Payroll Transition Lead at Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington City

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Job title: Payroll Transition Lead

Role type: Full time, 18-month fixed term

Location: Wellington preferred

Salary band & range: GSR D $100,934 to $135,076 depending on skills and experience

 

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

This role will lead the transition of our payroll and HR information processing from an outsourced model to a fully inhouse function. You will review the current state of HR processes from People Hub through to payroll, determine priorities, and guide the design of future processes that enable high-quality, accurate and sustainable inhouse delivery. Central to this work is the development of clear process documentation, including process flows, standard operating procedures, guides, templates, and forms.

 

A key part of the role is facilitating process design and redesign workshops, ensuring the team is equipped for what the future state requires. You'll coach and develop team members to strengthen their capability, supporting the shift from a transactional, administrative focus to a function that delivers high-value advice and support to the business. This is a leadership role without direct people management, requiring strong influencing skills, the ability to bring others on the journey, and the confidence to navigate a challenging environment where processes are still developing.

 

As we modernise our Human Resource Information System (HRIS), you'll work closely with the HRIS project team to understand system configuration and use that insight to design new processes. This is an exciting opportunity to shape a major system implementation and contribute to building an in‑house payroll function from the ground up. Your work will be highly visible, high impact, and critical to our HRIS modernisation programme.

 

In this role you will:

• Lead the transition from outsourced to in‑house payroll and HR information processing
• Review current state processes and identify priorities for redesign
• Facilitate process design and redesign workshops with a future-focused lens
• Create and maintain process documentation (process maps, SOPs, templates, forms)
• Coach and upskill team members to support the new operating model
• Provide workstream leadership and independently drive key pieces of work
• Apply technical payroll and HRIS expertise to support process improvement
• Collaborate with the project team to align payroll processes with new system capabilities
• Contribute to a major system transformation and help establish a new in‑house payroll function

 

About You - Mōu

You will bring senior-level payroll and HR operations expertise, with a deep understanding of New Zealand payroll legislation, compliance requirements, and audit expectations. Your background includes leading payroll transformation or system implementation work, supported by strong process mapping, redesign and internal controls capability. You'll be highly analytical, confident working with technical data, and experienced in building team capability through coaching, knowledge transfer, and clear documentation. Your ability to work independently, influence others, and support people through change will be essential to success in this role.

 

You'll be comfortable engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and navigating complex or unionised environments, ideally with experience in the public sector. You will have contributed to process improvement initiatives, delivered transitions or change programmes, and demonstrated strong judgement and resilience in challenging operational settings. You'll bring the confidence, credibility, and collaboration skills needed to help shape a future-focused inhouse payroll and HR information function.

 

 

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

You'll be part of the People Operations team, which brings together our HR Systems, People Hub, and Payroll teams. The role is highly connected; you'll regularly engage with the HRIS team and our existing payroll service vendor, as well as colleagues across the organisation. It's a genuinely collaborative and supportive environment where strong relationships, open communication, and shared problem‑solving are central to how we work.

 

About MPI - Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most trusted provider of high-value food and fibre products.

 

Benefits of working at MPI - Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua

• Additional MPI leave days
• Ability to purchase extra annual leave
• Annual Wellness payment

 

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/about-mpi/careers/working-mpi/benefits/

 

Are you ready to make a difference? - Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake?
We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whānau and hāpori.

 

We aspire to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to making Manatū Ahu Matua Ministry for Primary Industries a great place to work for all.

 

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes, and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

 

To view the position description and/or apply online, please click “APPLY FOR THIS JOB” or visit the MPI Careers Site. To apply, you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it – click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.

 

Applications close at 11.59pm 11 March 2026.

 

If you have any questions about the role, please email Sophie.Hallett@mpi.govt.nz 

 

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