well as other mindfulness tools, online health and nutrition courses; Complimentary access to Australia’s most comprehensive property research platforms including RP Data and exclusive employee-only market updates and access to the industry’s best property experts; Two community and volunteer leave days each year to support meaningful causes and our charity partners.

Cotality's Diversity Commitment:

Research suggests some candidates may hesitate to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we still encourage you to apply! We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage women and underrepresented groups to apply. Cotality is fully committed to employing a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive work environment that embraces everyone’s unique contributions, experiences and values. We offer an empowered work environment that encourages creativity, initiative and professional growth and provides a competitive salary and benefits package. We are better together when we support and recognize our differences.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

Cotality is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace across Australia and New Zealand. We recruit, hire, train, and promote individuals based on merit, qualifications, and business needs, without regard to race, ethnicity, colour, national origin, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital or family status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and maintaining a drug-free workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying.