Payroll Project Manager

Jobtailor; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking an experienced Lead Payroll Transformation professional to drive international payroll programs across Europe from planning to post-go-live support.

You will manage cross-functional teams, oversee data migrations, vendor transitions, and ensure GDPR compliance while delivering high-quality payroll services for multiple countries.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent higher education qualification.
• 5–8 years of experience in international payroll and project management.
• Experience leading payroll implementations and vendor transitions in multiple countries.
• Strong understanding of European payroll processes and GDPR confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Lead payroll transformation projects across multiple European countries from planning through implementation and post-go-live support.
• Coordinate payroll data migration, validation, testing, and reconciliation to ensure data quality and payroll accuracy.
• Manage cross-functional project teams including HR, IT, Finance, and external vendors.
• Oversee transitions to new payroll vendors and HRIS/HCM integrations across European entities.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, risk registers, and budgets where applicable.
• Provide regular status updates to senior leadership and stakeholders.

Skills

International Payroll Management

Project Management

Payroll Compliance

Stakeholder Management

Data Migration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Project Management Tools

Job description

• Lead payroll transformation projects across multiple European countries from planning through implementation and post-go-live support.
• Manage the integration of newly acquired brands into existing HR and payroll processes, ensuring a seamless employee transition.
• Coordinate the transition to new payroll vendors in France and Italy, including planning, testing, parallel runs, cutover activities, and hyper care support.
• Support the implementation of the new Human Capital Management (HCM) system and payroll modules, working closely with HR, IT, vendors, and project teams.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, risk registers, and project documentation.
• Coordinate cross-functional project teams and facilitate collaboration between HR, Payroll, Retail Operations, Finance, IT, Legal, and external vendors.
• Manage project governance by tracking milestones, dependencies, risks, issues, and project budgets where applicable.
• Coordinate payroll data migration, validation, testing (UAT), and reconciliation activities to ensure data quality and payroll accuracy.
• Ensure payroll compliance throughout all project phases by partnering with local payroll providers and internal subject matter experts.
• Support change management activities, including communication, stakeholder engagement, documentation, and user training.
• Identify opportunities to standardize, simplify, and improve payroll processes across Europe.
• Support the Payroll team during project implementation while ensuring continuity of payroll operations.
• Processing payroll together with the team
• Bonus and commission calculation
• Manage relationships with external implementation partners and payroll vendors, monitoring project deliverables and service quality.
• Provide regular project status updates to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
• Support the implementation of future payroll solutions, country rollouts, and payroll setup for new business entities as required.

Requirements

• Minimum 5–8 years of experience in international payroll and project management
• Proven experience leading payroll implementations, payroll vendor transitions, HRIS/HCM implementations, or large-scale payroll transformation projects
• Experience managing cross-functional projects involving HR, Payroll, IT, Finance, and external vendors
• Strong understanding of European payroll processes and payroll compliance; knowledge of Italian and/or French payroll is a significant advantage
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders simultaneously
• Experience with project planning methodologies, testing, data migration, and change management
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all organizational levels
• Highly organized, structured, and detail-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Proactive, hands-on, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Create, perform and review SOX related controls
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience with project management tools is an advantage
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent higher education qualification
• Fluent in English; additional European languages are considered a plus
• Comfortable working in an international and multicultural environment
• Strong understanding of GDPR and the importance of confidentiality when handling employee data

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in leading payroll transformation projects across multiple European countries, with a strong focus on payroll compliance, project management, and stakeholder engagement. Proficient in managing cross-functional teams and implementing Human Capital Management systems while ensuring data accuracy and operational continuity.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• International Payroll Management
• Project Management
• Payroll Compliance
• Stakeholder Management
• Data Migration

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Payroll Implementation
• HRIS/HCM Implementation
• Project Planning Methodologies
• Data Validation
• Change Management
• SOX Controls
• Payroll Processing
• Bonus Calculation
• Commission Calculation
• Analytical Problem-Solving

Soft Skills

• Excellent Communication
• Organizational Skills
• Detail-Oriented
• Proactive Attitude
• Influencing Skills

Industry Keywords

• European Payroll Processes
• GDPR Compliance
• Employee Data Confidentiality
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Multicultural Environment

Tools & Technologies

• Microsoft Office
• Project Management Tools