Senior Global Payroll Operations Manager

At CloudFactory, we are a mission-driven team passionate about unlocking the potential of AI to transform the world. By combining advanced technology with a global network of talented people, we make unusable data usable, driving real-world impact at scale. 

More than just a workplace, we’re a global community founded on strong relationships and the belief that meaningful work transforms lives. Our commitment to earning, learning, and serving fuels everything we do as we strive to connect one million people to meaningful work and build leaders worth following.

Our Culture

At CloudFactory, we believe in building a workplace where everyone feels empowered, valued, and inspired to bring their authentic selves to work. We are:

• Mission-Driven: We focus on creating economic and social impact.
• People-Centric: We care deeply about our team’s growth, well-being, and sense of belonging.
• Innovative: We embrace change and find better ways to do things together.
• Globally Connected: We foster collaboration between diverse cultures and perspectives.

If you’re passionate about innovation, collaboration, and making a real impact, we’d love to have you on board!

Role Summary

We are seeking a senior-level professional to lead our mission critical payroll operations, owning and overseeing the end-to-end payroll and pay ecosystem globally. This role is designed as a hands-on expert with deep executional ownership, operating with high autonomy in a complex, global environment.

The role will be responsible to work closely with Technology, Delivery, Finance, Legal, and external payroll providers to ensure payroll and pay processes are accurate, compliant, scalable, and delivered with operational excellence. While this role also contributes to broader compensation strategy and governance, its primary focus is on pay execution, payroll integrity, and operational rigor.

This role is ideal for someone who combines strong analytical capability with exceptional attention to detail, and who thrives in environments where precision, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration are critical.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll & Pay Execution (Primary Focus)

• Lead the end-to-end global payroll operations, including governance, timelines, controls, validation, and issue resolution across multiple countries and employment models.
• Act as the single point of accountability for payroll accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Partner with external payroll vendors and internal Finance and Tech teams to ensure seamless execution and continuous improvement.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve payroll discrepancies, root causes, and systemic issues.
• Drive standardization and documentation of payroll processes, controls, and escalation paths.

Strategic Data & Insight Stewardship

• Elevate payroll to strategic insights by transforming raw payroll data into executive-ready insights, proactively identifying cost drivers, operational risks, and opportunities for global process optimization and efficiency gains through automation.
• Establish data governance by designing and owning the strategic roadmap for payroll data integrity, reporting, and analytics, partnering with Finance to ensure seamless reconciliation, variance analysis, and accurate financial forecasting.
• Develop and maintain a suite of clear, reliable metrics and executive dashboards that provide senior leadership with the foresight needed to make informed decisions regarding global workforce cost and operational performance.

Executive Influence & Cross-Functional Governance

• Act as the primary strategic partner to Technology, Finance, Delivery, and Talent leadership, championing the design and control of reliable, scalable payroll systems, integrations, and data flows.
• Provide trusted, expert guidance to senior leaders on global payroll complexity, regulatory trade-offs, and risk mitigation strategies related to workforce changes,
• Govern cross-functional processes with Finance (funding, accounting, audits) and Technology (system integrity) to ensure operational rigor and maintain a highly controlled, compliant, and scalable global pay ecosystem.

Compliance, Risk & Controls

• Ensure payroll compliance with local labor laws, tax regulations, and statutory requirements across geographies.
• Establish and maintain strong internal controls, documentation, and audit readiness.
• Proactively identify payroll risks related to growth, change, or system implementation and lead mitigation efforts.

Benefits (Light Touch / Governance)

• Provide governance oversight to ensure benefit-related payroll deductions and contributions are accurately executed.
• Partner with benefits owners or vendors where payroll integration or execution issues arise.
• Ensure benefits impacts are correctly reflected in payroll systems, without owning full benefits strategy.

What Success Looks Like

• Payroll is delivered accurately, on time, and with minimal exceptions, even in complex global environments.
• Pay changes are executed flawlessly and consistently.
• Leaders trust payroll data and insights to inform decisions.
• Risks are anticipated and resolved proactively.
• Payroll complexity is simplified through strong governance, automation, and cross-functional alignment.
• Our thousands of CW's feel good about the process, communication and their concerns/problems get address timely

Requirements

Proven experience leading and managing mission-critical operational systems and programs, with a track record of delivering accuracy, reliability, and continuous improvement in high-stakes environments.

• Deep expertise in global payroll execution across multiple countries, employment models, and regulatory landscapes, including experience navigating complexity at scale.
• Demonstrated leadership in cross-functional environments, partnering effectively with Finance, Technology, Legal, Delivery, and People teams to ensure alignment, resolve issues, and drive integrated solutions.
• Experience managing external payroll vendors and service partners, including performance oversight, escalation management, and contract or SLA governance.
• Strong understanding of payroll compliance, statutory requirements, taxation, and internal controls, with experience building or strengthening governance frameworks.
• Advanced proficiency in payroll systems, integrations, and reporting tools, with the ability to leverage data and analytics for insights, decision support, and risk mitigation.
• Exceptional communication and business partnering skills, including the ability to influence stakeholders, simplify complex information, and present insights clearly to senior leaders.
• History of operating independently in fast-paced, ambiguous contexts, demonstrating sound judgment, action orientation, and accountability for outcomes.

Competencies Requirements

• Action Orientation & Ownership - Takes initiative, drives work forward with urgency, and consistently delivers results in fast-moving, deadline-driven environments. Operates with a strong sense of accountability and follow-through.
• Comfort With Ambiguity & Change - Thrives in evolving contexts with incomplete information; able to interpret complexity, make sound decisions, and create clarity for others through structure and communication.
• Strategic & Systems Thinking - Able to zoom out to understand the broader business, financial, and operational landscape, while designing scalable payroll solutions that align with long-term organizational goals.
• Operational Excellence & Execution Mastery - Demonstrates rigorous discipline in managing high-stakes processes. Builds and improves systems, controls, and workflows that ensure accuracy, reliability, and scalability.
• Analytical Leadership - Uses data to diagnose issues, anticipate risks, and guide decision-making. Translates complex payroll and financial information into clear insights that influence stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Influence & Collaboration - Builds strong partnerships across Tech, Finance, Talent, and Delivery. Influences without authority, aligning diverse teams around shared goals and driving coordinated execution.
• Communication & Business Partnering - Communicates with clarity, confidence, and purpose. Able to break down complex payroll concepts into simple, actionable language tailored to non-technical audiences and senior leaders.
• Resilience & Problem Solving - Navigates obstacles with a solution-minded approach. Responds to challenges with composure and adaptability, maintaining high performance during peak cycles and operational stress.