Lead, Payroll – APAC (Japan Specialist)

Kyndryl; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Kyndryl is seeking an experienced Payroll Lead / Japan Payroll Specialist to provide operational leadership across Japan, India, and other APAC countries. You will lead end-to-end payroll, stay compliant with Japanese regulations, and collaborate with vendors and global stakeholders across APAC.

The role requires hands-on Japan payroll experience, strong Excel skills, and familiarity with Workday/SAP HCM/ADP.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Payroll Operations/Payroll Accounting.
• 5+ years hands-on Japan payroll experience.
• Business-level Japanese language proficiency.
• Strong knowledge of Japanese employment law, payroll taxation and social insurance.
• Experience with Workday, SAP HCM/ECP, ADP, or similar.
• Advanced MS Excel skills.
• Strong stakeholder and vendor management.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end gross-to-net payroll processing for Japan and APAC entities.
• Serve as SME on Japanese payroll regulations (Shakai Hoken, Koyou Hoken, Juminzei).
• Partner with third-party vendors and internal stakeholders as regional liaison.
• Perform payroll audits, reconciliations and control checks for accuracy.
• Support Workday, SAP HCM/ECP, ADP system enhancements and integrations.
• Collaborate with HR on separations, final settlements and offboarding.
• Drive process improvements and contribute to global payroll initiatives across APAC.

Skills

Japan payroll

Payroll operations

Vendor management

Workday

SAP HCM

Excel

Stakeholder mgmt

APAC payroll

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/HR

Tools

Workday

SAP HCM/ECP

ADP

Job description

Kyndryl is looking for an experienced Payroll Lead / Japan Payroll Specialist to join our team and provide operational leadership across Japan, India, and other APAC countries.

This role is ideal for a payroll professional with strong hands-on experience in Japan payroll processing, Japanese statutory compliance, vendor management, and enterprise HRIS/payroll platforms.

What you'll do:

• Lead end-to-end gross-to-net payroll processing for Japan and other APAC entities.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert on Japanese payroll regulations, including Shakai Hoken, Koyou Hoken, Juminzei, and Nenmatsu Chousei.
• Partner with third-party payroll vendors and internal/global stakeholders as a key regional liaison.
• Perform payroll audits, reconciliations, and control checks to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Support Workday, SAP HCM/ECP, ADP, or similar HRIS/payroll system enhancements and integrations.
• Partner with HR teams on separation payroll, final settlements, severance, and offboarding.
• Drive process improvements and support global payroll initiatives across APAC.

What we’re looking for:

• 7+ years of overall experience in Payroll Operations / Payroll Accounting.
• 5+ years of hands-on Japan Payroll experience.
• Business-level Japanese language proficiency (Japanese language proficiency of 3-5 years).
• Strong knowledge of Japanese employment law, payroll taxation, social insurance, employment insurance, resident tax, and year-end tax adjustment processes.
• Experience with enterprise payroll/HRIS platforms such as Workday, SAP HCM/ECP, ADP, or similar.
• Advanced MS Excel skills.
• Strong stakeholder, vendor management, and communication skills.
• Experience managing multi-country APAC payroll is preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, or a related field is preferred.

Why this role?

You’ll have the opportunity to take ownership of Japan Payroll operations while working across a broader APAC payroll landscape, partnering with global stakeholders and contributing to payroll transformation, systems, and process improvement initiatives.

If you have strong Japan Payroll expertise and are looking for a regional leadership opportunity, we’d love to hear from you.

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