Wellington | Permanent | Competitive Salary + Benefits
Are you an experienced Payroll Test Lead who thrives in complex enterprise environments and enjoys working directly with clients to deliver meaningful outcomes?
We're partnering with a leading New Zealand technology consulting and quality engineering organisation that is building a specialist testing team to support a significant government payroll transformation programme. This is an opportunity to combine your payroll implementation expertise with strong stakeholder engagement and consulting capability.
The Opportunity:
As Payroll Test Lead, you'll take ownership of the testing strategy and delivery across a large-scale payroll system implementation. Working alongside programme teams, vendors, payroll specialists, and business stakeholders, you'll ensure the solution is thoroughly tested, compliant, and ready for go-live.
This role is ideal for someone who can confidently operate in a client-facing environment, navigate complex stakeholder groups, and provide trusted testing leadership with minimal supervision.
Your role:
- Leading end-to-end payroll testing activities across the programme
- Developing and executing test strategies, plans, schedules, and reporting
- Coordinating SIT, UAT, payroll validation, parallel runs, and defect management
- Managing testing risks, issues, and dependencies
- Working closely with payroll teams, vendors, and business stakeholders
- Providing testing leadership and practical advice throughout the implementation lifecycle
- Building strong relationships and influencing outcomes across multiple stakeholder groups
- Supporting successful delivery of a critical government transformation initiative
- Proven experience leading testing for payroll system implementations
- Strong understanding of payroll processes, compliance requirements, integrations, and downstream impacts
- Experience delivering testing within large enterprise transformation programmes
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and consulting skills
- Strong planning, coordination, and delivery capability
- Ability to operate independently and proactively in a client environment
- Exceptional communication skills with both technical and business audiences
- Experience managing vendors, project teams, and business stakeholders
- Datapay and Workday Payroll experience
- Experience with enterprise HRIS or payroll platforms
- Previous consulting or professional services experience
- Permanent role with a respected technology consulting organisation
- Significant government programme with long-term visibility
- KiwiSaver + salary + Medical and Life insurance + Income protection cover
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Work alongside highly regarded testing and quality engineering professionals
- Genuine career development and leadership opportunities
“Talent Vault embraces diversity, we are members of Diversity Works . We believe an inclusive workplace that respects the diverse qualities, differences and values of its people, leads to innovation and brings great benefits to any organisation. We encourage Maori and Pacifica people to embrace a career in technology”
“Ka akiaki matou i te iwi Maori me te iwi Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ki te awhi i te mahi hangarau”