Senior Payroll Specialist ( US & India Payroll)

The Opportunity Join our dynamic global team as a Senior Payroll Manager, a pivotal role offering full ownership of a multi-country payroll function with direct accountability to the CFO. This is a rare chance to not just manage, but to build and strategically transform our payroll operations, significantly reducing costs and mitigating risk as we scale. You'll drive enterprise-level impact, shaping the future of our financial infrastructure and potentially growing a team. What You'll Do As our Senior Payroll Manager, reporting directly to the CFO, you will assume a materially more strategic mandate than a standard payroll execution role. From day one, you will take direct ownership of our US payroll operations, ensuring seamless and error-free processing within ADP Workforce Now. Simultaneously, you will oversee and review our India payroll cycles, currently managed by Paybooks, with an explicit mandate to evaluate and likely execute the insourcing of India payroll onto ADP’s India affiliate (Celergo) or a similar robust platform. This strategic transition will extend to other global entities as well, demanding both your hands-on execution prowess and the sound judgment required to design and implement an effective build and insourcing plan. You will navigate complex cross-border processes, coordinate effectively across the CFO, US Controller, EMEA/APAC Controller, India team including Finance staff, People/HR, and external processors. As the function matures and scales, you will also be poised to hire, train, and mentor a junior India payroll teammate, building out a high-performing team. The Skills You'll Have US & India Payroll Processing, with an Insourcing/Transition Mandate Drive US payroll directly in ADP Workforce Now from your first day. Oversee and review India payroll cycles through our current processor, Paybooks. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of US payroll, including hands-on ADP Workforce Now processing, in-depth mastery of US compliance obligations (nexus/state tax, FLSA, workers comp et al) and other items such as equity compensation. Bring a proven track record of personally leading a transition of payroll from an outsourced processor to an insourced, ADP-style platform (as would be the case for India). Exhibit direct ownership of India payroll, extending beyond mere coordination with Paybooks as a processor. GL Integration, ERP & Reconciliation (NetSuite, FloQast) Prepare and post accurate ADP-to-NetSuite payroll journal entries. Reconcile payroll liability and clearing accounts meticulously each month. Own the monthly balance sheet reconciliations, ensuring no aged discrepancies. Leverage experience using FloQast or a similar close-management tool effectively. Provide robust support for external audit requests related to payroll balances. India Statutory Compliance (PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS/Form 16, Gratuity) Ensure the accuracy of India statutory withholdings and comprehensive filing support (PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS, Form 16). Administer Gratuity Act compliance and execute precise Full & Final settlement calculations. Possess direct, hands-on experience administering PF/ESI/TDS/Gratuity for an India entity, ideally within a software/services company. Successfully managed India payroll compliance through a statutory audit or PF/ESI inspection with no findings. Own the end-to-end process for India statutory filings, including Form 24Q. Experience of Labour Law in the State of Karnataka and dealing with inspections in a professional manner. Cross-Border Process Ownership, Stakeholder Management & Team-Building Operate payroll with minimal supervision across multiple countries. Proactively drive and implement process or vendor changes within payroll operations. Coordinate seamlessly across key stakeholders including the CFO, US Controller, EMEA/APAC Controller, the existing Finance team in India and People/HR. Lead a payroll insourcing or vendor transition from end to end in India (and potentially other countries). Bring experience in hiring, training, or mentoring junior payroll teammates. Within 90 Days, You'll Achieve a seamless, error-free transition of direct US payroll ownership, ensuring no missed or late cycles. Establish full ownership of India payroll review processes, ensuring all cycles are meticulously vetted. Begin active evaluation of our India payroll outsourcing model, preparing for strategic recommendations. Within 180 Days, You'll Develop a clear, CFO-approved viability plan for insourcing India payroll (and potentially other entities), as well as a recurring process for automated reconciliations and variance analysis. Implement initial steps of the insourcing plan, demonstrating progress towards reducing processor dependency and cost. Proactively identify and flag compliance or transition risks, providing solutions before issues arise. Within 365 Days, You'll Successfully complete the insourcing of India payroll onto an internal platform (if justified), or provide a clearly documented and approved reason to remain with our current processor, Paybooks. Ensure zero statutory findings across all payroll entities and achieve consistent closure of all GL and close items within established SLAs. Begin defining the framework for hiring and training a junior India payroll teammate, supporting the growth of the function.