European Payroll Manager
Diepeveen and partners
About the company
Our client is a well-established international company with a strong European presence and a long-standing reputation for quality, innovation and operational excellence.
As part of the continued development and harmonization of its European payroll operations, the company is looking for an experienced European Payroll Manager to lead and further strengthen its regional payroll setup.
The opportunity
In this role, you will lead and manage end-to-end payroll operations across Europe, ensuring accuracy, compliance and increasing levels of standardization.
You will play a key role in the harmonization of payroll and Time & Absence Tracking processes, support the transition to external payroll providers, and establish effective governance across countries, internal functions and external partners.
This is a senior regional role combining operational payroll leadership, transformation, vendor management and continuous improvement.
Your key responsibilities
Lead European payroll operations
Oversee payroll operations across multiple European countries, ensuring accurate and timely payroll delivery and full compliance with local regulations.
Work closely with local HR teams, Finance Shared Services and other internal stakeholders to ensure smooth and reliable monthly payroll cycles.
Drive payroll and Time & Absence harmonization
Lead the harmonization and standardization of payroll processes across Europe.
Support the implementation of a unified Time & Absence Tracking solution and its integration with HR, Finance and payroll systems.
Support payroll outsourcing and transition
Support the transition of payroll activities to external payroll providers across all stages, including planning, migration, go-live and stabilization.
Ensure effective knowledge transfer, clear ownership and strong change management throughout the transition.
Own vendor management and governance
Manage external payroll providers end-to-end, including service scope, contracts, SLAs, performance monitoring, issue resolution and escalation.
Build effective vendor governance and drive continuous improvement in service quality and delivery.
Ensure compliance and manage risk
Ensure compliance with European and local payroll, tax, audit and data protection requirements.
Establish appropriate governance frameworks, support audit readiness and proactively identify and mitigate payroll-related risks.
Manage stakeholders across functions
Act as a key interface between HR, Finance, IT, Procurement, Treasury, local country teams and external vendors.
Ensure alignment across countries and functions and manage complex stakeholder relationships with confidence.
Lead continuous improvement and reporting
Drive process optimization, automation and standardization across payroll and related HR administration activities.
Provide meaningful payroll insights, analytics and reporting to senior management.
Build and lead the future payroll organization
Contribute to the design and development of a small central European payroll and administration team operating in a shared service model.
Help define responsibilities, processes, governance and future ways of working.
Your profile
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance or a related field
An advanced degree or relevant payroll certification is an advantage
At least 5 years of experience in international payroll
Strong experience managing payroll across multiple countries
At least 3 years of leadership experience
Deep understanding of European payroll processes, compliance and HR administration
Strong knowledge of payroll systems and Time & Absence management
Proven experience in payroll transformation, outsourcing and vendor management
Experience managing contracts, SLAs, service performance and escalations
Strong leadership skills with experience building and leading high-performing teams
Experience working in complex, cross-functional and international environments
Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability
Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills
Ability to translate complex payroll, HR and financial data into actionable insights
Excellent communication skills and fluent English
High level of accuracy, integrity and accountability
Collaborative mindset and ability to perform in a fast-paced, changing environment
Experience in a Shared Service Center or Global Business Services environment is a strong advantage
What the role offers
This is an opportunity to shape the future of European payroll within a complex international organization.
The role offers genuine influence over how payroll is governed, standardized and delivered across the region, together with significant exposure to senior stakeholders, external partners and international teams.
It combines operational leadership with transformation, team building and long-term organizational development.