Global People Shared Services Payroll Operations Team Leader

Arcadis is the worlds leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 36,000 people, in over 70 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description:

The GPSS Payroll Operations Team Leader oversees delivery of payroll support services including payroll intake management, case resolution, payroll input validation, and coordination with local payroll teams. The role ensures accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery, drives service excellence through SLAs and KPIs, manages employee escalations, and partners with People Teams, Local Payroll, and Finance to resolve issues. The Team Leader coaches and develops Payroll Operations Specialists, standardizes and improves processes, and maintains a robust controls and audit environment across all supported countries.

Role accountabilities:

Service Delivery & Escalation Management

• Ensure payroll support services meet defined SLAs, KPIs, and service quality standards across assigned countries.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex payroll issues raised by employees, HR partners, Finance, or Leadership; coordinate cross‑team/vendor resolution.
• Oversee shared services channels (ticketing/queues), ensuring case prioritization, turnaround times, and first‑contact resolution targets are met.
  
  

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and performance‑manage a team of Payroll Specialists II; set goals, conduct 1:1s, and deliver reviews and development plans.
• Build a high‑performing, collaborative culture, promote cross‑training, knowledge sharing, and consistent application of SOPs/WIs.
• Plan team capacity and schedules to meet payroll cutoffs, month‑end timelines, and peak periods; coordinate shift coverage across time zones as needed.
  
  

Payroll Operations Oversight

• Oversee validation and approvals of payroll inputs/outputs, variance checks, reconciliations, and off‑cycle runs; own issue triage/root‑cause analysis.
• Review complex transactions (e.g., retro pay, multi‑jurisdiction taxation, garnishments, allowances) and ensure interface integrity across HRIS/payroll systems.
• Partner with Timekeeping, HR Operations, Compensation & Benefits, Finance, and local payroll to close processing gaps and reduce rework.
  
  

Compliance, Controls & Audit Readiness

• Maintain a strong controls environment (segregation of duties, approvals, evidence, and reconciliations), ensure adherence to internal policies and statutory requirements.
• Coordinate with local payroll teams to support reporting requirements and maintain audit-ready documentation.
  
  

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Govern third‑party payroll vendor performance by validating deliverables, reviewing SLAs, track defects, and drive corrective actions.
• Lead recurring operations reviews with People Partners, Local Payroll, Finance, and Technology/HRIS, align on priorities, risks, and changes.
  
  

Reporting, Analytics & Insights

• Review team reports (payroll registers, funding/costing, variances, headcount, error logs), identify trends, and present insights and actions to leadership.
• Ensure data integrity across HRIS and payroll systems, drive data quality routines and exception monitoring.
  
  

Process Improvement & Change

• Lead standardization and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce cycle time, defects, and manual effort; document SOPs/WIs and update knowledge articles.
• Coordinate UAT and change impacts for system enhancements, vendor updates, and configuration changes, sign off on readiness and training.
  
  

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in any field.
• 5–7+ years of progressive payroll experience in corporate, shared services, or multi‑country environments (US/CA/AU/PH preferred).
• At least 2 years of people leadership experience in payroll or shared services operations.
• Proficient with major HRIS and payroll systems (Oracle HCM preferred), ticketing tools such as ServiceNow, and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams.
• Advanced Excel skills with strong reporting and reconciliation capability.
• Deep understanding of payroll regulations, HRIS integrations, and dependencies with Timekeeping, Compensation & Benefits, and Finance.
• Strong controls and compliance orientation, with proven audit readiness.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to explain complex payroll topics with clarity.
• Demonstrated problem‑solving, sound decision-making, and a commitment to service excellence.
• Skilled in coaching, developing talent, and setting clear performance expectations.
• Fosters collaboration, accountability, and psychological safety within the team.
• Adaptable and resilient during payroll cutoffs, month‑end cycles, and shifting priorities.
• Champions continuous improvement, standardization, and knowledge management.
  
  

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyones contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day, which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. At Arcadis, you will have the opportunity to build the career that is right for you. Because each Arcadian has their own motivations, their own career goals. And, as a ‘people first’ business, it is why we will take the time to listen, to understand what you want from your time here, and provide the support you need to achieve your ambitions.

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