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Senior Payroll Manager – EMEA
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We are supporting a confidential search for an experienced Senior Payroll Manager – EMEA to lead and oversee payroll operations across multiple countries within Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
This opportunity is suited to a senior payroll professional with substantial multi-country EMEA experience, strong stakeholder and vendor management capabilities, and a proven track record in payroll governance, compliance, controls and service delivery. The successful candidate will take ownership of accurate, compliant and timely payroll delivery across the region while improving operational consistency, strengthening governance and supporting an excellent employee experience.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end payroll operations across multiple EMEA countries.
- Ensure payroll is processed accurately, compliantly and within agreed deadlines.
- Oversee regional payroll performance, including KPIs, SLAs, controls, service quality and issue resolution.
- Act as the senior escalation point for complex payroll matters, employee pay concerns, audits and compliance issues.
- Partner closely with HR, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Shared Services, IT and other internal stakeholders.
- Manage external payroll vendors and local payroll providers, ensuring clear accountability and consistent service delivery.
- Drive payroll process improvement, standardisation, automation and operational efficiency across the region.
- Maintain strong payroll governance, audit readiness, risk management and statutory compliance.
- Lead the investigation and resolution of payroll issues through root-cause analysis and sustainable corrective actions.
- Support regional and global payroll transformation, operating-model improvements and broader HR service-delivery initiatives.
- Identify emerging payroll risks and regulatory changes, ensuring appropriate actions and controls are implemented.
- Promote consistent payroll practices while accommodating country-specific legal and operational requirements.
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Required Experience
- 10 to 15+ years of progressive payroll experience, including significant responsibility for multi-country EMEA payroll operations.
- Strong knowledge of payroll regulations, statutory obligations, taxation, social security and employment-related requirements across multiple EMEA jurisdictions.
- Proven experience managing external payroll vendors, in-country providers or outsourced payroll partners.
- Experience operating within a complex, matrixed, regional or global organisation.
- Strong understanding of payroll controls, governance, compliance, audit readiness and risk management.
- Demonstrable experience improving payroll processes, service quality, standardisation and operational performance.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
- Experience working within a service-led environment governed by KPIs, SLAs, escalation procedures and performance expectations.
- Experience personally managing complex payroll escalations and ensuring issues are resolved accurately and sustainably.
Preferred Experience
- Experience within a multinational organisation with regional or global payroll responsibilities.
- Exposure to payroll system implementations, integrations, migrations or transformation programmes.
- Familiarity with HRIS platforms, payroll technologies, case-management tools and workflow-management systems.
- A recognised payroll qualification, such as CIPP, CPP, GPP or an equivalent regional certification.
- Experience supporting payroll vendor consolidation, operating-model redesign or shared-services transformation.
- Experience working across a combination of European, Middle Eastern and African payroll jurisdictions.
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Key Skills and Capabilities
- Strong multi-country EMEA payroll expertise.
- Excellent stakeholder, client and vendor management skills.
- Strong compliance, governance, controls and risk-management mindset.
- Analytical, solutions-focused and highly detail-oriented.
- Comfortable operating both strategically and hands-on.
- Strong communication, influencing and escalation-management capabilities.
- Able to manage competing priorities across multiple countries and stakeholders.
- Service-focused, with a strong commitment to payroll accuracy and employee experience.
- Able to lead change and establish consistent processes within a complex regional environment.
The Opportunity
This is a confidential opportunity for an accomplished payroll leader to take ownership of regional payroll delivery across EMEA. The role offers the opportunity to strengthen payroll governance, improve regional service delivery and contribute to wider payroll, HR operations and transformation initiatives within an international environment. Further information regarding the organisation and reporting structure will be shared with suitable candidates at the appropriate stage of the recruitment process.
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