Manager, Payroll Operations

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in South Africa.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of payroll results for a team, ensuring precision, punctuality, and adherence to regulations.

• Provide coaching, constructive feedback, and daily leadership to payroll specialists.

• Lead operational investigations into payroll discrepancies and facilitate resolutions.

• Contribute to performance evaluations and suggest performance-related actions.

• Cultivate a psychologically safe and accountable team environment.

• Manage end-to-end payroll execution for a designated group of countries.

• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of country-specific payroll regulations.

• Ensure payroll processes are executed, documented, and capable of being audited.

• Manage relationships with external payroll vendors.

• Assist with global payroll implementations, including the launch of new countries, vendor transitions, and in-house efforts.

• Provide market- and country-specific payroll knowledge for implementations.

• Identify execution risks and collaborate with implementation and cross-functional teams to address them.

• Ensure payroll stability post-launch.

• Spot operational risks, recurring challenges, and process deficiencies.

• Propel continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, minimize errors, and expand team capacity.

• Aid the rollout of new tools, automation, and standardized workflows.

• Monitor and contribute to KPIs, service levels, and quality metrics.

• Oversee operational support for the service arm, encompassing team performance and engagement in Zendesk.

• Collaborate with People Operations, Finance, Legal, Product, and Service Operations.

• Simplify payroll complexities into clear guidance for stakeholders.

• Proactively communicate about risks, delays, and changes impacting payroll results.

⛳️ Requirements

• Proven experience in managing payroll outcomes for a team within regional or multi-country settings.

• Demonstrated ability in people leadership, including coaching, feedback, and performance evaluation.

• Comfortable leading investigations and driving operational resolutions.

• Proficient in clarifying and consistently applying policies and controls.

• Experience in recommending hiring profiles, team adjustments, and performance actions.

• Strong operational judgment with a capacity to balance speed, accuracy, and customer impact.

• Clear and structured written and verbal communicator, especially effective in asynchronous environments.

• Experience in remote-first or globally distributed teams is highly advantageous.

• Fluent in English; proficiency in additional languages is a plus.

• Ability to utilize automation and AI capabilities as required for each role.

• Prior employment verification check.

🏝️ Benefits

• Work from anywhere.

• Flexible paid time off.

• Flexible working hours (we operate asynchronously).

• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.

• Budget allocated for co-working spaces, learning, and wellness (including gym memberships).

• Mental health support services.

• Stock options.

• Home office budget & IT equipment provided.

• Employee Resource Groups (Women, Disability, Queer, Minorities in Tech).

• Interview and workplace accommodations available for candidates who require them.