Head of APAC Payroll

abbott; Selangor; On-site; MYR 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Abbott is seeking a senior APAC Head of Payroll to lead a multi-country payroll center of excellence, ensuring accurate, compliant and timely payments across the region. You will drive harmonized service models, scalability, and a high‑quality employee experience while managing a regional payroll team.

The role requires strong leadership, global payroll process design, and expert knowledge of Workday and related systems.

Qualifications

• 7+ years managing payroll/HR or shared services teams.
• 10+ years in payroll, HR or related field.
• Experience in a global company with matrix structures and diverse cultures.
• Experience with payroll systems, Workday or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi‑country regional payroll organization and build capabilities for a dispersed team.
• Oversee regional payroll activities to ensure accuracy, timeliness and compliance.
• Standardize payroll processes, controls, and system alignment with policies.
• Act as primary regional escalation point for complex payroll matters.
• Own payroll performance for designated countries and drive improvements.

Skills

People management

Payroll expertise

HR operations

Cross-cultural

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Workday

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION:

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The APAC Head of Payroll provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for multi‑country payroll center of excellence across the APAC region, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payment of employees in alignment with local legislation and company standards. As the regional payroll leader, this role drives harmonized payroll and service fulfillment models, enabling operational excellence, risk mitigation, and a consistent, high‑quality employee experience. This role manages a team of payroll professionals that play a critical role in supporting business continuity, scalability, and trust by serving as the primary partner for payroll support for designated countries within the region.

MAIN 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. Advocate for talent development, succession planning, and engagement while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, service excellence, and continuous improvement aligned with the GHRS vision.
• 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. Ensure payroll systems, processes, and controls support regional and global HR strategies, business continuity, and risk mitigation.
• 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. Drive regional harmonization of payroll fulfillment activities by standardizing processes, strengthening controls, and partnering with BHR, C&B, Finance, and Legal stakeholders to enhance scalability and operational efficiency.
• Serve as the primary regional point of contact and escalation leader for business leaders, HR partners, and employees on highly complex payroll matters. Anticipate issues, manage risk, and drive timely resolution while maintaining composure in high‑impact situations and delivering an exceptional, concierge‑level customer experience.
• Own payroll performance for designated countries within the region, driving consistent, high‑quality payroll delivery. Apply data, metrics, and the GHRS matrix to identify trends, address root causes, and improve payroll accuracy, efficiency, and service outcomes.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education Level

Bachelors Degree (± 16 years)

Experience Details

• 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.

The base pay for this position is

N/A

In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

JOB FAMILY:

HR Operations

DIVISION:

CHR Corporate Human Resources

LOCATION:

Malaysia > Selangor : Imazium, No. 8, Jalan SS 21/37

WORK SHIFT:

Standard

TRAVEL:

Not specified

MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE:

Not Applicable

SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES:

Not Applicable