Manager Payroll Operations

Role Summary

The Payroll Operations Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing end-to-end payroll operations, with primary accountability for Philippine payroll delivery, compliance, and governance.

This role ensures the accurate and timely processing of payroll, compliance with Philippine labor laws, tax regulations, and statutory requirements. The successful candidate will act as a subject matter expert on Philippine payroll, partnering closely with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and business stakeholders to drive compliance, operational excellence, and an exceptional employee experience.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Operations

• Lead and manage end-to-end payroll operations for employees in the Philippines.
• Ensure accurate and timely payroll processing in compliance with company policies and Philippine regulatory requirements.
• Review and approve payroll calculations, including salaries, allowances, incentives, commissions, overtime, holiday pay, night differential, shift differentials, and deductions.
• Oversee payroll-related employee transactions, including new hires, salary adjustments, promotions, transfers, leaves of absence, and terminations.
• Manage final pay processing and separation-related payroll activities in accordance with Philippine labor regulations.
• Validate payroll reconciliations, payroll funding requirements, payroll journals, and reporting outputs.
• Maintain payroll records and ensure data integrity, accuracy, and confidentiality.

Compliance & Statutory Administration

• Serve as the subject matter expert for Philippine payroll regulations and compliance requirements.
• Ensure compliance with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and other government-mandated obligations.
• Oversee payroll tax reporting, annualization activities, and year-end payroll processes.
• Ensure timely submission of statutory reports, remittances, and employee tax documents.
• Monitor legislative changes and implement payroll process updates as required.
• Lead internal and external payroll audits and compliance reviews.
• Maintain effective payroll controls and governance processes to minimize operational and compliance risks.

Service Delivery & Process Improvement

• Establish and monitor payroll service delivery metrics, KPIs, and operational performance standards.
• Identify opportunities for payroll process improvements, automation, and standardization.
• Develop, maintain, and enhance payroll policies, procedures, controls, and documentation.
• Lead payroll system enhancements, testing, implementations, and process optimization initiatives.
• Resolve complex payroll issues and escalations from employees, managers, and key stakeholders.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Partner with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and business leaders on payroll-related matters.
• Manage relationships with payroll providers, government agencies, and external vendors.
• Ensure third-party vendors meet service level agreements and performance expectations.
• Support payroll-related projects, business transformations, and organizational changes.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop payroll team members.
• Manage team performance, workload allocation, and workforce planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, compliance, operational excellence, and customer service.
• Support employee development and succession planning within the payroll function.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressive payroll experience with significant expertise in Philippine payroll operations.
• 3+ years of people management experience leading payroll teams.
• Strong end-to-end knowledge of Philippine payroll processing, payroll taxation, statutory compliance, and labor regulations.
• Extensive experience managing BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG requirements.
• Experience supporting payroll operations within multinational, shared services, BPO, or large corporate environments.
• Strong understanding of payroll controls, reconciliations, audits, and payroll accounting practices.
• Experience managing payroll vendors and outsourced payroll providers.
• Experience with payroll systems and HRIS platforms; Workday experience is an advantage.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or equivalent payroll certification is a plus.
• Experience managing payroll for 1,000+ employees.
• Experience leading payroll transformation, automation, or system implementation projects.
• Experience in Shared Services, Global Business Services, or multinational organizations.