6‑Month Contract | Artarmon - Hybrid
Chandler Macleod is partnering with a large organisation delivering a critical Australian payroll transformation. We are seeking an experienced Payroll Project Manager to lead the end‑to‑end implementation of a new payroll platform delivered via an external vendor.
This is a six‑month contract (April to September) with a strong focus on delivery certainty, stakeholder leadership, and payroll domain expertise. The role operates in a remote‑first environment with occasional attendance in Sydney for key project milestones if required.
About the Role
As Payroll Project Manager, you will own the delivery of a complex Australian payroll implementation from planning through to go‑live and hypercare. You will act as the primary point of accountability across internal business teams and the payroll vendor, ensuring milestones are met, risks are managed, and payroll accuracy and compliance are achieved.
This role requires a strong leader with proven payroll implementation experience and hands‑on exposure to either Frontier (Chris21 / iChris) or Ceridian Dayforce. You must be comfortable engaging senior stakeholders across HR, Finance, Payroll, IT, and external vendors in a fast‑paced delivery environment.
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning and Delivery
- Lead the full lifecycle delivery of an Australian payroll implementation
- Develop and maintain the integrated project plan aligned with the payroll vendor
- Manage scope, milestones, sequencing, dependencies, and resourcing
- Identify delivery risks early and drive corrective action
- Establish and maintain robust governance and delivery cadence
- Own RAID management including risks, actions, issues, decisions and dependencies
- Provide clear, concise reporting to senior stakeholders and SteerCo forums
- Ensure delivery evidence meets stage‑gate and go‑live criteria
- Act as the primary interface with the payroll implementation partner
- Monitor vendor delivery quality, timelines, and issue resolution
- Engage HR, Finance, Payroll, IT and business leaders to secure timely inputs and approvals
- Drive alignment between internal teams and vendor workstreams
- Oversee design validation, data readiness, testing, parallel runs and cutover planning
- Ensure Australian payroll compliance across tax, superannuation, awards and legislation
- Support change, training and communications activity where required
- Lead operational readiness and transition into BAU and hypercare
Essential Experience
- Proven experience delivering end‑to‑end payroll system implementations
- Hands‑on experience with Frontier (Chris21 / iChris) or Ceridian Dayforce
This is a mandatory requirement - Strong understanding of Australian payroll legislation and compliance
- Demonstrated success managing third‑party payroll vendors
- Excellent senior stakeholder engagement and communication capability
- Strong governance, reporting and RAID management skills
- Experience delivering SaaS‑based enterprise solutions
- PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent project management certification
- Experience working in complex or matrixed organisations
- Workday HCM experience or payroll integration exposure
- Experience supporting payroll transition into outsourced or shared service models
At Chandler Macleod, we are committed to fostering a diverse workforce where everyone is welcome. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, neurodiverse, people living with a disability and the LGBTIQA+ community.
You can read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion at https://www.chandlermacleod.com/diversity-and-inclusion.
