Team Leader - Payroll & People Data

• Newly established Permanent role – make it your own!
• Full time role based in Wellington

The role | Te tūnga

This is not your typical payroll role.

Reporting to the Senior Manager – People Operations & Data, this role leads the end-to-end payroll function while shaping how payroll, systems, and people data come together to enable better business outcomes.

You’ll lead and grow a capable team, building technical depth, lifting performance, and embedding a strong culture of quality, ownership, and continuous learning.

As a key connection point with the business, you will work closely with leaders across People & Culture, Finance, and the wider organisation.

You will bring hands-on leadership to BAU payroll operations while stepping beyond BAU to lead improvements across people, process and technology.

This is a role where you can:

• Take ownership and operate with autonomy
• Influence how systems and processes evolve
• Leverage data and insights to support better decision-making
• Lead meaningful change across the organisation

This role would suit someone who has:

• Extensive payroll leadership experience
• Strong stakeholder and influencing skills
• Deep knowledge of NZ payroll legislation
• Strong HRIS and system optimisation capability
• A track record of continuous improvement
• Willingness to upskill and increase your cultural capability

What you bring | Nōu te rourou

We value transferable skills and diverse experience from a range of contexts, including outside formal employment.

We’re looking for someone who is curious, forward-thinking, and motivated to improve how things work.

About Us | Ko mātou

Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa is New Zealand’s National Statistics Office. Every day, our data and insights play a crucial role in decision-making at both local and national levels, directly affecting people’s lives. We aspire to guide, innovate, and shape New Zealand’s data system to deliver quality data with equitable access. We know that people are at the heart of what we do, welcoming different thinking, knowledge and life experiences and the wealth that diversity offers.

What’s in it for you? | Ngā hua ka riro ki a koe

Take a look at our Stats NZ careers site to learn more about our values, The way we work, and check out some of our benefits. These include:

• 37.5 hour work week
• 15 days sick leave allowance (to be used for yourself or people under your care)
• 3 extra leave days (taken during end-of-year office closure)
• Flu vaccines, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Visual and hearing health benefits, and corporate rates for a variety of services and products
• Genuine development opportunities (coaching, training, study support, secondments).

We want working for us to work for you, too.

Salary: $112,933 - $124,102 + KiwiSaver

How to apply | Me pēhea te tuku tono

Apply via our careers site by clicking ‘Apply now’. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, so we encourage you to apply early.

You may be asked to complete a short phone or video screening as part of the process.

If you require any accommodations, please let us know - we’re committed to making the process work for you.

For any questions, please reach out to recruitment@stats.govt.nz 

You must have a valid work permit or visa to live and work in Aotearoa New Zealand. Background and various pre-employment checks are part of our recruitment process.