Service Line Lead - Finance

McKinsey & Company; Gurugram District; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

McKinsey & Company is seeking an experienced Payroll Leader to oversee end-to-end payroll operations across regional markets in India, including Gurugram or Chennai. You will manage outsourced payroll relationships, drive governance, and lead transformation initiatives to ensure accurate, compliant payroll delivery.

You will work with global payroll stakeholders, ensure ICFR controls, and guide a distributed team across onshore and offshore resources while traveling as needed.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of payroll experience across geographies.
• Experience leading outsourced or managed-services payroll models.
• Strong knowledge of statutory, tax, and labour requirements across jurisdictions.
• Proven ability to manage complex payroll issues and escalations.
• Strong understanding of payroll controls, ICFR, risk management, and data integrity.
• Experience leading distributed or matrixed teams in a global environment.
• Demonstrated leadership, analytics, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to propose ideas and collaborate with Finance, HR, Tax, Technology, and external partners.
• Proven ability to analyze complex payroll issues and make recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations across regional markets.
• Manage managed-services vendor relationships and regional OpCos.
• Drive transformation from RFP/design through cutover and hypercare.
• Collaborate with Payroll Governance, Employment Tax, Technology and Finance/HR stakeholders.
• Maintain audit-ready ICFR control environment and regional accountability.
• Chair regional payroll OpCos and oversee vendor SLA performance.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Vendor governance

Multi-country payroll

ICFR controls

Audit readiness

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Data analytics

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Who You'll Work With

You are someone who thrives in a high-performance environment, bringing a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle meaningful challenges that have a real impact.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities to help you quickly broaden your expertise, grow into a well-rounded professional, and contribute to work that truly makes a difference.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• Exceptional benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well‑being for you and your family.

Your Impact

You will lead end‑to‑end payroll operations across McKinsey one large Regional market managed by Global Payroll, ensuring accurate, compliant, timely, and reliable payroll delivery as the firm moves from fragmented, in‑country processes toward governed, managed‑services operating models.

You will serve as the operational owner for a portfolio of multiple regions/countries, leading managed‑services vendor relationships, chairing regional payroll OpCos, managing complex and sensitive escalations, and driving transformation from RFP and design through cutover, parallel run, hypercare, and steady state. You will partner closely with regional Payroll Governance managers, Employment Tax, Technology, and local Finance and HR stakeholders to incorporate local requirements and risk while retaining accountability for operational outcomes.

You will lead and own end‑to‑end payroll operations across your regional footprint, ensuring accurate, compliant, timely, and controlled delivery while maintaining an audit‑ready ICFR control environment. Serving as the senior operational owner and escalation point for complex or cross‑border matters.

You will chair regional payroll OpCos, manage vendor accountability and SLA performance, and drive comprehensive transformation agendas spanning vendor consolidation, platform upgrades, cutovers, and hyper care. In doing so, you will partner closely with regional Payroll Governance, Employment Tax, and local stakeholders, champion process automation and standardization, lead and develop the GPT team, and represent regional operational priorities in global strategic forums.

Based in Gurugram or Chennai, India, you will be part of Global Payroll within One Firm Finance and lead a distributed team across onshore and offshore resources. Your work will strengthen payroll reliability, control, vendor accountability, standardization, and resilience across the multiple countries/regional footprint.

Your Qualifications and Skills

• 15+ years of payroll experience, with deep expertise in multi‑country payroll operations across geographies
• Experience leading outsourced or managed‑services payroll models, including vendor governance, SLA/KPI management, service reviews, cutovers, and parallel‑run oversight
• Strong working knowledge of statutory, tax, and labour requirements across multiple jurisdictions, with sound judgment on when to engage specialist advisors
• Proven experience managing complex payroll issues, escalations, and competing stakeholder requirements across diverse jurisdictions
• Strong understanding of payroll controls, ICFR, audit, risk management, data integrity, and operational governance
• Demonstrated experience leading, developing, and motivating distributed or matrixed teams in a complex global environment
• Demonstrated credible leadership, analytics, problem‑solving, project management, and communication skills
• Ability to offer new ideas, constructively challenge conventional wisdom, and work collaboratively across Finance, HR, Tax, Technology, local offices, and external partners
• Proven ability to analyze complex payroll issues, make sound recommendations, and lead analysis and reporting of key metrics
• Ability to work in‑person and travel as needed (team schedules and office locations may vary)