Johannesburg: Financial Manager – Payroll

Financial Manager – Payroll | Johannesburg | Permanent Lead one of the most complex payroll environments in the country. This is an opportunity to take ownership of a large-scale payroll function where technical expertise, governance, and leadership are critical to business success. A leading national organisation is seeking a seasoned Financial Manager – Payroll to oversee the full payroll finance function across a large, multi-site workforce. Reporting to the CFO and managing a sizeable payroll team, this role carries responsibility for payroll governance, statutory compliance, systems integrity, audit readiness, and payroll reporting. The successful candidate will serve as the organisation’s authority on payroll legislation, employee tax, retirement funds, medical aid governance, and payroll-related regulatory matters. This position requires a highly experienced payroll professional with deep expertise in South African payroll legislation, SARS compliance, ETI, labour regulations, retirement funds, medical aid structures, and payroll systems management. A strong leadership capability is essential, as the role oversees a large team and drives continuous improvement across payroll operations. Our client is a well-established organisation operating across multiple regions with a large workforce and complex payroll requirements. They are recognised for their operational scale, strong governance standards, and commitment to compliance and excellence. What You’ll Do • Lead the end-to-end payroll function across all payroll cycles • Ensure payroll accuracy, compliance, controls, and governance standards • Manage payroll reconciliations, validations, reporting, and exception handling • Oversee SARS submissions, employee tax compliance, ETI administration, and statutory reporting • Act as the primary liaison with regulatory authorities and statutory bodies • Manage retirement fund and medical aid payroll integration and compliance • Provide strategic ownership of SAGE 300 People and payroll system integrity • Lead payroll audits, risk management, and corrective action initiatives • Drive payroll process optimisation, automation, and reporting enhancements • Develop and mentor payroll, finance, and time-and-attendance teams What You Bring • Relevant qualification in Finance, Accounting, Payroll, or a related discipline • Minimum 8–10 years of payroll experience with at least 3–5 years in senior management • Payroll Practitioner accreditation or equivalent payroll professional standing • Advanced expertise in SAGE 300 People • Strong knowledge of BCEA, EEA, ETI, labour legislation, bargaining council agreements, and SARS regulations • Proven experience managing complex payroll environments with multiple regulatory requirements • Expertise in retirement funds, medical aid governance, and payroll compliance frameworks • Experience with payroll audits, system migrations, and time-and-attendance systems • Strong leadership, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving abilities What Success Looks Like • Accurate and timely payroll processing across the organisation • Strong compliance outcomes with minimal audit findings or statutory penalties • Effective governance across payroll, benefits, and statutory reporting processes • Stable and optimised payroll and time-and-attendance systems • Enhanced reporting capability and payroll operational efficiency • Strong succession planning and institutional knowledge retention within the payroll function