Payroll & Systems Manager

Payroll & Systems Manager at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. This is a permanent position with WFH flexibility – location flexible. Circa $175k + Superannuation + Salary Packaging.

The Payroll & Systems Manager is a key senior role in our People & Culture team, leading the end-to-end delivery of payroll services and people systems across Lifeblood. Blending payroll expertise with agile product ownership, this role drives innovation, ensures compliance, and creates a seamless experience for our people. As Product Owner for platforms including Chris21/HR21 and Humanforce, you'll lead a cross-functional team to streamline processes, unlock system value, and deliver practical, people-focused solutions. You'll bring deep knowledge of payroll legislation, HR operations, and agile ways of working to prioritise enhancements that align with our goals and meet statutory obligations such as PAYG, super and leave provisioning. Reporting to the Director of People & Culture Operations, you'll shape the strategic vision for payroll and systems, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement. You'll also work closely with ICT, P&C colleagues, business leaders and external vendors to ensure our systems are robust, scalable and user-friendly.

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of payroll services and people systems across Lifeblood.
• Act as Product Owner for platforms including Chris21/HR21 and Humanforce, leading a cross-functional team to streamline processes and deliver user-focused solutions.

• Extensive senior-level payroll experience (5+ years) in large or complex environments, including full end-to-end processing and strategic leadership.
• Advanced knowledge of payroll systems (Chris21 preferred), HRIS platforms (SAP SuccessFactors), and Time & Attendance systems (Humanforce), with experience in systems administration and process automation.
• Strong understanding of industrial awards, enterprise agreements, executive remuneration, and their application in payroll operations.
• Demonstrated success in leading system and process improvements, with a focus on compliance, automation, and user experience.
• Experience applying human-centred design principles and managing system incidents and service enhancements.
• Proven ability to lead and develop operational teams, balance priorities, and build a high-performance, collaborative team culture.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to navigate across all organisational levels.
• Excellent communication skills with high attention to detail and analytical capability.
• Up-to-date knowledge of payroll legislation, tax, superannuation, and compliance frameworks.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office and advanced data reporting and analysis.
• Demonstrated integrity, discretion, and commitment to confidentiality, quality, and continuous improvement.

This is a permanent position rotating between working from home and one of Lifeblood's Processing Centres. We are flexible on location (within Australia) and are open to conversations about what flexible work means for you.

Thrive in a diverse culture that cares for your wellbeing. Lifeblood is committed to diversity and inclusion, work/life balance and provides a generous salary packaging program, plus rewards such as discounts on insurance, groceries, food & beverage, department stores, travel, and more.

We move fast in recruitment and progress suitable candidates through the hiring process as soon as possible. We are a 2025 Circle Back Initiative Employer and commit to respond to every applicant. You'll hear from us with an outcome after your application has been reviewed and assessed. If selected, you'll be required to complete background checks and we'll help you through this process. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

For further details on this position, please contact Tayler at Please note we cannot accept applications via email; apply online instead.

This vacancy is being managed directly by Lifeblood's Talent Engagement team. We won't accept candidates from external recruitment agencies on this occasion.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Human Resources and Management

Industries: Hospitals and Health Care, Non-profit Organizations, and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing