Senior Manager, Payroll – EMEA

Jobtailor; Greater London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking an experienced leader to run end-to-end payroll operations across EMEA, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. You will manage, coach, and develop the EMEA payroll team while coordinating with HR, Finance, and vendors.

The role emphasizes governance, compliance with SOX, tax, audit, and country-specific requirements, with hands-on Workday usage and a drive for continuous improvement using LEAN or Six Sigma methods.

Qualifications

• Substantial payroll and HR operations experience.
• People leadership capability.
• Hands-on knowledge of Workday or a comparable payroll platform.
• Analytical and detail-oriented approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations across EMEA, ensuring timely and accurate payroll.
• Manage, coach, and develop the EMEA payroll team.
• Oversee payroll processing with Workday and external providers, including quarter- and year-end activities.
• Maintain payroll governance, processes, controls, and compliance with SOX, tax, audit, and local regulatory requirements.
• Provide expertise on stock option taxation and country-specific requirements.
• Partner with HR, Finance, business leaders, and payroll vendors to resolve issues and maintain operational alignment.
• Deliver recurring payroll reporting, ad hoc analysis, audit documentation, and controls testing support.
• Identify opportunities to standardize, automate, and improve payroll processes across EMEA.
• Report to the Global Payroll Director.

Skills

Payroll operations leadership

People leadership

Analytical thinking

Communication across levels

Tools

Workday

Payroll platforms

Job description

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations across EMEA, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time
• Manage, coach, and develop the EMEA payroll team
• Oversee payroll processing through Workday and external payroll providers, including quarter-end and year-end activities
• Maintain payroll governance, policies, processes, internal controls, and compliance with SOX, tax, audit, and local regulatory requirements
• Provide expertise on stock option taxation, payroll exceptions, and country-specific requirements
• Partner with HR, Finance, business leaders, and payroll vendors to resolve issues and maintain operational alignment
• Deliver recurring payroll reporting, ad hoc analysis, audit documentation, and controls testing support
• Identify opportunities to standardize, automate, and continuously improve payroll processes across EMEA
• Report to the Global Payroll Director

Requirements

• Substantial payroll and HR operations experience
• People leadership capability
• Hands-on knowledge of Workday or a comparable payroll platform
• Analytical and detail-oriented approach
• Ability to manage competing priorities
• Ability to communicate effectively across organizational levels
• Experience in a shared services environment would be valuable
• Experience with continuous improvement, LEAN or Six Sigma methods, and automation would be valuable

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in payroll operations management across EMEA, with a strong focus on compliance, process improvement, and team leadership. Proficient in utilizing Workday for payroll processing and reporting while ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Payroll Operations Management
• Workday Proficiency
• People Leadership
• Continuous Improvement
• Compliance with SOX

Hard Skills

• Payroll Processing
• Payroll Governance
• Stock Option Taxation
• Analytical Skills
• Detail-Oriented Approach

Soft Skills

• Effective Communication
• Team Development
• Problem-Solving
• Prioritization

Industry Keywords

• EMEA Payroll
• HR Operations
• Shared Services
• LEAN
• Six Sigma
• Internal Controls
• Audit Compliance

Tools & Technologies

• Workday
• Payroll Platforms