Payroll & Rewards Operations Lead

RESPONSIBILITIES

Payroll Execution:

• Oversee day-to-day payroll administration and processing, acting as an advisor to People & Culture Leads for life cycle events with complex payroll implications. 

• Take full accountability for overall payroll compliance and accuracy, validating all inputs and outputs across Canada, USA, UK, Chile, and EoR ahead of each cycle.

• Provide backup payroll processing coverage to ensure uninterrupted, on-time payroll.

• Monitor and improve data quality and speed when generating new employee profiles to seamlessly trigger the HRIS onboarding processes.

• Partner with Finance to perform monthly general ledger reconciliations and ensure accurate accruals and cost forecasting for payroll and benefits-related expenses.

• Collaborate on month-end close reporting, providing variance analysis and resolving discrepancies.

Total Rewards & Benefits

• Serve as a subject matter expert across the global benefits programs (Canada, USA, UK, EoR), interfacing with benefits brokers, managing renewal dates, producing regular reporting and executing reconciliation processes.

• Manage employee health benefits and retirement plan administration.

• Collaborate with the People & Culture Director to evaluate benefit plan composition, utilization and renewal strategies.

• Own total rewards communication and employee education programs that drive awareness and engagement.

• Serve as the tier-2 escalation point for employee inquiry cases, resolving complex or sensitive issues.

• Collaborate with People & Culture Leads to initiate, manage, and track leave of absences, aligned to global policy and compliance requirements.

• Support recurring pay equity analysis in partnership with the People Operations Lead.

HRIS & Systems Administration:

• Manage the day-to-day relationship with Deel, holding the vendor accountable for product enhancements and support levels.

• Monitor day-to-day HiBob and Deel administration performed by People Operations Specialists, including regular data quality audits and ongoing system integrity monitoring.

• Design and build HiBob and Deel workflow enhancements, administer complex edge-case scenarios, and leverage system data to deliver actionable Business Insights to leadership.

• Support audit readiness and respond to internal and external audit requests with accurate, timely documentation.

• Partner with People Operations and cross-functional teams to identify, design, and implement AI-enabled automations (e.g., using Claude) that streamline payroll, benefits, and HRIS processes, reduce manual effort, and improve data accuracy.

Analytics & Insights

• Own the development and tracking of key People & Culture metrics, creating dashboards and data models that translate raw HRIS data into strategic analytics and insights for the global team.

REQUIREMENTS

• 7+ years of progressive experience in Payroll and People Operations, with at least 3+ years at a lead level within a fast-growing, global organization.

• Experience with Canada and USA payroll (UK and Chilean experience an asset).

• Proven track record of managing and supporting finance and payroll audits, ensuring accurate general ledger reconciliations and full audit readiness.

• Proven experience administering payroll and total rewards across the employee lifecycle for a global employee base (compliance, benefits, and leave management).

• High-ownership mentality with the ability to evaluate business opportunities and risks to make sound decisions independently and communicate to stakeholders.

• Expert-level administration experience with HiBob (strongly preferred) or a comparable modern global HRIS (e.g., Workday, Rippling, BambooHR), including building complex workflows and automations.

• Advanced proficiency with spreadsheets (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, Index/Match) with experience translating raw HR data into dashboards and executive insights (Google Sheets preferred).

• Experience managing sensitive payroll escalations or complex leave/benefits cases with empathy and discretion.

• Compliance and audit mindset, with a strong attention to detail to identify anomalies and investigate root cause ahead of audit cycles. 

• Fluent in Spanish an asset.

Nice to Have

• Experience working in a global People & Culture team, supporting workers across many countries.

• Familiarity with employer of record models and tools like Deel, Remote, or Oyster.

• Exposure to DEI, wellness, or internal communication initiatives.

• Hands-on experience using generative AI tools (such as Claude) to build or improve workflows, reporting, or process documentation.