Manager, Team Lead, Payroll

Certis; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Certis in Singapore is seeking a Payroll Leader to own end-to-end payroll across local and regional operations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance while driving process improvements.

You will partner with HR, Finance, and IT, lead a payroll team, oversee governance, controls, and reporting, and deliver transformational initiatives including SAP and RPA to enhance employee experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5–8 years of relevant payroll experience, including leadership or supervision of a payroll team.
• Strong knowledge of employment legislation, CPF regulations, tax requirements, and statutory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations across local and regional populations, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Oversee payroll costing, statutory submissions, tax obligations, and government-paid leave claims.
• Establish robust payroll controls, governance frameworks, and audit readiness.
• Partner with HR, Finance, and IT to implement policies, system changes, and payroll initiatives.
• Coach and develop the payroll team to drive performance and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Payroll operations

SAP Payroll

SAP HCM

Automation

Governance & compliance

Data confidentiality

Process improvement

Team coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business/Finance

Tools

SAP Payroll

SAP HCM

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Data Analytics

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Lead the end-to-end payroll function and ensure the accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of payroll services across local and regional operations.

In this role, you will oversee payroll operations, statutory compliance, governance, and team performance while driving process improvements, automation, and transformation initiatives. You will partner closely with business leaders, HR, Finance, and IT stakeholders to deliver payroll excellence and enhance employee experience.

Payroll Operations & Service Delivery

• Lead and manage end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing across all employee populations.
• Oversee payroll costing, statutory submissions, tax obligations, CPF contributions, and government-paid leave claims.
• Manage payroll clearance, final payments, recoveries, and employee lifecycle payroll activities, including resignations, terminations, and dismissals.
• Ensure payroll data integrity, confidentiality, and adherence to established service standards.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, CPF regulations, tax requirements, statutory obligations, and company policies.
• Establish and maintain robust payroll controls, governance frameworks, and audit readiness.
• Act as the key liaison with auditors, government agencies, tax authorities, and other regulatory bodies on payroll-related matters.

Stakeholder Management & Business Partnership

• Partner with Business Units, HR, Finance, and IT teams to support policy implementations, service enhancements, system changes, and payroll-related initiatives.
• Provide payroll advisory and resolution support to stakeholders and employees, ensuring a high level of service excellence.
• Prepare management reports and provide payroll insights to support business decision-making.
• Drive process optimisation, automation, and payroll transformation initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
• Lead or support strategic projects including SAP enhancements, robotic process automation (RPA), business continuity planning (BCP), and digitalisation initiatives.
• Identify process gaps, conduct root-cause analysis, and implement sustainable solutions to strengthen payroll operations.
• Lead, coach, and develop the payroll team to build capability, drive performance, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Allocate resources effectively and ensure service delivery standards are consistently achieved.
• Degree in Human Resource, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5 to 8 years of relevant payroll experience, including experience leading or supervising a payroll team.
• Proven track record in managing high-volume payroll operations within a shared services or complex organisational environment.

Technical Expertise

• Strong knowledge of payroll operations, payroll controls, employment legislation, CPF regulations, tax requirements, and statutory compliance matters.
• Experience in payroll transformation, process optimisation, automation, or system implementation projects.
• Proficiency in SAP Payroll, SAP HCM, or similar payroll systems will be an advantage.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

• Strong leadership capability with experience managing, coaching, and developing teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills across all organisational levels.
• Analytical, meticulous, and solution-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy and governance.
• Proactive, hands‑on, and driven to deliver operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills.
• Analytical, detail‑oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Proactive, hands‑on, and passionate about driving operational excellence and continuous improvement

What You’ll Gain

• Opportunity to lead a critical payroll function supporting a large and diverse workforce.
• Exposure to payroll transformation, automation, and digitalisation initiatives.
• Platform to influence payroll governance, process excellence, and employee experience.
• Opportunity to work closely with senior stakeholders across HR, Finance, IT, and business operations