Payroll Operations Partner (APAC Lead)

Payroll Operations Partner (APAC Lead)

Global HR & Payroll Services

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Payroll Operations Partner with 8 to 12 years of experience for the operational oversight, governance, and risk management of outsourced APAC payroll delivery. TMF is the outsourced vendor responsible for accurate and timely processing payroll for 10 jurisdictions across the region. The current APAC countries in our end-to-end model include Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Philippines (current scope is 19 companies, 12 pay cycles per year, circa. 900 headcount). The Payroll Operations Partner will be required to align working hours to APAC business hours to provide real-time oversight of payroll activities.

Primary Task & Key Responsibilities:

Payroll Operations Ownership (Outsourced Model)

• Strong understanding of end-to-end payroll delivery cycles across APAC, including inputs, validations, cut-offs, approvals, and post-pay activities
• Proven experience managing outsourced payroll vendors, including service delivery oversight, issue resolution, and escalation management
• Demonstrated experience supporting multi-country / international payroll operations, ideally across complex regulatory environments
• Strong financial and payroll analytical capability, including variance analysis, reconciliations, and interpretation of payroll data
• Ability to manage complex, ad-hoc payroll operational scenarios, applying pragmatic judgement and a solution-oriented (fix-it) mindset while maintaining appropriate controls and compliance

Regional Compliance & Risk Oversight

• Strong working knowledge of APAC statutory requirements, tax, and labour regulations to oversee vendor compliance
• Experience supporting internal and external payroll audits, including evidence coordination and issue remediation

Communication & Operational Leadership

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Comfortable leading payroll calls, risk reviews, and escalation forums with TMF and internal stakeholders
• Ability to operate effectively across multiple countries, cultures, and time zones

Value-Add / Maturity Capabilities

• Experience supporting payroll transitions, vendor changes, system implementations, and parallel runs advantageous
• Ability to contribute to process standardisation, documentation, and control design in our maturing operating model
• Capability to mentor junior payroll or HR Services colleagues on payroll governance and controls
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple payroll cycles and priorities
• Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English; additional languages are an advantage
• Experience operating within a fast-paced, corporate or matrixed environment, balancing competing priorities and stakeholder expectations
• Demonstrated ability to self-manage workload, prioritise effectively, and meet critical payroll and reporting deadlines
• Strong commitment to service excellence, continuous improvement, and operational stability