APS6 Team Leader 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.

This is your chance to lead a People Helpdesk team and put your stamp on how HR and payroll services are delivered to a national workforce. As Team Leader, you’ll lead a team responsible for delivering timely, accurate and high-quality HR and payroll support to employees and managers. You’ll oversee workflows, allocate and monitor work, provide guidance on complex matters and act as the first point of operational escalation for the team. The role combines people leadership with hands-on HR and payroll expertise.

You’ll oversee payroll processing and quality assurance, support the team with Aurion, coach and develop team members, and work closely with specialist areas to ensure employees receive consistent and practical advice. You’ll also have the opportunity to influence how the service operates. From improving Standard Operating Procedures and Knowledge Base Articles through to identifying recurring issues and supporting system and process changes, your experience and ideas will directly contribute to improving the employee experience.

For an experienced HR/payroll professional who enjoys leading people, solving problems and making services work better, this is an opportunity to have genuine ownership and influence.

The Role

Reporting to the Assistant Director, People Helpdesk, you’ll lead the day-to-day operations of the People Helpdesk and make sure HR and payroll services are accurate, timely and compliant. You’ll be responsible for:

• Planning, prioritising and allocating team workflows, monitoring progress to ensure effective ticket management and timely resolution of enquiries.
• Leading the delivery of Tier One HR and payroll support, and act as the first operational escalation point for the team.
• Overseeing the processing and validation of routine and complex payroll transactions, including Aurion variations, terminations, leave portability and entitlements, parental leave, insurance statements, personnel file transfers, final monies and long service leave.
• Quality checking payroll transactions and data before finalisation, and monitor data integrity in Aurion, escalating systemic or high-risk issues.
• Coaching, supporting and monitoring the performance and workloads of team members, and provide regular operational updates to the Assistant Director.
• Delivering Aurion training and guidance to staff, including timesheets, leave and payroll forms.
• Tracking and analysing common queries and work with subject matter experts to develop clear, consistent Tier One responses.
• Developing and reviewing SOPs, including updates from Enterprise Agreement changes, and quality assure SOPs and KBAs written by colleagues.
• Identifying process improvements and support the rollout of new payroll processes, system changes and organisational initiatives.
• Ensuring work complies with legislation, industrial instruments, ATO and superannuation requirements, and maintain records to support audit.

The Ideal Person

You’ll be an experienced HR and payroll professional with experience leading a team or operational function in a complex environment. You’ll bring strong knowledge of payroll, employment conditions and HR processes, with the confidence to resolve complex matters and provide practical advice. Experience within the APS, Commonwealth Government or another regulated environment will be highly regarded, as will experience with Aurion or a similar HRMIS.

You’ll understand the importance of payroll accuracy and data integrity and be comfortable interpreting legislation, industrial instruments, policies and complex payroll information. As a leader, you’ll be collaborative, supportive and confident setting expectations, managing priorities and coaching team members. You’ll balance operational delivery with a focus on identifying trends, improving processes and strengthening service delivery.

Strong communication skills and sound judgement will enable you to build trusted relationships across the People function and with external stakeholders. Most importantly, you’ll bring professionalism and a genuine commitment to delivering a quality employee experience.

Salary / Rate

$99k – $111k + 15.4% Super 6-month non-ongoing with options to extend.