Manager, Payroll Operations in Randburg, Northern Cape at Jobgether

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Manager, Payroll Operations based in South Africa.

As Manager, Payroll Operations, you will lead a team responsible for delivering accurate, compliant, and timely payroll across a portfolio of countries or regions. You will combine people leadership with hands-on operational ownership, ensuring payroll processes consistently meet high standards. The role offers significant scope to influence team performance, operational efficiency, and the employee experience. You will oversee complex payroll matters, manage escalations, and work closely with internal and external stakeholders. You will also contribute your expertise to global payroll implementations, including new country launches and vendor transitions. Working in a fully remote and asynchronous environment, you will have the autonomy to make decisions while helping a growing global operation scale effectively.

• Lead and develop a team of payroll specialists, providing coaching, feedback, day-to-day guidance, and support to help the team consistently deliver accurate and timely payroll outcomes.
• Take accountability for payroll accuracy, compliance, service levels, and operational performance across an assigned portfolio of countries or regions.
• Lead investigations into complex payroll issues and escalations, ensuring problems are resolved efficiently and within the appropriate level of authority.
• Provide input into performance reviews, hiring decisions, team changes, and performance-related actions when required.
• Foster a psychologically safe, collaborative, and high-accountability team environment where employees can develop their capabilities and take ownership of their work.
• Own end-to-end payroll operations for the assigned countries, maintaining strong working knowledge of local statutory requirements and ensuring processes remain compliant, documented, and auditable.
• Manage relationships with relevant external payroll vendors and ensure effective service delivery across the assigned portfolio.
• Support global payroll implementation projects, including new country launches, vendor transitions, and initiatives to bring payroll processes in-house.
• Provide country-specific payroll expertise during implementations, identify operational risks early, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure successful and sustainable launches.
• Maintain ownership of payroll stability and operational performance following implementation and go-live.
• Identify recurring issues, process gaps, and operational risks, and drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase efficiency, reduce errors, and improve team capacity.
• Support the adoption of automation, new payroll tools, and standardised workflows to improve operational scalability.
• Monitor and contribute to payroll KPIs, service levels, quality metrics, and operational performance.
• Oversee operational support activities, including team performance and engagement in service management platforms.
• Partner with People Operations, Finance, Legal, Product, and Service Operations teams to ensure effective payroll delivery and clear communication across functions.
• Proactively communicate risks, delays, policy changes, and other issues that may affect payroll outcomes.

• Proven experience managing payroll operations and owning payroll outcomes within a regional or multi-country environment.
• Demonstrated people management experience, including coaching, performance management, feedback, and team development.
• Strong experience with South African payroll, including statutory payroll compliance and reporting requirements.
• Experience managing payroll operations across multiple African countries is highly valuable.
• Solid understanding of country-specific payroll regulations, controls, processes, and compliance requirements.
• Experience managing external payroll vendors and resolving complex operational or payroll issues.
• Strong operational judgment, with the ability to balance accuracy, compliance, speed, and customer impact.
• Demonstrated ability to investigate problems, identify root causes, and drive effective resolutions.
• Experience contributing to payroll implementations, country launches, vendor transitions, or payroll transformation initiatives.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple countries and stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly within remote and asynchronous working environments.
• Comfortable working independently, taking ownership, and making sound decisions in a fast-moving global organisation.
• Fluency in English and Afrikaans, both spoken and written.
• Experience working within a remote-first or globally distributed team is a strong advantage.
• Familiarity with payroll systems, service management platforms, automation tools, and modern HR/payroll technology is beneficial.

• Annual salary range of R990,700 – R1,114,500 ZAR, depending on location, experience, skills, training, business needs, and market conditions.
• Fully remote, work-from-anywhere environment.
• Flexible working hours within an asynchronous working culture.
• Flexible paid time off.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Budget for co-working spaces, learning, and wellness activities, including gym memberships.
• Mental health support services.
• Stock options.
• Home office budget and IT equipment.
• Opportunities to work with globally distributed teams across multiple regions and cultures.
• A strong focus on employee growth, pay equity, inclusion, and professional development.