Payroll Supervisor

About Harwell

Harwell Consulting take pride in our expertise as recruitment leaders in the Accountancy & Finance and Construction sectors. We have forged strong partnerships with the most prominent organisations throughout Southeast Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Our unwavering focus lies in finding exceptional talent and seamlessly placing individuals in key roles that drive success. At Harwell, we provide an individually tailored service that ensures your needs are always the priority.

The Company

A well-established and proudly Australian-owned business that delivers staffing services to the construction industry across Southeast Queensland. With a reputation for agility, personal service, and deep recruitment expertise, they support a wide range of client needs, from single placements to large-scale workforce solutions.

Their commitment to quality is embedded in accredited systems for Safety, Environmental, and Quality Management, and their team culture is collaborative, responsive, and built around long-term partnership outcomes. The business has a strong internal team with many longstanding staff members, creating a stable and supportive workplace culture.

The Role

Reporting to the Assistant Financial Controller, this newly created Payroll Supervisor role is pivotal to ensuring accurate and compliant weekly payroll delivery for a 400+ strong workforce. You'll work closely with two payroll/accounts assistants and contribute to ongoing payroll improvements and efficiencies across the business.

This is a role for someone who enjoys ownership, loves the details and thrives in a fast-paced, people-focused environment. The position also offers a genuine pathway toward becoming a Payroll Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end processing of weekly payroll for 400+ employees across multiple sites, working alongside two payroll & accounts assistants.
• Interpret and apply multiple complex EBA's, various modern awards, enterprise agreements, and Fair Work requirements.
• Review, approve and reconcile payroll inputs (including dockets, site allowances, classifications and cost centre allocations) with a strong eye for accuracy and governance.
• Set up and maintain new employees, job sites and allowances in payroll systems, ensuring integrity of master data.
• Communicate directly with site-based employees and clients to resolve payroll discrepancies, confidently explaining EBA entitlements, allowances and classifications.
• Generate, analyse and distribute payroll reports for senior management and finance, providing insights to support business decisions.
• Maintain payroll records and statutory compliance, including QLeave lodgement, superannuation and end-of-year reconciliations.
• Drive continuous improvement in payroll processes, systems and reporting, implementing efficiencies while maintaining high accuracy.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with the CFO, Assistant Financial Controller and finance team to ensure payroll integrates seamlessly with AP, AR and broader finance operations.

The Candidate

You'll be a proactive, detail-driven individual with experience in payroll operations (construction industry experience is advantageous but not essential). You're comfortable navigating awards, compliance, and high-volume environments, and you're eager to grow into future leadership opportunities.

You will bring:

• Prior experience in payroll administration
• A knack for systems and data accuracy
• A collaborative and team-first attitude
• Strong communication and query-resolution skills
• A can-do mindset with energy and professionalism
• Eagerness to grow (studying or working toward qualifications welcomed)

The Package

• Flexible work hours and early Friday finishes
• Immediate interviews and swift onboarding
• Long-tenured, welcoming internal team
• Mermaid Beach office location
• Fun team culture — EOFY, Christmas & birthday celebrations
• Fully stocked snack fridge

Interested?

If this role is of interest and you meet the above criteria, please send your up-to-date CV to 

At Harwell Consulting, we specialise in finding and placing Financial/Management Accountants, Group Accountants, Finance Managers, Financial Controllers, Business Analysts and CFO's. If this role isn't quite right but you'd like to discuss our other non-advertised roles, please get in touch