Payroll Specialist

Build your future with ADG

ADG, an AtkinsRéalis company, is looking for talented Civil leaders ready to take the next step in their careers. As part of one of the world's largest engineering and project management firms, ADG offers the best of both worlds: the close-knit, collaborative culture of a respected Australian consultancy, paired with the global reach, resources and opportunity of an international leader.

With a team of over 250 engineers, ADG delivers landmark projects across Australia, spanning transport infrastructure, commercial and residential, tourism, defence and justice and land development. You'll work on genuinely meaningful work alongside specialists in structural, civil and infrastructure engineering, construction services and digital engineering

Purpose of the Role

Lead end-to-end payroll operations for ADG Engineers, ensuring accurate, compliant and timely payroll delivery.

Act as the payroll subject matter expert during the transition to a new payroll platform.

Support the broader AtkinsRéalis Australia payroll transformation agenda and help establish consistent payroll processes across multiple Australian subsidiaries.

Partner closely with Finance, People & Culture, IT and external vendors during system implementation and business integration activities.

Key Responsibilities

Own and manage the payroll function for ADG Engineers.

Ensure compliance with Australian payroll legislation, Modern Awards, Enterprise Agreements, payroll tax, superannuation, STP and employment obligations.

Lead payroll data cleansing, migration, testing and cutover activities for the new payroll system implementation.

Represent payroll on project steering groups, workshops and implementation teams.

Develop scalable payroll processes, controls and governance frameworks suitable for a multi-entity environment.

Support harmonisation of payroll practices across AtkinsRéalis Australian businesses.

Manage relationships with software vendors, implementation consultants and outsourced service providers.

Produce payroll reporting, audits and analytics for management and regulatory requirements.

Identify automation and process improvement opportunities to reduce manual effort and risk.

Ideal Experience

7+ years payroll experience, including management of medium-to-large payrolls.

Demonstrated involvement in payroll software implementation, migration or transformation projects.

Experience working across multi-entity or multi-business payroll environments.

Strong understanding of Australian payroll legislation and compliance requirements.

Exposure to engineering, consulting, project-based or professional services businesses would be highly regarded.

Experience with Dayforce, ADP, Ascender, SAP, Workday or similar enterprise payroll systems preferred. (Dayforce has been identified as the preferred platform currently under consideration.)

Personal Attributes

Strong project management and change management capability.

Comfortable operating in a fast-paced transformation environment.

Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work with senior executives and corporate teams.

Process-oriented mindset with a focus on continuous improvement and automation.

Hands-on operator who can manage day-to-day payroll while contributing to strategic initiatives.

Longer-Term Career Opportunity

Opportunity to evolve into a Payroll Transformation Lead or National Payroll Manager role as AtkinsRéalis continues to integrate and standardise payroll operations across its Australian businesses.

Exposure to major systems implementation, M&A integration and operating model design activities.