Payroll & Rewards Operations Lead

Digital Agency Jobs; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Digital Agency Jobs is seeking a Senior Payroll & People Operations Lead to oversee global payroll including Canada, USA, UK, and other regions. You will ensure accuracy, compliance, and timely processing while advising People & Culture leads on lifecycle events.

You will partner with Finance for GL reconciliations, audit readiness, and implement AI-enabled automations to streamline payroll and benefits. Experience with HiBob or other modern HRIS is highly valued.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive payroll and People Operations experience.
• 3+ years in a lead role within a fast-growing, global organization.
• Experience with Canada and USA payroll; UK and Chile are assets.
• Strong audit readiness and GL reconciliation track record.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day payroll administration and processing across multiple regions.
• Advise People & Culture leads on lifecycle events with complex payroll implications.
• Ensure payroll compliance and accuracy ahead of each cycle.
• Provide backup payroll processing to ensure on-time payroll.
• Collaborate with Finance on GL reconciliations and cost forecasting for payroll and benefits.
• Contribute to month-end close reporting and variance analysis.
• Manage global benefits programs and renewal strategies.
• Operate with HiBob and Deel; design workflows and automate where possible.
• Support audit readiness and respond to audit requests.
• Lead leave of absences processes and leave policy compliance.
• Drive data quality and onboarding processes through HRIS.

Skills

Leadership

Attention to detail

Stakeholder communication

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Tools

HiBob

Workday

Rippling

BambooHR

Deel

Oyster

Job description

RESPONSIBILITIES

Payroll Execution:

Oversee day-to-day payroll administration and processing, acting as an advisor to People & Culture Leads for life cycle events with complex payroll implications.

Take full accountability for overall payroll compliance and accuracy, validating all inputs and outputs across Canada, USA, UK, Chile, and EoR ahead of each cycle.

Provide backup payroll processing coverage to ensure uninterrupted, on-time payroll.

Monitor and improve data quality and speed when generating new employee profiles to seamlessly trigger the HRIS onboarding processes.

Partner with Finance to perform monthly general ledger reconciliations and ensure accurate accruals and cost forecasting for payroll and benefits-related expenses.

Collaborate on month-end close reporting, providing variance analysis and resolving discrepancies.

Total Rewards & Benefits

Serve as a subject matter expert across the global benefits programs (Canada, USA, UK, EoR), interfacing with benefits brokers, managing renewal dates, producing regular reporting and executing reconciliation processes.

Manage employee health benefits and retirement plan administration.

Collaborate with the People & Culture Director to evaluate benefit plan composition, utilization and renewal strategies.

Own total rewards communication and employee education programs that drive awareness and engagement.

Serve as the tier-2 escalation point for employee inquiry cases, resolving complex or sensitive issues.

Collaborate with People & Culture Leads to initiate, manage, and track leave of absences, aligned to global policy and compliance requirements.

Support recurring pay equity analysis in partnership with the People Operations Lead.

HRIS & Systems Administration:

Manage the day-to-day relationship with Deel, holding the vendor accountable for product enhancements and support levels.

Monitor day-to-day HiBob and Deel administration performed by People Operations Specialists, including regular data quality audits and ongoing system integrity monitoring.

Design and build HiBob and Deel workflow enhancements, administer complex edge-case scenarios, and leverage system data to deliver actionable Business Insights to leadership.

Support audit readiness and respond to internal and external audit requests with accurate, timely documentation.

Partner with People Operations and cross-functional teams to identify, design, and implement AI-enabled automations (e.g., using Claude) that streamline payroll, benefits, and HRIS processes, reduce manual effort, and improve data accuracy.

Analytics & Insights

Own the development and tracking of key People & Culture metrics, creating dashboards and data models that translate raw HRIS data into strategic analytics and insights for the global team.

REQUIREMENTS

7+ years of progressive experience in Payroll and People Operations, with at least 3+ years at a lead level within a fast-growing, global organization.

Experience with Canada and USA payroll (UK and Chilean experience an asset).

Proven track record of managing and supporting finance and payroll audits, ensuring accurate general ledger reconciliations and full audit readiness.

Proven experience administering payroll and total rewards across the employee lifecycle for a global employee base (compliance, benefits, and leave management).

High-ownership mentality with the ability to evaluate business opportunities and risks to make sound decisions independently and communicate to stakeholders.

Expert-level administration experience with HiBob (strongly preferred) or a comparable modern global HRIS (e.g., Workday, Rippling, BambooHR), including building complex workflows and automations.

Advanced proficiency with spreadsheets (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, Index/Match) with experience translating raw HR data into dashboards and executive insights (Google Sheets preferred).

Experience managing sensitive payroll escalations or complex leave/benefits cases with empathy and discretion.

Compliance and audit mindset, with a strong attention to detail to identify anomalies and investigate root cause ahead of audit cycles.

Fluent in Spanish an asset.

Nice to Have

Experience working in a global People & Culture team, supporting workers across many countries.

Familiarity with employer of record models and tools like Deel, Remote, or Oyster.

Exposure to DEI, wellness, or internal communication initiatives.

Hands-on experience using generative AI tools (such as Claude) to build or improve workflows, reporting, or process documentation.