About the Role
We are seeking a highly accomplished Senior Delivery Leader & Subject Matter Expert (SME) with 12+ years of hands-on experience in Global Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) and Payroll Services. This strategic leadership role demands a rare combination of deep domain expertise, operational excellence, and client-facing gravitas. The incumbent will own end-to-end delivery accountability across multi-country payroll engagements, drive innovation in HRO service models, and serve as the go-to expert for clients, delivery teams, and pre-sales functions globally.
Job Title:
Senior Delivery Leader & Subject Matter Expert – Global HR Outsourcing & Payroll Services
Department:
Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) / Global Payroll Services
Reports To:
Head of Outsourcing
Experience:
12+ Years
Employment Type:
Full-Time | Permanent
Location:
Global / Hybrid / Remote (as per business requirements)
Travel:
Up to 30% (domestic & international)
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Delivery Leadership
- Own and govern end-to-end delivery of large-scale, multi-country HRO and Payroll engagements across diverse geographies (APAC, EMEA, Americas).
- Serve as the primary escalation point for delivery risks, client issues, and service recovery across the portfolio.
- Define, drive, and monitor SLAs, KPIs, and OLAs to ensure consistent service excellence and contractual compliance.
- Partner with senior stakeholders – C-suite, CHROs, CFOs, and procurement leaders – to align delivery outcomes with business objectives.
- Lead governance forums, quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and executive-level reporting with clarity and data-driven insights.
2. Subject Matter Expertise – HRO & Payroll
- Act as the enterprise-wide SME for Global Payroll, HR Administration, Benefits Administration, Workforce Management, and HR Shared Services.
- Provide authoritative guidance on payroll regulations, statutory compliance, tax frameworks, and labor laws across multiple jurisdictions.
- Lead solution design and advisory for clients transitioning to outsourced or hybrid HR/payroll models.
- Stay abreast of evolving global payroll legislation, industry benchmarks, and best practices; translate them into actionable delivery strategies.
- Support bid/proposal processes as a named SME, contributing to RFP/RFI responses, solutioning workshops, and client presentations.
3. Client Relationship Management
- Build and sustain trusted, long-term relationships with client HR and Finance leadership, fostering partnership beyond contractual obligations.
- Drive client satisfaction (CSAT/NPS) through proactive engagement, issue resolution, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Identify and capitalize on revenue growth opportunities (cross-sell/upsell) within existing client accounts.
- Lead client onboarding, transition, and transformation programs with structured change management practices, ensuring seamless handovers and minimal disruption to business operations.
4. Transition & Transformation (T&T) Leadership
- Own end-to-end Transition Management for new HRO/Payroll engagements – from deal sign-off through steady-state, including transition planning, workstream governance, milestone tracking, and stakeholder communication.
- Design and execute Transformation roadmaps for existing accounts – driving process re-engineering, operating model changes, technology upgrades, and workforce capability development to achieve defined business outcomes.
- Manage knowledge transfer, parallel runs, cutover planning, and hyper-care activities to ensure service continuity and zero-defect go-lives during transitions.
- Identify transition risks and interdependencies proactively; establish risk registers, mitigation plans, and escalation protocols to safeguard delivery commitments and client satisfaction.
- Lead structured change management and stakeholder engagement strategies during transformation programs, ensuring adoption, readiness, and sustainable behavioral change across client and internal teams.
5. Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Champion a culture of operational excellence, lean thinking, and Agile delivery across all HRO engagements.
- Identify and eliminate process inefficiencies; implement automation, RPA, and AI-led solutions to optimize payroll and HR operations.
- Drive standardization of delivery playbooks, SOPs, and governance frameworks across geographies.
- Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) on delivery failures and implement sustainable corrective action plans.
6. Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing, cross-functional delivery team of 20–100+ professionals spread across global delivery centers.
- Establish training curricula and competency frameworks to upskill teams on HRO domain knowledge and delivery best practices.
- Drive a performance culture with clear accountability, OKRs, and regular feedback loops.
- Collaborate with HR, Talent Acquisition, and workforce planning teams to ensure optimal staffing and succession planning.
7. Technology & Innovation
- Leverage and optimize leading HCM/Payroll platforms including Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, ADP, Ceridian Dayforce, Oracle HCM, Ramco, or equivalent.
- Actively participate in digital transformation initiatives – AI-powered payroll processing, chatbot-led HR services, and analytics-driven workforce insights.
- Drive adoption of cloud-based payroll solutions and evaluate emerging HR technology landscape for strategic fit.
Qualifications & Experience
Essential
- 12+ years of progressive experience in HRO, Global Payroll, or HR Shared Services delivery.
- Proven track record of managing multi-country payroll programs across 5+ countries simultaneously.
- Demonstrated experience leading client-facing delivery programs with P&L accountability
- Deep expertise in payroll compliance, statutory requirements, and labor regulations across APAC, EMEA, and/or Americas.
- Proven experience leading large-scale HRO Transition & Transformation (T&T) programs, including scope definition, solution design, migration planning, and go-live execution across multi-country engagements.
- Demonstrated ability to manage transition risks, knowledge transfer, parallel runs, and cutover activities while maintaining BAU service continuity throughout the transition lifecycle.
- Experience in driving HR/Payroll transformation initiatives encompassing process re-engineering, technology implementation, operating model redesign, and change management to deliver measurable business outcomes.
- Hands-on experience with at least two of the following platforms: Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, ADP, Ceridian, Oracle HCM, or Ramco.
- Strong commercial acumen with experience in contract governance and client negotiation.
Preferred / Advantageous
- MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification in HR, Business Administration, or Finance.
- Certifications: CPP (Certified Payroll Professional), GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources), PMP, or PRINCE2.
- Experience in a Big 4 consulting firm, global BPO, or Tier-1 HRO provider (ADP, Alight, Mercer, Conduent, WPP, etc.).
- Exposure to AI/ML applications within payroll and HR shared services environments.
- Experience with GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001 compliance in the context of HR data management.
Core Competencies
Leadership & Strategic Thinking
Domain Knowledge & Technical Proficiency
- Executive presence & stakeholder influence
- Strategic vision & commercial mindset
- Crisis management & decisive leadership
- Cross-cultural team leadership
- Coaching, mentoring & talent development
- Global payroll regulations & compliance
- HCM platforms & payroll technology
- HRSS, hire-to-retire processes
- Process automation & RPA knowledge
- Analytics, MI reporting & data governance
Client & Relationship Management
Operational & Quality Excellence
- C-suite engagement & advisory skills
- Contract governance & SLA management
- Revenue growth & account development
- Exceptional communication & negotiation
- Lean Six Sigma / Agile methodologies
- Transition & transformation management
- Risk identification & mitigation
- Continuous improvement mindset
What We Offer
- Opportunity to lead marquee global HRO engagements with Fortune 500 / 1000 clients.
- Competitive compensation package with performance-linked incentives.
- Exposure to cutting-edge HR technology and transformation programs.
- A collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance work culture.
- Continuous professional development, certifications, and global mobility opportunities.
- Leadership visibility with access to executive mentoring and career growth pathways.
