Senior Payroll Analyst - EMEA

TikTok; Greater London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading social media platform is seeking an experienced Payroll Assistant Manager to oversee payroll operations across EMEA. This full-time role, based in London, involves ensuring compliance and quality control in payroll processing, supervising a team and enhancing payroll frameworks. Candidates should have at least 5 years of payroll experience, especially in multi-country payroll environments, and be skilled in UK PAYE and statutory regulations. Strong coaching abilities are essential for team development.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years payroll experience.
• Familiarity with payroll vendor management.
• Experience with ADP transitions or similar systems.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end payroll delivery for assigned countries.
• Ensure four-eye review in all payroll processing stages.
• Coach Payroll Analysts to improve their performance.

Skills

Robust payroll control governance

Multi-country payroll oversight

Coaching and mentoring payroll team

UK PAYE and statutory payments knowledge

Problem-solving in payroll processes

Job description

TikTok is seeking an experienced Payroll Assistant Manager to support the operational delivery, quality control, and team capability development across EMEA payroll. This is a critical middle‑management role responsible for ensuring robust four‑eye controls, stabilising multi‑country payroll operations, and coaching/mentoring Payroll Analysts to deliver accurate and compliant payroll in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment. The role combines hands‑on payroll expertise, control governance, and people leadership.

This is a full‑time position based in London, Madrid, or Dubai.

Responsibilities

1. Payroll Delivery Oversight (Execution Excellence)
   • Oversee end‑to‑end payroll delivery for assigned countries (UK plus selected EMEA markets)
   • Ensure four‑eye review is consistently applied at all payroll processing stages
   • Perform deep‑Dive reviews during high‑risk cycles (annual bonus, RSU, mid‑year adjustments)
   • Act as escalation point for complex payroll cases
   • Partner closely with external payroll vendors
2. Control and Risk Governance
   • Maintain and enhance payroll control frameworks (checklists, M2M templates, variance thresholds)
   • Introduce structured exception reporting (e.g. bonus to leavers, unusual quarterly spikes)
   • Ensure documentation and audit readiness
   • Support root‑cause analysis for payroll incidents
   • Drive preventive control improvements, not just reactive fixes
3. People Leadership and Capability Building
   • Provide day‑to‑day supervision and coaching to Payroll Analysts
   • Review and uplift analysts’ input preparation quality
   • Identify skill gaps and implement refresher training (systems, reporting, statutory logic)
   • Support workload balancing across clusters
   • Build reviewer capability across smaller entities (avoid single‑point dependency)
4. Project and Transformation Support
   • Support payroll system implementations (e.g., ADP transition, APAAS, DMP integration)
   • Participate in UAT and process redesign
   • Ensure new system processes embed robust control gates
   • Translate operational lessons into scalable process improvements

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 5 years payroll experience
• Experience overseeing multi‑country payroll (EMEA)
• Strong understanding of UK PAYE, statutory payments, pensions, gross‑to‑net mechanics and payroll vendor management
• Demonstrated experience performing detailed payroll reviews
• Experience coaching or supervising payroll team members

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience during system transitions (e.g. ADP implementation)
• Experience in high‑growth or complex matrix organisations
• Exposure to bonus cycles, RSU processing, expatriate payroll
• Familiarity with audit processes