Team Lead, HR Payroll Service Delivery

BIPO; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 100,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

BIPO is seeking a Team Lead, HR Payroll Service Delivery to steer a team of HR Payroll Specialists and Senior HR Payroll Specialists in delivering accurate, compliant payroll services across regional clients. The role blends hands-on payroll expertise with leadership, client escalation management, and SOP-driven processes.

The successful candidate will own service standards, drive continuous improvement, and mentor staff to grow capability.

Qualifications

• Degree in HR, Admin, Accounting or related field.
• 5 years+ hands-on HR operations and payroll processing experience; 1–2 years in a supervisory role.
• Strong knowledge of local statutory compliance; SG knowledge mandatory, MY added advantage.
• Experience managing multi-client HR/payroll portfolios in bureau/shared services/outsourcing.
• Proven ability to handle client escalations and deliver resolutions under pressure.
• Strong leadership skills to motivate, guide and develop a team.
• High attention to detail and ownership with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Proficient in HRIS and payroll systems; experience with implementation or UAT is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end HR/payroll services across the team's client portfolio, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and statutory compliance
• Review and sign off on payroll outputs, statutory submissions, and HR transactions before client delivery
• Manage complex payroll scenarios, multi-entity structures, and cross-jurisdictional statutory requirements at team level
• Maintain oversight of the employee lifecycle across all assigned client accounts — from onboarding through to offboarding
• Ensure proper handling and confidentiality of all client and employee data at all times
• Act as the team's SME on local labour laws, statutory regulations, and tax compliance
• Monitor legislative changes and cascade updates to the team promptly
• Review and approve statutory filings for accuracy before submission
• Manage HR/payroll audits with internal/external auditors
• Maintain and update SOPs; ensure team follows processes
• Lead onboarding of new clients — oversee setup, data migration, parallel run, go-live
• Manage client offboarding and ensure payments/submissions/exit procedures are accurate
• Monitor service levels and address risks to SLA or client satisfaction
• Work with Account Manager on account health and business expansion
• Understand clients' operations and payroll complexity in depth
• Serve as SME for HRIS/payroll platforms
• Oversee data integrity across employee records and payroll parameters
• Collaborate on system enhancements, UAT, and new client configurations
• Support integration with third-party tools (time & attendance, ERP, finance)
• Lead, mentor, and develop HR Payroll Specialists
• Manage workload allocation balancing client complexity and deadlines
• Review team outputs for quality and compliance before submission
• Identify skills gaps and support development through coaching
• Assist onboarding of new team members and transition to client-facing roles
• Conduct regular one-on-ones and contribute to performance reviews

Skills

HR operations

Payroll processing

Team leadership

Client escalation management

Compliance & statutory

HRIS & systems

Process improvement

UAT

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR, Business Admin, Accounting

Tools

HRIS

Payroll systems

Job description

The Team Lead, HR Payroll Service Delivery is responsible for leading a team of HR Payroll Specialists and Senior HR Payroll Specialists to deliver high-quality, compliant HR and payroll services to BIPO's regional clients. The role combines hands-on operational expertise with team leadership, client escalation management, process improvement, and capability development. The Team Lead is the primary quality owner for their team's portfolio and plays a key role in driving service standards across the Service Delivery function.

Key Responsibilities

HR Payroll Operations & Oversight

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery of HR and payroll services across the team's client portfolio, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and statutory compliance
• Review and sign off on payroll outputs, statutory submissions, and HR transactions before client delivery
• Manage complex payroll scenarios, multi-entity structures, and cross-jurisdictional statutory requirements at team level
• Maintain oversight of the employee lifecycle across all assigned client accounts — from onboarding through to offboarding
• Ensure proper handling and confidentiality of all client and employee data at all times

Compliance & Statutory

• Act as the team's primary subject matter expert on local labour laws, statutory regulations, and tax compliance
• Monitor legislative changes and assess their impact on client payroll and HR operations; cascade updates to the team promptly
• Review and approve statutory filings for accuracy and completeness before submission
• Manage HR and payroll audits in collaboration with internal and external auditors
• Maintain and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); ensure the team follows agreed processes consistently

Client Management

• Serve as the first point of escalation for complex client and employee queries related to payroll, benefits, leave, claims, and HR operations
• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with assigned clients, acting as a senior advisor on HR and payroll matters
• Lead the onboarding of new clients — oversee system setup, data migration, parallel run, and go-live for the team's accounts
• Manage client offboarding and ensure all payments, final submissions, and exit procedures are completed accurately
• Monitor service levels and proactively address any risks to SLA compliance or client satisfaction
• Work closely with the Account Manager on account health, client engagement, and business expansion opportunities
• Proactively understand assigned clients' business operations, industry context, and payroll complexity in depth

HRIS & Systems

• Serve as the team's system subject matter expert for HRIS and payroll platforms
• Oversee data integrity across employee records, payroll parameters, and benefit tables for all team accounts
• Collaborate with the technology team on system enhancements, UAT, and new client configurations
• Support integration projects between payroll systems and third-party tools (e.g. time & attendance, ERP, finance systems)
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of HR Payroll Specialists and Senior HR Payroll Specialists
• Manage day-to-day workload allocation across the team, ensuring capacity is balanced against client complexity and deadlines
• Review team members' work for quality and compliance before client submission
• Identify skills gaps and support the professional development of each team member through coaching and structured learning
• Support the onboarding of new team members and ensure a smooth transition into client-facing responsibilities
• Conduct regular one-on-ones and contribute to performance reviews for direct reports

Process Improvement & Quality

• Identify inefficiencies in HR and payroll workflows; propose and implement process improvements to enhance accuracy, speed, and scalability
• Develop and maintain SOPs, process guides, and training materials for the team
• Champion best practices across the Service Delivery function and contribute to team-wide quality initiatives
• Drive a continuous improvement mindset within the team — encourage proactive identification of issues and solutions

Qualifications & Experience

• Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, or a related field
• Minimum 5 years of hands‑on experience in HR operations and payroll processing, with at least 1–2 years in a supervisory or team lead capacity
• Strong knowledge of local statutory compliance and regulatory requirements (SG compliance knowledge is a must; MY is an added advantage)
• Demonstrated experience managing multi‑client HR and payroll portfolios in a bureau, shared services, or outsourcing environment
• Proven ability to manage client escalations and deliver resolution under pressure
• Strong people leadership skills — ability to motivate, guide, and develop a team
• High attention to detail, strong sense of ownership, and a continuous improvement mindset
• Proficient in HRIS and payroll systems; experience with system implementation or UAT is a plus