Payroll Officer

Who are we? Lyka is an Australian founded pet wellness company that’s shaking up an outdated industry and paving the way for happier, healthier pets. Despite medical advancements, animal lifespans are on the decline. Today, the average pet only reaches 37% of their full potential lifespan and statistics have shown us that many suffer from dental disease, cancer, and obesity. Simply put, the status quo is not enough. As humans, we’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact fresh wholefoods can have on our health and wellbeing, and we believe our furry friends deserve the same. We're on a mission to do just that, starting with nutritionally balanced, wholefood meals delivered direct to doors around Australia. As the world’s most sustainable pet wellness company, we’re putting pets and our planet first - one bowl at a time. Today, we are proud to share we’ve served over 50 million meals to puppers and their parents across Australia, and this is just the beginning. Our vision is to create multiple nutritional products, adding disease prevention meals and supplements, and expand into new markets. Currently, we have a team of 250+ pet-obsessed people, and we're continuing to grow (yes, looking at you!). These carefully selected people are dedicated to building the next generation of technology and products to help empower pet parents to take control over their pet’s wellbeing. Our Mission The time we share with our pets is being cut short. Despite medical advancements, they’re getting sicker earlier. They’re dying prematurely. The industry has it backwards - prioritising treating symptoms instead of addressing the root cause. That’s where we come in. At Lyka, we take a preventative, holistic and personalised approach to pet care. We look at the full picture, factoring in the diet, lifestyle and environment of each individual animal. We don’t stop at symptoms, instead we dig for the root cause. We create nutrition plans unique to each pet, because it’s not just about living longer, but living well too. Our mission is to increase the lifespan of dogs and cats. The Role As Lyka’s Payroll Officer, you'll take full ownership of the end-to-end payroll function, ensuring our people are paid accurately and on time, while meeting all compliance and reporting obligations. You'll manage workflows across employees and third-party labour, drive operational excellence, and play a key role in labour cost management and gross margin analysis. Role responsibilities: Lead end-to-end payroll processing for all employee types (salaried and timesheet-based), ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance at every stage. Manage statutory obligations, including PAYG, Superannuation, Payroll Tax, and Single Touch Payroll submissions to the ATO. Ensure full compliance with employment regulations, including Fair Work, NES, modern awards, and contractual terms. Own payroll accounting deliverables including journals, month-end accruals, and reporting that feed into financial performance. Oversee 3PL labour compliance, managing weekly timesheets, verifying invoice alignment, and ensuring accurate vendor reporting. Drive gross margin labour cost insights by contributing to data transformation, workforce cost tracking, and cost centre allocations. Optimise payroll systems (e.g. Rippling, Deputy), championing automation, accuracy, and scalable workflows. Own and administer the Employee Share Scheme (ESS), including tracking, compliance, and reporting. Lead payroll audits by providing clear documentation, process insights, and system transparency. Identify and implement continuous improvements; deliver data-driven insights to support payroll accuracy, compliance, cost control, and operational decision-making. Requirements 2+ years’ experience in end-to-end payroll processing, ideally within a high growth or complex labour environment. Strong working knowledge of Australian payroll legislation, Fair Work compliance and single touch payroll. Experience with cloud-based payroll platforms (e.g. Rippling, Deputy, Xero or similar), proficiency in Excel, and comfort working with reporting tools and reconciliation templates. Detail obsessed with strong analytical and reconciliation skills; a strong sense of ownership and accountability for accuracy, outcomes and process integrity. Organised, with the ability to meet recurring deadlines while also handling ad hoc requests. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, where initiative and cross-functional collaboration are key! Proactive and curious mindset, with a drive to automate and improve processes. Commitment to confidentiality and discretion in handling sensitive information. Benefits Work in a fast-growing start-up, experiencing what goes behind the scenes to sustain hyper-growth for a start-up with a physical product! Growth and Development – Lyka is growing extremely quickly, which means you will have the opportunity to experience different challenges every day and progressively acquire more responsibilities as our facility and team expands. We provide an annual L&D budget for you to continue your personal development. Work for a sustainability focused company - we care about the health of our dogs and our planet. We’re proud to be Australia’s only carbon-negative and plastic-negative pet company and we’re always looking at ways for us improve sustainability practices. Be part of a diverse top talent team, coming from widely different backgrounds and geographies. Up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave top-up. Wellbeing assistance and tools to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing so you can do your best work. Hybrid working - 3 days per week in office. We have pet-friendly offices and industrial kitchens in Sydney and Melbourne. Onsite days are required during your onboarding. Pupper parent support to care for your furry friends - flexible arrangements for new pets, pet-friendly offices, discounts, and financial allowance for dog training & care to help them live their best life! We are committed to building inclusive and diverse teams Lyka is an equal opportunity employer devoted to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We celebrate diversity, are devoted to creating an inclusive environment for all staff and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application.