Payroll Manager

McCormick; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

McCormick seeks an experienced Payroll Manager to oversee payroll operations across the EMEA/NA landscape. This senior role focuses on operational excellence, governance, and stability within a multi-country SAP payroll environment.

You will coordinate across HR, Finance, IT, and Total Rewards, ensuring compliance and high service levels while providing escalation support and backup coverage for UK payroll when needed. Fluent English and strong leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of progressive payroll experience in complex multi-country environments.
• Experience with integrated payroll systems; SAP knowledge is a plus.
• Strong leadership presence and influencing capability.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and coordinate payroll operations across multiple SAP payroll countries within EMEA, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and consistency of execution.
• Act as senior escalation point for complex payroll issues and cross-country operational challenges.
• Provide backup support for UK payroll coverage when required.
• Support payroll activities outside EMEA when necessary, including oversight or coordination for North America and South Africa.
• Provide expertise on complex payroll cases or processes (e.g., profit-sharing calculations, complex regulatory updates).
• Monitor payroll KPIs, service levels, and operational performance across countries.
• Identify operational risks and ensure continuity of payroll execution across assigned geographies.
• Ensure documentation, audit readiness, and adherence to company policies and local legislation.
• Support internal and external audits as required
• Collaborate closely with HR, Finance, IT, Total Rewards Teams to ensure alignment, effective stakeholder management, and high service standards

Skills

Fluent English

Leadership

Payroll management

SAP knowledge

Education

Degree in Finance/Accounting/Business Administration

Tools

SAP

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to oversee payroll operations across EMEA/NA landscape. This senior-level role will ensure operational excellence, continuity, governance, and technical stability across a multi-country SAP payroll environment. The position requires deep operational expertise, multi-country payroll coordination, and management of high-impact payroll activities within an international environment.,

Operational Responsibilities

• Oversee and coordinate payroll operations across multiple SAP payroll countries within EMEA, ensuring a curacy, compliance, and consistency of execution.
• Act as senior escalation point for complex payroll issues, and cross-country operational challenges.
• Provide backup support for key payroll roles within the region (including UK payroll coverage when required).
• Support payroll activities outside EMEA when necessary, including oversight or coordination for North America and South Africa
• Provide expertise on complex payroll cases or processes (e.g., profit-sharing calculations, complex regulatory updates).
• Monitor payroll KPIs, service levels, and operational performance across countries.
• Identify operational risks and ensure continuity of payroll execution across assigned geographies.
• Ensure documentation, audit readiness, and adherence to company policies and local legislation.
• Support internal and external audits as required
• Collaborate closely with HR, Finance, IT, Total Rewards Teams to ensure alignment, effective stakeholder management, and high service standards

Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field.

8-12+ years of progressive payroll experience in complex, multi-country environments.

Strong leadership presence and influencing capability.

Proven experience managing payroll across EMEA; exposure to North America is a plus.

Experience working with integrated payroll systems; SAP knowledge is a+

Experience handling payroll escalations.

Fluent in English.

Key Competencies

• Advanced Payroll Operational Expertise
• Multi-Country Payroll Coordination
• Strong Payroll Systems Knowledge (SAP experience is a plus)
• Complex Issue Resolution & Escalation Management
• High Attention to Detail & Accuracy
• Strong Collaboration & Cross-Functional Communication
• High Level of Confidentiality & Professional Integrity