Overview Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. Come build community, explore your passions, and do your best work. If you join FinOps, you will be part of a finance organization that empowers our stakeholders to achieve more through trusted services that ensure accuracy, timeliness, privacy, and accessibility. You will lead a high-functioning team to deliver exceptional pay experiences for employees, provide accurate, efficient payroll services, and ensure compliance across our operating footprint by leveraging innovative automation and technology solutions. Microsoft’s Global Payroll organization provides trusted payroll solutions to over 200,000 employees in 103 countries. The Regional Payroll Director is responsible for overseeing payroll operations for 17 countries in Europe, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing for 27,000 employees. This role leads a team of payroll professionals, drives compliance with regulatory requirements, and ensures seamless collaboration with vendors and internal stakeholders. The role holder will ensure payroll processes are efficient, compliant, and in line with company standards, while driving continuous improvement and delivering operational excellence. This role is for those who have demonstrated success in managing and overseeing the payroll operations for an organization across multiple countries.Responsibilities People Leadership - deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modelling, coaching, and caring for a high-performing team.Lead, mentor, and develop a team of payroll professionals, providing clear objectives, regular feedback, and opportunities for growth.Value diverse perspectives and create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and respectful.Foster a collaborative culture within the team, ensuring adherence to deadlines and payroll accuracy standards.Drive employee engagement through transparent communication, regular team meetings, and recognition of individual or group impact team.OperationsAnalyze results against established organizational strategies to determine, predict, and prioritize needed changes to address identified risks and/or challenges.Create action plans and engage with internal and external senior leadership to influence vendor adherence to standard operating procedures and operational controls when partnering across multiple vendors who facilitate the payroll process.Hold team members accountable for identifying and resolving complex employee payroll-related issues or concerns.Review complex payroll analyses and scorecard metrics. Drives accountability across team(s) to ensure alignment with appropriate global measures of operational and business success. Integrates multiple signals to identify systematic gaps in data and reporting. Directs teams to identify root causes and solutions and holds teams accountable for the execution of solutions to resolve said gaps.Process Management – Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery across all supported countries. Consistently assess and improve payroll workflows to ensure alignment with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.Implement and monitor best practices for payroll accuracy, reconciliation, and compliance across the region.Continuously review and improve payroll processes to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce manual interventions.Drive operating leverage harnessing the power of AI/Automation to optimize payroll process execution with internal and/or external partners.Compliance, Controls, and Audits - Ensure payroll operations follow regulations, maintain strong internal controls, address audits findings, and implement corrective actions to reduce risks.Ensure full compliance with local labour laws, tax regulations, and statutory requirements across all countries within the region.Implement and enforce internal payroll controls to safeguard against payroll errors, fraud, or non-compliance with regulations.Collaborate with internal audit teams to conduct regular payroll audits, ensuring alignment with company policies and local regulations.Ensure accurate and timely filing of all statutory returns and reports required by government agencies and tax authorities.Stay updated on changes in local regulations, ensure payroll processes are adapted accordingly and proactively communicate changes with stakeholders.Vendor Management – Oversee payroll service providers to ensure they meet service level agreements, performance metrics, and delivery standards. Address issues promptly, evaluate performance, and drive improvements in line with organizational goals.Manage relationships with external payroll vendors, ensuring adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and maintaining high levels of service delivery.Evaluate vendor performance through regular review meetings, scorecards, and key performance indicators (KPIs).Partner with vendors to ensure continuous improvement in payroll service delivery and technology solutions.Contribute to contract negotiations, renewals, and escalations with vendors, ensuring optimal pricing, service delivery, and compliance with agreed terms.Field more complex escalated issues from vendors in each country and remove roadblocks. Stakeholder Management – Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring effective communication on payroll priorities. Collaborate across functions to address concerns, provide insights, and deliver support to meet business needs.Communicate effectively with senior management, providing insights and reports on payroll performance, issues, and strategic initiatives.Collaborate with key internal stakeholders, including HR, Finance, Legal, and Technology leaders, to ensure alignment on payroll policies, data integrity, and compliance requirements.Relay best practices and process standards across companies and functions to drive optimal performance. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or related field AND extensive experience in payroll operationsOR equivalent experience.Demonstrable experience as an indirect/informal (e.g. project or team lead) or direct/formal people manager. Additional or Preferred Qualifications Extensive experience in payroll operations experience in a global, large enterprise-sized (e.g., 10,000+ employee) company.Demonstrable experience as a direct/formal people manager.Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or related field AND extensive experience in payroll operations OR equivalent experience. At Microsoft, we believe that diversity enriches our performance and products, the communities where we live and work, and the lives of our employees. As our workforce evolves to reflect the growing diversity of our communities and the global marketplace, our efforts to understand, value, and incorporate differences become increasingly important. Come explore diversity at Microsoft! Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form. 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