APAC Payroll Strategy & Operations Lead

Thornton Tomasetti; Selangor; On-site; MYR 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Abbott in Malaysia seeks an APAC Head of Payroll to lead a multi-country payroll center of excellence across APAC, delivering compliant, timely payroll and a trusted employee experience.

You will guide a dispersed team, harmonize processes and controls, and partner with HR, Finance and Legal to scale operations while mitigating risk. Strong leadership in global, matrix environments is essential. The role requires strategic vision and service excellence in a healthcare environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years at a people manager level with experience in payroll, HR or shared services.
• Minimum 10 years in payroll, HR or related field.
• Experience working in a global company, with matrix organizations and multiple cultures.
• Experience with payroll systems, contact center technologies, CRM or Service Ticket applications, and Workday System ofRecord or similar.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multi-country regional payroll organization, providing strategic direction, performance management, and capability building for a geographically dispersed team of payroll professionals.
• Oversee regional payroll activities to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing across countries, in alignment with local legislation, statutory requirements, company policies, and global standards.
• Oversee payroll systems to ensure ongoing adherence to, and operational alignment with, payroll policies, procedures, and internal controls covering pay, benefits, taxes, deductions, incentives, commissions, bonuses, and recordkeeping.
• Serve as the primary regional point of contact and escalation leader for business leaders, HR partners, and employees on highly complex payroll matters.
• Own payroll performance for designated countries within the region, driving consistent, high-quality payroll delivery and using GHRS metrics to identify trends and improve outcomes.

Skills

People management

Payroll systems

Global/matrix experience

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Workday

Job description

Abbott in Malaysia seeks an APAC Head of Payroll to lead a multi-country payroll center of excellence across APAC, delivering compliant, timely payroll and a trusted employee experience.

You will guide a dispersed team, harmonize processes and controls, and partner with HR, Finance and Legal to scale operations while mitigating risk. Strong leadership in global, matrix environments is essential. The role requires strategic vision and service excellence in a healthcare environment.