International Payroll Specialist

Location: City of Edinburgh

Job Description

Job Description The Payroll Specialist is a key member of the Global Payroll team. The role provides flexible payroll expertise and operational support across the global payroll function, helping to ensure continuity of service, effective workload management, and consistent delivery across all regions. The role holder will work across multiple jurisdictions and payroll processes, providing additional capacity during peak periods, covering absences, supporting business change initiatives, and responding to evolving business needs.

Working closely with payroll providers, regional payroll teams and internal stakeholders, the role holder will deliver accurate, compliant and efficient end-to-end payroll services. As a payroll subject matter expert, they will support payroll processing, controls, issue resolution, escalations and continuous improvement activity, adapting quickly to different country requirements and operational priorities.

About the role:

The role holder will provide hands-on support for business-as-usual payroll delivery across multiple regions, partnering with colleagues across Payroll, People & Comms, Finance and Technology teams to ensure service continuity and maintain high standards of payroll accuracy and compliance. They will also contribute to global projects, process standardisation initiatives and the sharing of best practice across the payroll function.

Success in this role requires strong analytical capability, sound judgement, attention to detail and the ability to operate effectively in a complex global environment. The role holder must be comfortable working across different countries, systems and regulatory frameworks, balancing competing priorities while maintaining a strong focus on service delivery. They will also contribute to payroll governance, controls, reporting and performance metrics to help ensure payroll is delivered accurately, compliantly and right first time.

Key Responsibilities:

Provide flexible payroll support across the Global Payroll team, ensuring continuity of service and high-quality payroll delivery during peak periods, absences, organisational change and fluctuations in workload.

Deliver accurate and timely payroll processing across multiple countries and regions, adapting quickly to different payroll cycles, processes, legislative requirements and operational priorities.

Partner with payroll providers, regional payroll teams and internal stakeholders to support payroll processing, service delivery, issue resolution and escalation management.

Own and resolve complex payroll, tax and employee pay queries, coordinating specialist support where required and sharing knowledge across the wider payroll team.

Maintain payroll data quality, controls, KPIs and service standards, ensuring payroll processes remain compliant, auditable and effective.

Support payroll accounting activities, including reconciliations, finance interfaces, payroll reporting and the provision of supporting documentation.

Collaborate with People Services, HR, Reward, Finance, Tax, Mobility and Technology teams to ensure a seamless end-to-end colleague experience and effective payroll delivery.

Maintain awareness of legislative, regulatory and market developments across relevant jurisdictions, ensuring payroll practices remain compliant and up to date.

About the candidate:

Experience working in a complex global organisation; financial services experience is desirable.

Experience of multi-country payroll, with the ability to adapt quickly to different regional and jurisdictional requirements.

Knowledge of Workday and experience of payroll systems, HR platforms and provider technologies.

Knowledge of complex payroll matters, which may include share plans, global mobility, taxation and statutory requirements.

Good understanding of end-to-end HR processes, payroll accounting, risk controls and compliance frameworks

Collaborative and culturally aware, with the ability to build effective relationships across countries, time zones and functions

Able to be flexible working across several time zones when required

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