Payroll Specialist

Novartis; Malaysia; Hybrid; MYR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Novartis in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is seeking a Payroll Specialist to support end-to-end payroll operations, data validation, and timely processing, ensuring a high-quality employee experience. You will collaborate with internal stakeholders and vendors across APAC, driving process improvements and governance.

The role requires proficiency in Workday and Excel, along with fluency in English and Chinese, and a degree in Finance/Accounting or related field. Hybrid work arrangement offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field.
• Proficiency in Workday and Excel is required.
• Excellent English and Chinese language skills are essential.
• Knowledge of payroll legislation, taxation, and audit readiness.

Responsibilities

• Process payroll transactions accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Support payroll data validation and reconciliation activities to ensure payroll accuracy.
• Respond to payroll service requests and resolve routine payroll inquiries in a timely manner.
• Support investigation and resolution of payroll discrepancies and data issues.
• Manage payroll queries and service requests from employees and stakeholders.
• Monitor payroll-related tickets and follow up on issue resolution.
• Liaise with payroll vendors to resolve payroll discrepancies and ensure accurate payroll outputs.
• Support payroll audits by preparing required documentation and evidence.
• Participate in payroll projects, system enhancements, testing activities, and process improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to development and maintenance of payroll procedures, work instructions, and knowledge articles.
• Provide support to Time & Attendance activities as needed.

Skills

Communication

Stakeholder Management

Data Analysis

Process Improvement

Automation Mindset

Analytical Thinking

HR Service Delivery

Payroll

Time & Attendance

Data Privacy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field

Tools

Workday

Excel (Advanced)

Job description

Job Description Summary

#LI-Hybrid

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

About the role:

Join our Payroll Services team and play a key role in delivering accurate and timely payroll processes. As a Payroll Specialist, you will support end-to-end payroll operations, payroll data validation, issue resolution, and compliance activities while ensuring a high-quality employee experience. You will work closely with internal stakeholders, payroll vendors, and team members to support payroll delivery and continuous process improvement across APAC countries.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Process payroll transactions accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Support payroll data validation and reconciliation activities to ensure payroll accuracy.
• Respond to payroll service requests and resolve routine payroll inquiries in a timely manner.
• Support investigation and resolution of payroll discrepancies and data issues.
• Manage payroll queries and service requests from employees and stakeholders.
• Monitor payroll-related tickets and follow up on issue resolution.
• Liaise with payroll vendors to resolve payroll discrepancies and ensure accurate payroll outputs.
• Support payroll audits by preparing required documentation and evidence.
• Participate in payroll projects, system enhancements, testing activities, and process improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of payroll procedures, work instructions, and knowledge articles.
• Provide support to the Time & Attendance activities as needed.

Essential Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related field with 2- 5 years of full payroll operations experience specifically for Taiwan (Main), Hong Kong and China countries.
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English and Chinese.
• Knowledge of payroll legislation, taxation, statutory requirements, reconciliation & audit readiness
• Experience in vendor governance, data privacy & payroll governance.
• Attention to Detail & Accuracy
• Proficient in Workday and Excel (advance)
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills
• Communication & Stakeholder Management
• Process Improvement & Automation Mindset

Desirable Requirements:

• Experience troubleshooting service errors and resolving complex payroll queries.
• Strong proactive problem-solving skills in a customer-focused environment.
• Multi-country payroll experience other than Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
• Experience with Workday integration
• Experience in Global/ MNC and complex & matrixed organizations
• Experience in leveraging AI to simplify people processes, reduce duplication, and shift team capacity toward higher impact, value adding work.

Skills Desired

Collaboration, Communication, Consulting Services, Data Analysis, Data Privacy, Dispute Resolution, Employee Experience, Error Analysis, HR Service Delivery, Human Resource Management System, Human Resources (HR), Payroll, Process Analysis, Project Management, Service Request Management, Standards Development, User Management