Senior HR Officer in Canberra

Our client is a well-established, purpose-driven Commonwealth organisation undergoing a period of continued growth and development across its people, systems and service delivery functions. The organisation plays an important role in delivering services to communities across Australia and is committed to building a capable, inclusive and high-performing workforce. You’ll join a collaborative People team where integrity, accountability, service excellence and continuous improvement are highly valued.

The Opportunity

This is a great next step if you’re ready to be the go-to person for complex HR and payroll matters while helping the people around you grow. As a Senior People Officer, you’ll play an important role in the day-to-day delivery of the People Helpdesk, providing trusted advice and support across a broad range of HR and payroll matters. You’ll manage more complex enquiries, undertake quality assurance, support operational priorities and become a key source of knowledge for colleagues across the team. The role also offers the opportunity to step beyond transactional HR and payroll work. You’ll coach and support APS4 team members, develop and improve procedures and knowledge resources, identify recurring issues and contribute to system, process and service improvements.

For an experienced HR or payroll professional who enjoys solving problems, sharing knowledge and being relied upon for getting the detail right, this is an opportunity to broaden your experience while making a meaningful contribution to the employee experience.

The Role

Reporting to the Assistant Director, People Helpdesk, you’ll deliver high-quality Tier One HR and payroll support and act as a senior point of expertise within the team. You’ll be:

• Providing Tier One HR and payroll support to employees, managers and stakeholders, resolving enquiries accurately and within agreed service standards.
• Managing and resolving complex payroll and HR enquiries within established delegations, escalating high-risk or specialised matters as needed.
• Processing and validating payroll transactions, including variations and allowances, leave, terminations and final monies, long service leave, parental leave, personnel file transfers and insurance statements.
• Undertaking quality assurance and peer review of payroll transactions to ensure accuracy, compliance and data integrity.
• Supporting the Team Leader with workload management and operational priorities, and provide on-the-job coaching to APS4 team members.
• Developing and maintaining Knowledge Base Articles, Standard Operating Procedures and work instructions.
• Identifying recurring issues and trends, and contribute to process improvements, projects and system enhancements.
• Liaising with specialist HR teams, Aurion support and external stakeholders, and help train staff and managers in Aurion self-service and payroll processes.
• Maintaining accurate records to support audit, compliance and reporting, ensuring work complies with legislation, enterprise agreements and policy.

The Ideal Person

You’re an experienced HR and payroll professional, ideally from the Australian Public Service or a similarly complex environment, who is comfortable owning the tricky cases and sharing what you know. You combine a sharp eye for detail with a coaching mindset, and you’re always looking for ways to make the next pay run smoother than the last. You’ll bring the confidence to manage more complex enquiries and interpret policies, procedures and industrial instruments to provide practical and accurate advice. You’ll be someone who takes pride in getting the detail right, understands the importance of payroll data integrity and can identify when an issue needs to be escalated. Just as importantly, you’ll enjoy working as part of a team and sharing your knowledge with others. You’ll be comfortable coaching less experienced colleagues, providing constructive guidance and contributing to a positive team culture. You’ll have strong organisational and stakeholder skills, allowing you to manage competing priorities while maintaining a high standard of customer service. A proactive and improvement-focused mindset will be important. You’ll be someone who doesn’t simply identify a recurring problem but asks 'how can we make this work better?' and is willing to contribute to the solution.

Salary / Rate

$88k – $96k + 15.4% Super 6-month non-ongoing with options to extend