Payroll Lead

Role Overview:

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to lead our payroll and people operations function, ensuring accurate, timely and compliant payroll administration across both on-roll employees and third-party/3PL resources. The role will own payroll governance, statutory compliance, audits, employee benefits and related people operations while managing internal teams and external partners.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll & HR Operations

• Own end-to-end monthly payroll for on-roll employees as well as third-party/3PL resources, including payroll inputs, validation, processing, reconciliation, disbursement and Full & Final settlements.
• Manage employee lifecycle transactions including joining, exits, salary revisions, variable pay, reimbursements, deductions, loans/advances and other payroll-related changes.
• Ensure accurate and up-to-date employee master data, attendance, leave, compensation and statutory information on the HRMS.
• Act as the escalation point for employee payroll and benefits-related queries and ensure timely resolution.

Statutory Compliance & Audits

• Own statutory payroll compliances including PF, ESI, PT, TDS, LWF, Gratuity, Bonus and applicable labour laws.
• Ensure timely statutory filings, payments, reconciliations and maintenance of compliance records.
• Coordinate and manage internal, statutory and payroll audits, including providing data, resolving observations and implementing corrective actions.
• Track regulatory changes and ensure necessary updates to payroll processes and policies.

3PL / Contract Workforce Management

• Manage payroll operations and statutory compliance for the third-party workforce in partnership with manpower/3PL vendors.
• Own vendor governance including onboarding, documentation, monthly payroll validation, attendance/headcount reconciliation, invoices, statutory compliance and SLA adherence.
• Ensure vendors meet all applicable statutory and contractual obligations for deployed resources.
• Partner with business and field teams to resolve 3PL workforce-related payroll, compliance and operational issues.

Insurance, ESOP & Employee Benefits

• Own administration of employee insurance programs including GMC, GPA and other employee benefit programs, covering enrolment, additions/deletions, renewals, claims coordination and employee support.
• Manage ESOP administration and employee records, including grants, exercise-related processes and coordination with Finance/Legal and external partners.
• Ensure accurate and timely communication and administration of employee benefits and statutory entitlements.

Team & Stakeholder Management

• Lead and develop the internal payroll/people operations team, ensuring clear ownership, strong controls and timely delivery.
• Manage relationships with payroll, compliance, insurance, manpower and other external vendors, including performance reviews and issue resolution.
• Work closely with HR, Finance, Legal, Business and external partners to ensure seamless people operations.
• Prepare and maintain payroll, headcount, cost, compliance and other people-related MIS for leadership.

Process Excellence

• Build robust payroll processes, controls, SOPs and checklists that can scale with a high-growth organization.
• Identify opportunities for automation, process simplification and improved data accuracy, leveraging HRMS capabilities.
• Ensure payroll and people processes remain audit-ready, employee-friendly and independent of manual interventions wherever possible.

What We're Looking For:

• 6–8 years of experience in Payroll, HR Operations or People Operations, preferably in a high-growth startup or fast-scaling organization.
• Strong hands-on experience in end-to-end payroll, statutory compliance and HR operations.
• Experience managing payroll for both on-roll and third-party/contractual workforces.
• Proven experience in vendor management, particularly manpower/3PL or contract workforce vendors.
• Hands-on exposure to Keka or a similar HRMS is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of Indian payroll and labour compliances, with experience handling audits.
• Exposure to employee insurance, ESOP administration and benefits management.
• Strong people-management, stakeholder-management and problem-solving skills.
• Highly detail-oriented with strong ownership, confidentiality and the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced environment.