activpayroll
EMEA Payroll Operations Manager
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EMEA Payroll Operations Manager
Department
Operations
Employment Type
Permanent
Location
United Kingdom
Description
We’re looking for a driven and energetic Payroll Operations leader to take ownership of payroll delivery across EMEA, where payroll execution is delivered through trusted external partners and coordinated through our in-house teams based in both the UK and Dubai.
This is a high-impact leadership role at the centre of regional payroll operations — accountable for ensuring every payroll is accurate, compliant, and delivered with consistency and care across a complex, multi-country environment. You’ll combine operational control, partner management, and people leadership to drive excellence across the region.
On a typical day, you'll...
- Own payroll operations across EMEA, ensuring seamless delivery through our trusted payroll partner network
- Act as the senior point of accountability for payroll quality, accuracy, compliance, and employee experience
- Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with payroll partners, setting clear expectations and driving consistently high performance
- Lead and develop a team of Delivery Managers and payroll professionals across multiple locations, ensuring strong leadership, accountability, and execution
- Act as the senior escalation point for complex or high-impact payroll issues, ensuring swift resolution and the implementation of preventative controls
- Navigate complexity across multiple jurisdictions, proactively identifying and mitigating operational and compliance risks
- Use data, insight, and performance metrics to monitor outcomes, strengthen controls, and drive continuous improvement
- Drive standardisation and operational excellence across a diverse regional landscape, balancing consistency with local requirements
- Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders (including Finance, Contracts, and Payments) and external partners to ensure fully aligned payroll delivery
- Champion strategic initiatives that improve efficiency, service quality, and the overall employee and client experience
- Develop leadership capability within your team, fostering a culture of ownership, growth, and collaboration
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- You bring deep experience in payroll operations across multiple countries or regions, with a strong track record of delivering accurate, compliant payroll outcomes
- You’ve successfully led through others, including managing managers, and you’re comfortable developing leadership capability across distributed teams
- You thrive in complexity, quickly breaking down challenges into clear actions and structured solutions
- You are highly data-driven, using metrics and insight to monitor performance, identify risks, and continuously improve service delivery
- You build trusted relationships with ease, influencing internal stakeholders and external delivery partners to ensure aligned outcomes
- You have a strong continuous improvement mindset, always looking for ways to enhance controls, efficiency, and service quality
- You care about building high-performing, supportive team cultures where accountability, development, and collaboration are central to success
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