About the Opportunity

Job Type: Permanent

Application Deadline: 08 June 2026

Job Description

Title Senior Manager - Continental Europe Payroll

Department Enterprise Platforms - HR Shared Service & Governance

Location India

Reports To Director - Global HR Shared Services

Level 6

We're proud to have been helping our clients build better financial futures for over 50 years. We achieve this through collaboration, innovation, and a relentless focus on excellence across our global teams. Join our Global HR Shared Services & Governance team and be part of a function that is transforming how people services are delivered-leveraging technology, data, and operational excellence at scale.

Global HR Shared Services & Governance is part of the Enterprise Platforms team and is a centralised, globally distributed function delivering Payroll, HR Administration, Benefits Admin, Background Vetting, and Governance services across FIL & Eight Roads.

The function operates across India, China, the UK, and Luxembourg, delivering consistent, efficient, and compliant HR services globally. The team is focused on:

Driving operational excellence and standardisation
Leveraging HRP technology and automation
Delivering high-quality employee experience
Ensuring regulatory compliance and risk mitigation

The Payroll team is responsible for managing multi-country payroll operations, vendor partnerships, and ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery across all jurisdictions.

As Senior Manager - CE Payroll, you will lead end-to-end payroll operations across Continental Europe and select international locations (15+ countries). You will be accountable for service delivery, governance, transformation, and continuous improvement of payroll operations in a complex, multi-country environment. You will act as a strategic leader and subject matter expert, driving payroll excellence through global alignment, standardisation, digital enablement, vendor governance, and data-driven decision-making. You will also play a key leadership role in global payroll projects and change initiatives, including system implementations, process harmonisation, and operating model evolution. Youwillwork closely with the HRSupportServices, Benefits Administration and other HR teams and wider stakeholders (finance, tax etc.) to ensurethesmoothrunning of servicesacross all Europeanoffices.Youwilllead a team of Payrollspecialists,providingthoughtleadership and innovativesolutions to ensureeffective and efficientrunning of theservices. Your responsibilities will include:

1. Payroll Service Delivery & Operations

Accountable for accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery across CE countries, ensuring adherence to all statutory, tax, and regulatory requirements
Monitor performance through SLAs, KPIs, and control frameworks, including payroll calendar governance, sign-offs, and audit readiness
Act as the final escalation point for complex payroll issues, ensuring effective resolution and service continuity

2. Leadership & People Management

Lead, coach, and develop a team of multilingual payroll specialists and managers, fostering a high-performance environment
Build a customer-centric culture focused on quality, accountability, and service excellence
Drive capability building, succession planning, and talent development, with clear objective setting aligned to HR Shared Services strategy

3. Vendor & Stakeholder Management

Manage relationships with external payroll vendors and partners, ensuring delivery excellence through robust contracts, SLAs, and performance governance
Collaborate cross-functionally with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and Technology teams to ensure seamless operations
Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, providing expert guidance on payroll-related matters

4. Technology & Data Enablement

Partner with HR Technology teams to optimise Workday and payroll integrations, enabling efficient and scalable solutions
Drive system adoption, automation, and process optimisation to streamline operations
Ensure strong data governance, analytics, and reporting, delivering actionable insights through dashboards to support decision-making

5. Risk, Compliance & Controls

Ensure robust internal controls, compliance, and risk mitigation processes across all CE payroll operations
Maintain oversight of regulatory and legislative changes, ensuring ongoing compliance
Lead audit activities (internal/external), including remediation, and govern documentation (SOPs, process maps, control frameworks)

6. Projects, Change Management & Continuous Improvement

Lead delivery of global and local payroll projects, migrations, and transitions, including post-implementation stabilisation and benefits realisation
Drive change management, stakeholder engagement, and process standardisation, harmonisation, and simplification
Identify and implement automation, digitisation, and best practices (e.g., RPA, AI) to deliver measurable improvements in cost, cycle time, accuracy, and employee experience

15+ years of experience in Payroll with deep expertise in multi-country (Europe) payroll operations
Proven leadership experience within HR Shared Services / Global Business Services (GBS) environments
Strong track record in leading global or regional payroll change initiatives
Deep knowledge of payroll compliance, regulatory frameworks, and vendor-managed payroll models
Experience with Workday, TMF Horizon or similar cloud-based HCM/payroll systems
Strong strategic thinking combined with operational execution excellence
Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including senior leadership engagement
Proven ability to manage complex vendor ecosystems and drive performance governance
Data-driven mindset with experience in analytics, reporting, and insight generation
Strong understanding of risk management, internal controls, and audit frameworks
Exceptional people leadership capability, with a focus on coaching, mentoring, and building high-performing teams
High levels of integrity, resilience, and adaptability, with strong problem-solving ability and a continuous improvement mindset

Feel rewarded

For starters, we'll offer you a comprehensive benefits package. We'll value your wellbeing and support your development. And we'll be as flexible as we can about where and when you work - finding a balance that works for all of us. It's all part of our commitment to making you feel motivated by the work you do and happy to be part of our team. For more about our work, our approach to dynamic working and how you could build your future here, visit careers.fidelityinternational.com.

For more about our work, our approach to dynamic working and how you could build your future here, visit careers.fidelityinternational.com.