Head of Payroll - Americas & EMEA

Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hello, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, but we've made our way from down under, to a hub in San Francisco, which is now home to our US operations. We offer flexibility in how and where you work. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.

This role is a fantastic opportunity to lead and shape payroll operations across the Americas and EMEA while helping build the future of Canva’s global payroll function. The primary responsibility of the Payroll Manager will be to lead a team of payroll specialists across EMEA & Americas.
You’ll serve as the main point of contact and subject matter expert for payroll-related matters across the region, ensuring our Canvanauts are paid accurately, compliantly, and on time. You’ll partner closely with Finance, People, Legal, Systems, and external providers to support global expansion, drive operational excellence, and implement scalable payroll solutions that support Canva’s continued growth.
This role will actively support expansion initiatives across the Americas and EMEA while playing a key role in shaping payroll processes, controls, and systems for the increasing complexities of a rapidly growing global workforce. You’ll also have the opportunity to leverage automation, AI, and emerging technologies to create a world-class payroll experience for our growing global community.

What’s special about this role?

• Lead payroll operations across two of Canva’s fastest-growing regions.
• Influence global payroll strategy and support expansion into new markets.
• Drive payroll transformation initiatives, including automation, AI, and process innovation.
• Partner with leaders across Finance, People, Legal, Systems, and Equity to shape the future of payroll at Canva.
• Build scalable processes and controls that support Canva’s continued hyper-growth.
• Develop and mentor payroll talent while helping create a world-class global payroll function.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

Payroll Operations & Compliance

• Own end-to-end payroll processing across the Americas and EMEA regions, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timeliness.
• Serve as the go-to resource and subject matter expert for all payroll-related matters, including future payroll or Employer of Record (EOR) expansions.
• Stay up to date with payroll legislation, tax regulations, employment requirements, and compliance obligations across multiple jurisdictions.
• Ensure payroll processes remain compliant with local regulations and internal policies.
• Lead the resolution of complex payroll issues and escalations, delivering an exceptional employee experience.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing payroll team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across Finance, People, Legal, Systems, Equity, and external partners.
• Act as a trusted advisor on payroll-related matters, providing guidance and recommendations to support business decisions.
• Partner with regional and global teams to communicate and implement payroll-related changes, policies, and procedures.

Global Expansion & Transformation

• Support payroll readiness activities for new country launches, entity setups, acquisitions, and workforce expansions across the Americas and EMEA.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to assess payroll, compliance, and operational impacts of expansion initiatives.
• Lead payroll-related projects, including system implementations, upgrades, integrations, and process redesign initiatives.
• Continuously evaluate and implement best practices to support a scalable and efficient payroll function.

AI, Automation & Continuous Improvement

• Champion the use of AI-powered tools, automation, and emerging technologies to improve payroll efficiency, accuracy, compliance monitoring, reporting, and employee support.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and enhance operational scalability.
• Leverage payroll data and analytics to identify trends, provide insights, and support informed decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance payroll operations, controls, reporting capabilities, and employee experience.

Governance, Controls & Reporting

• Establish and maintain robust payroll controls, governance frameworks, and audit-ready processes.
• Manage relationships with payroll providers, EOR partners, tax authorities, auditors, and external advisors.
• Compile, analyse, and present payroll data and reporting to management and key stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain payroll KPIs, SLAs, and operational metrics, ensuring high levels of accuracy and service delivery.
• Support internal and external audits and ensure timely resolution of findings and recommendations.

Team Culture

• Be part of a fun, agile, and supportive team that continuously learns, evolves, and helps each other succeed in a hyper-growth environment.
• Contribute to building a payroll function that is innovative, scalable, and employee-centric.

You’re probably a match if:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• CPP, GPMI, CIPP, or other payroll-related certification is highly regarded.
• 8+ years of payroll experience managing complex, multi-country payroll operations across the Americas and EMEA.
• Experience leading and developing globally distributed payroll teams.
• Strong knowledge of payroll regulations, tax laws, and employment compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience supporting global expansion initiatives, entity launches, acquisitions, or EOR transitions.
• Proven experience leading payroll transformation, automation, system implementations, or process improvement initiatives.
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, including AI and automation tools, with a demonstrated ability to leverage technology to improve operational efficiency.
• Experience managing payroll vendors, global payroll providers, and external compliance partners.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret payroll data and provide meaningful business insights.
• Experience with payroll and HRIS platforms such as Workday, Paylocity, ADP GlobalView, ADP Celergo, or similar systems.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets; experience with large datasets, reporting, and dashboard development is highly desirable.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering accurate, high-quality outcomes.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and constantly evolving environment.
• High levels of integrity, discretion, and professionalism when handling confidential employee information and sensitive payroll data.

About the team

Canva’s Payroll team is part of the Finance Group, with team members based across Australia, the United States, EMEA, and the Philippines. We manage payroll for our ever-growing global community of Canvanauts.

As Canva continues to rapidly grow and expand globally, payroll plays a critical role in enabling growth, supporting compliance, and delivering an exceptional employee experience. We’re investing in technology, automation, AI, and operational excellence to build a world-class payroll function that scales alongside Canva’s ambitious goals.

Payroll is one of the most important functions within Finance. Every pay run is an opportunity to build trust with our employees, and we’re passionate about ensuring every Canvanaut is paid accurately, on time, and with care.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too

• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing

• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution

• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers

• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more

• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

At Canva we value fairness, and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation whilst ensuring internal equity within the team in each region. We make hiring decisions based on your skills, experience and our overall assessment of what we observed and learnt in the hiring process. The target salary range for this position is $169,000 to $250,000. When calculating offers, we make salary decisions based on market data and candidates' skills and experience.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, merit and business needs, in compliance with applicable local laws.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.