Global Payroll Associate Manager - Payroll Advisor - EMEA

The Payroll Advisor role is the critical connection between Accenture's Global Payroll team and local payroll operations. The Payroll Advisor drives and supports the implementation of the Global Payroll strategy and projects in the EMEA region. This role provides subject matter expertise, project leadership, and value-added guidance to local payroll operations teams to ensure payroll service delivery is modernized, standardized, compliant, and visualized. The Payroll Advisor develops and maintains relationships with local payroll teams and stakeholder groups, assesses risks and appropriateness of controls, contributes to payroll transformation by identifying opportunities for improvement, and is responsible for service delivery support related to Ventures & Acquisitions transactions globally.

Key Responsibilities:

Support local Payroll teams through advice and counsel, advocacy for successful and compliant payroll operations, escalation of issues and risks, prioritization of projects and initiatives, participation in compliance reviews, and identification of opportunities for transformation.

Assess gaps with local country processes, technology, and controls versus global standards and recommend / help drive actions for continuous improvement and mitigation of risk.

Coordinate global and local Payroll requirements, including ownership of country overviews / risk assessment and the global payroll calendar.

Partner with local Payroll teams to ensure accurate and timely Payroll delivery and associated tasks such as compliance with tax and regulatory rules, tax payments and filings, regulatory reporting, etc.

Partner with business functions to ensure local systems and processes can support related requirements such as equity, benefits, HR, cross-border assignments, and other functions.

Oversee local team compliance with Internal Controls, Information Security requirements, etc.

Partner with IT/CIO to drive required technology changes.

Support local Payroll teams with Vendor system changes, upgrades, etc.

Lead/support continuous improvement efforts for processes, tools, metrics, and trainings based on ongoing experience, process metrics and feedback from stakeholders.

May undertake critical roles within the function for a period.

Lead and direct special projects (organizational changes, redeployment of personnel, vendor transitions).

Help translate the high-level vision or strategy into specific initiatives and activities for implementation

Orchestrate timely delivery across a complex, global organizational structure.

Drive strategy, key policy controls, process metrics and integration with other functional teams.

Manage the goals, objectives, overall performance and budget of their assigned projects and teams.

Reduce/manage risks to tasks, activities, or projects.

Offer functional expertise to key processes, products, and solutions.

Apply and use fundamentals of statistical data analysis tools as required.

Assist the decision-making processes for various business needs.

Apply core management skills such as organizing and planning.

Support initiatives that require integration of quality and continuous improvement initiatives with other cross-center initiatives such as blueprint, service management, etc.

Work with Accenture Leadership/Service Delivery Lead (SDLs)/Vendor relationship managers in identifying and development of optimization opportunities.

Understand the systems, processes, and tools to derive the desired business results for Accenture.

Support in identifying problems and provide resolutions using root cause analysis.

Qualifications

Must have:

Minimum Bachelors Degree or relevant business experience.

Good to have:

Payroll Professional Certification


Qualifications - External

Skills & Work Experience

Must have:

5+ years payroll operations experience in a complex environment, with Hands On expertise in European Payroll

Experience in payroll vendor transition projects and relationship management

Strong understanding of Payroll systems, Payroll Accounting and Payroll Tax

Effective Relationship Skills, including ability to interact with both Accenture and Payroll Vendor senior leadership

Able to articulate/position complex/critical challenges, issues, etc.

Strong oral and written English communications skills

Good to have:

Experience in managing Ventures & Acquisitions transition

Payroll processing experience in multiple countries

Lean Six Sigma experience / background

AI / Automation within E2E processes

Other requirements

Ability to work non-standard hours.

Ability to identify and assess complex problems for area(s) of responsibility.

Create solutions in situations in which analysis requires in-depth knowledge of organizational objectives.

Involve in setting strategic direction to establish near-term goals for area(s) of responsibility.

Interaction is with senior management levels within Accenture, involving negotiating or influencing on significant matters.