About Us

The Perth Bears are Western Australia’s newest professional sporting club, set to join the NRL in 2027. As a high-performance organisation, we’re committed to building strong foundations on and off the field to ensure long-term success. Joining our team means being part of a rare start-up opportunity in elite sport, where your expertise will directly shape the future of rugby league in WA and help deliver a lasting legacy for our community.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a detail oriented Payroll Manager to lead the Perth Bears' payroll and benefits function, as a sole resource. Reporting to the Head of Finance, you'll oversee accurate and compliant payroll across employees, contractors and players.

As the Perth Bears continue to grow, this role will oversee a workforce of up to 200 people, with a strong focus on managing complex and highly individual payroll arrangements.

The role is highly complex, covering salary packaging, FBT, superannuation, awards and NRL salary cap-related payments. As a foundation hire, you'll also implement a new payroll system, migrate data, and establish the processes and controls that will support the club's growth. This is a unique opportunity to build a best-practice payroll function from the ground up in a new professional sporting club.

While this role is ideally full time, we welcome applications from experienced candidates seeking a reduced hours or part time arrangement. We are committed to finding the right person and encourage applicants to outline their preferred working arrangement as part of the application process.

What You’ll Do

• Own end-to-end payroll for all staff, players and contractors — accurate, compliant and on time, every cycle.
• Own the club's salary packaging and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) — structuring arrangements, applying the rules correctly, and calculating and reporting FBT.
• Manage pay and entitlements across every workforce category, each with its own terms — full-time, part-time, casual and support staff, and players across the Top 30, Development List, Train & Replacement and Pathways tiers.
• Apply your industrial relations expertise — Fair Work, the National Employment Standards, modern awards and enterprise agreements — to get every arrangement right.
• Administer employee contract benefits and support accurate NRL salary cap reporting.
• Manage superannuation and the correct engagement of casuals, volunteers, honorarium recipients and independent contractors, working with People & Culture and Finance.
• Select, implement and configure the club's new payroll system, and migrate our data with integrity.
• Support player contracting, player health insurance claiming, and the wider finance team as capacity allows.

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum of 5 years' experience in a payroll management position.
• A thorough, expert understanding of salary packaging and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) — this is essential, as you will own these arrangements end-to-end for a workforce of high earners.
• Hands-on payroll experience, ideally as a sole or lead practitioner in a complex, individually tailored (rather than high-volume) environment.
• Strong Australian payroll compliance knowledge — PAYG, superannuation, payroll tax, STP and leave entitlements.
• Strong award interpretation and industrial relations knowledge across the Fair Work framework.
• Experience implementing or transitioning to a new payroll system, including data migration.
• Meticulous attention to detail and absolute discretion with sensitive remuneration data.
• Experience with professional sport, player/athlete or high-earner payroll, and familiarity with the NRL salary cap, is highly regarded.

Why Join Us?

This is more than a job. It's a rare opportunity to help shape the future of the Perth Bears and build the foundations of a new NRL club.

You'll have the chance to build a best-in-class development system from the ground up and work within an ambitious, collaborative, and high performing culture. Most importantly, you'll leave a legacy on rugby league in Western Australia and help shape the next generation of Perth Bears talent.

Working in a Start-Up Environment

The Perth Bears are a start-up organisation in a critical foundation phase. Like other roles recruited to date, this position is intentionally hands-on and will initially operate with lean support structures.

The role will be fully accountable for establishing, delivering, and operating the function, while the club grows. This is not a role with layers of administration or inherited systems. You will be required to design processes, integrate technology platforms, build relationships, solve problems in real time, and deliver outcomes concurrently.

Success in this role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong personal accountability, and the ability to move seamlessly between strategic planning and day-to-day execution.

Important Information

This role is based in Perth, Western Australia and remote working opportunities are not available.

The Perth Bears are an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employees. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with disability.

Please note, the Perth Bears do not accept unsolicited applications or requests for employment sent directly to the Club. Only applications submitted through the advertised channels will be considered.

Applications will be reviewed as received, we encourage early applications, as interviews may commence prior to the advertised closing date, and the ad will be closed early should a suitable candidate be identified.

Not open to recruitment agencies.