Payroll Specialist - ANZ Compliance (New Zealand)

About Rippling

Rippling streamlines business operations by integrating Human Resources, Information Technology, and Financial workflows into a single unified platform. This holistic approach consolidates essential systems such as payroll, expenses, benefits, and computer management, enabling seamless automation of the entire employee lifecycle.

The platform simplifies onboarding by allowing global hires to be set up quickly with payroll, corporate cards, hardware, benefits, and approved third-party applications like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds. Headquartered in San Francisco, Rippling is backed by notable investors and recognized by Forbes as one of America's top startup employers.

Role Overview

As Rippling expands its Global Payroll service in New Zealand, it is launching a dedicated compliance oversight function to ensure adherence to local regulations, particularly in anticipation of compliance updates targeted by 2028. The Payroll Specialist for ANZ Compliance will act as the compliance control layer, directly reviewing payroll activities for Rippling’s New Zealand clients to mitigate risks linked to legislative requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct detailed reviews of payroll amendments submitted by New Zealand customers before processing.
• Identify affected records including terminations, various types of leave, public holidays, and payroll spanning multiple periods.
• Manually validate and recalculate payroll figures where necessary, covering termination payments, KiwiSaver deductions, PAYE overrides, and ESCT tax rates.
• Review annual leave rate calculations, especially in complex scenarios with unpaid or parental leave and multiple pay periods.
• Supervise legislated and customized paid leave, assessing leave-related system calculations and applying manual corrections where automation does not suffice.
• Manage compliance monitoring for sick leave policies, casual employee pay-as-you-go obligations, and accrue public holiday allowances appropriately.
• Communicate proactively with customers regarding any compliance risks and maintain detailed documentation of manual calculations for audit purposes.
• Assist with escalation resolutions and serve as the primary compliance liaison for assigned customers, reporting under NZ Compliance leadership.
• Extract payroll data for compliance analysis using Excel, identify systemic issues, and collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to close compliance gaps and enhance reporting.
• Contribute to the development of audit-ready mitigation frameworks to maintain compliance until product solutions are implemented.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• At least five years of practical experience managing New Zealand payroll functions with comprehensive expertise in NZ payroll legislation.
• Strong understanding of the Holidays Act 2003, including ordinary weekly pay calculations, average weekly earnings, termination scenarios, and complex leave entitlements.
• Proficiency in KiwiSaver processes, including Employment Superannuation Contribution Tax (ESCT) handling.
• Competence in PAYE administration related to employee termination.
• Experience designing and managing leave entitlement policies and tracking anniversary-based leave entitlements.
• Advanced skills in Excel for data extraction, validation, and analysis of payroll data.
• Exceptional attention to regulatory detail and ability to identify and mitigate payroll compliance risks.
• Effective communication skills for direct customer engagement and cross-departmental collaboration with Compliance, Product, and Engineering teams.
• Proven ability to document manual intervention processes thoroughly for audit compliance.

Success Metrics

• Achieving zero regulatory non-compliance incidents for assigned customers.
• Minimizing payroll-related customer escalations.
• Maintaining clear and consistent records of manual payroll interventions.
• Establishing and upholding an audit-ready environment via mitigation frameworks.
• Improving payroll oversight and reducing recurring manual adjustments over time.
• Positive customer satisfaction and feedback scores.

Additional Information

Rippling is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity across all facets of employment. The company prohibits discrimination based on legally protected characteristics and strives to accommodate candidates with disabilities throughout the hiring process. Reasonable accommodations can be requested as required.