PAYROLL SPECIALIST 1 year FTC
London/LUX
Full-time
Hybrid
INTRO / JOB SUMMARY
We’re seeking a detail-oriented Payroll Specialist to support end-to-end payroll delivery across EMEA, ensuring accurate, compliant, and on-time processing for a diverse employee population. In this role, you will manage multi-country payroll cycles, oversee key controls and reconciliations, and partner closely with in-country providers (ICPs) and internal stakeholders. You’ll also support payroll accounting activities and help maintain strong operational documentation and audit readiness. Experience with ADP Celergo and HRIS/payroll integrations (e.g., Oracle HCM) is highly valued.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Process and validate end-to-end monthly and/or fortnightly multi-country payroll cycles across EMEA, including off-cycle payments and retroactive adjustments.
- Perform gross-to-net validations, pre- and post-payroll checks, variance analysis, and payroll reconciliations to ensure accuracy and completeness.
- Ensure statutory compliance across assigned countries (tax, social security, pensions, benefits-in-kind) and coordinate year-end payroll activities and reporting.
- Partner with ADP Celergo and/or in-country providers to manage SLAs, resolve escalations, and drive root-cause fixes and continuous improvement.
- Validate HRIS/payroll interfaces and data flows (e.g., Oracle HCM) covering hires, terminations, transfers, and compensation changes.
- Manage employee and stakeholder payroll queries through a case management/helpdesk tool, meeting service levels and improving employee experience.
- Support payroll accounting deliverables including GL mapping, journal support, payroll account reconciliations, accrual inputs, and month-end close activities.
- Coordinate payroll funding and payment processes, including bank/payment files and statutory remittances, in partnership with Finance/Treasury.
- Maintain and improve SOPs, process maps, and control checklists to strengthen governance, audit readiness, and operational resilience.
Contribute to projects such as country transitions, M&A integrations, system enhancements, and new market entries, tracking KPIs for timeliness and quality.
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 6–8 years of progressive payroll experience with multi-country payroll exposure in EMEA.
- Working knowledge of statutory payroll compliance requirements (tax, social security, pensions, reporting deadlines) across multiple jurisdictions.
- Experience partnering with payroll vendors/ICPs to deliver payroll services, manage SLAs, and resolve processing issues.
- Hands-on experience with payroll systems and integrations, including ADP Celergo and/or Oracle HCM interface validation and data reconciliation.
- Strong payroll accounting fundamentals (reconciliations, GL mapping, journals support, payroll reporting).
- Proficiency in Excel for reconciliations and analysis (e.g., pivots, lookups) with high attention to detail and data accuracy.
- Experience using a case management/helpdesk tool (e.g., ServiceNow or similar) to manage payroll queries and SLAs.
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills across time zones, with discretion in handling sensitive data.
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PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with additional ADP platforms (e.g., ADP Vantage, ADP Streamline).
- Exposure to mobility, shadow payroll, and/or expat payroll scenarios.
- Country payroll experience in one or more of the following (as business needs require): UAE, Belgium, Switzerland, India, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan.
- Experience supporting process improvement initiatives (Lean/Six Sigma or similar).
- Experience with additional HRIS environments (e.g., Workday) in a payroll-integrated setup.
