In-House Payroll Operations Manager

In-House Payroll Operations Manager (18 Month Fixed Term Employment) Overview

Location:

While this position is posted in a specific location, all Oyster positions are fully remote and you can work from home. To meet business needs, this role requires you to be based within +2 /-2 UTC. This is an 18-month fixed-term employment contract. You will lead a team of payroll specialists delivering payroll services across multiple countries, managing both in-house (native) and Employer of Record (EoR) operations.

• Manage and oversee a team of payroll specialists to deliver both in-house (native) and EoR payroll for Oyster's team members across multiple countries as assigned.
• Manage, coach, and monitor the transition to, and adoption of, Oyster's automated payroll tooling and processes for payroll at scale while maintaining service delivery targets and KPIs.
• Deliver a best-of-breed payroll experience, ensuring payroll queries are resolved in line with SLAs.
• Manage the transition to, and oversee the execution of, Oyster's native payroll operations in the United Kingdom and additional countries per the native payroll roadmap.
• Lead the management, communication, and resolution of payroll escalations pertaining to countries under your charge.
• Ensure you and your team maintain professional knowledge of payroll legislative changes.
• Work closely with HR Advisory to manage enhancements to processes and address legislative issues.
• Oversee effective working relations and monitor SLA adherence with local payroll vendors, accountants, and employment advisors.
• Lead the optimization of payroll processes and engage with cross-functional teams such as Product, Treasury, Accounting, and Finance Transformation.
• Build and develop your team through coaching, performance management, and career development planning.
• Lead due diligence, vendor selection, and implementation planning for new country launches.
• Present management reports on payroll metrics and operational performance to senior leadership.

• Extensive payroll leadership experience:
  Minimum of 7 years’ payroll experience, including at least 2 years in a people management role with responsibility for hiring, coaching, and performance management of payroll professionals.
• Proven in-house payroll management experience:
  Demonstrated ownership of in-house payroll operations, with full accountability for accuracy, timeliness, compliance, and service delivery.
• Payroll delivered as a service to customers:
  Experience delivering payroll as a service to external clients or multiple internal customer groups, rather than payroll limited to a single organisation’s employee population.
• Multi-country EMEA payroll delivery:
  Responsibility for end-to-end, native (in-house) payroll delivery across multiple EMEA countries.
• Strong compliance and statutory knowledge:
  Oversight of local country taxation and compliance requirements, including taxation of benefits and expenses, income tax, social security / national insurance, pension auto-enrolment, and statutory payments.
• Payroll systems and vendor collaboration:
  Hands-on experience working with local payroll engines and software solutions across the EMEA region.
• Process improvement and automation:
  Proven track record of partnering with finance transformation, RPA, and process improvement teams to drive automation, standardisation, and operational efficiency.
• Scale and complexity management:
  Experience managing payroll for employee populations of 1,000+ across multiple jurisdictions.
• Project and change leadership:
  Project management experience leading payroll implementations, migrations, or transformation initiatives.
• Adaptability and learning agility:
  Demonstrated ability to rapidly acquire new payroll knowledge, adapt to changing regulations, and onboard new countries, systems, or processes.

• Experience in fast-paced payroll environments:
  Exposure to high-volume, deadline-driven payroll operations, with the ability to manage competing priorities, change, and tight timelines without compromising accuracy or compliance.
• Broader multi-country payroll experience:
  Experience delivering payroll across multiple…