Payroll Specialist

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is a leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We're also transforming business travel with a new corporate travel solution, KAYAK for Business.

As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others. From start-up to industry leader, innovation is in our DNA and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark. Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

KAYAK is seeking a detailed-oriented and analytical Specialist, Global Payroll to join us in the Finance Team. Reporting to the Associate Manager, Global Payroll, you will play a key supporting role across our team. We are a group of highly motivated, professional individuals who love all things numbers, controls and compliance, and are excited to be growing our team.

The ideal candidate is always curious, embraces change and thrives in an ambiguous rapid-growth environment. If you have an eagerness to improve processes and execute, and excel both working independently and collaborating with colleagues, we’d love to hear from you!

This role is based in our Cambridge, MA office, 3 times a week.

In the role, you will:

Global Payroll Operations & Administration

• Manage monthly and fortnightly payroll cycles across all international entities via external providers (through Cloudpay and ADP), ensuring accurate and timely salary and statutory payments in multiple currencies.

• Own day-to-day payroll administration, including data validation, calculations, and reporting.

• Prepare and submit payroll inputs (new hires, terminations, promotions, salary changes, bonuses, commissions, equity, benefits changes, and other deductions).

• Review and validate payroll outputs, resolving discrepancies prior to approval.

• Ensure accurate and timely processing of all payroll elements, including salaries, bonuses, commissions, equity, benefits, and statutory deductions.

• Assist with year-end processing and related reporting.

Compliance & Controls

• Maintain strong internal controls supporting payroll accuracy and completeness across jurisdictions.

• Ensure compliance with tax, social security, employment, and other local payroll regulations in each country, staying current on legislative and tax law changes.

• Administer and reconcile payroll taxes, ensuring correct employee and employer deductions and remittance to relevant authorities.

• Support tax return preparation and indirect tax compliance, including reconciliations and documentation for cross-border transactions.

• Contribute to a strong international finance control environment and support payroll setup as we expand into new countries.

• Support internal and external audits with accurate, well-organised, and audit-ready documentation.

Reporting, Reconciliation & Period-End

• Prepare, review, and reconcile payroll reports, including variance analysis and period-end reconciliations.

• Provide clear, timely reporting and commentary to Finance leadership and other stakeholders.

Benefits & Employee Support

• Act as a primary point of contact for payroll-related employee queries, responding with professionalism and efficiency.

• Handle inquiries related to discrepancies, missing hours, deductions, and other payroll issues, providing clear and timely resolutions.

• Manage payroll-linked benefits (health insurance, pensions, BIK, and other voluntary deductions) in line with company policies and local requirements.

• Provide helpful and responsive support to employees across multiple jurisdictions.

Process, Systems & Vendor Management

• Own relationships with external payroll providers (through Cloudpay and ADP), ensuring strong service delivery, accuracy, and controls.

• Work closely with the People team and other departments to ensure employee data is accurate and up to date ahead of payroll cut-offs.

• Coordinate on changes such as new hires, leavers, promotions, salary adjustments, benefits changes, and other data impacting payroll.

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve processes, automation, accuracy, and efficiency across global payroll operations.

Please apply if you have:

• A professional payroll qualification qualification.

• Proven experience as a Payroll Specialist, with hands-on experience in your local region.

• Solid understanding of local regulations, tax laws, and benefits administration.

• Proficiency in payroll software (e.g., ADP, Cloudpay, Workday, etc.) and MS Office (Word, Excel - including VLOOKUP’s, Pivot Tables, etc)

• Excellent attention to detail and a track record of accuracy in data entry and payroll processing.

• Strong communication, both verbal and written, to effectively interact with employees and departments.

• Solid organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.

• A process-first mentality, with a focus on controls and consistency.

• Excellent interpersonal skills for managing processes and cross-functional relationships.

• Ability to maintain strict data confidentiality and demonstrate a strong sense of professional integrity.

• Highly analytical capability with strong organization and prioritization skills, and a proven track record of meeting hard deadlines.

• A dedicated, flexible, and outspoken mindset, with a creative and pragmatic approach to problem-solving.

• A solution-focused, hands-on approach, with the ability to prioritise and deliver multiple tasks in order to meet conflicting timelines.

• A proactive attitude: you flag issues and inefficiencies early, challenge the status quo and contribute ideas to improve how we work.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with a strong process improvement mindset and a desire to further develop your career in payroll.

Benefits and Perks

• Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year

• Focus on mental health and well-being:

  • Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth

  • Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace

  • Company-wide week off a year - the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)

• No meeting Fridays

• Paid parental leave

• Generous paid vacation + time off for your birthday

• Paid volunteer time

• Focus on your career growth:

  • Development Dollars

  • Leadership development

  • Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings

• Travel Discounts

• Employee Resource Groups

• Competitive retirement and health plans

• Free lunch 2 days per week

Compensation

There are a variety of factors that go into determining a salary range, including but not limited to external market benchmark data, geographic location, and years of experience sought/required. The range for this MA based role is $70,000.00 - $80,000.00

We offer a competitive base salary and benefits including: health benefits; flexible spending account; retirement benefits; life insurance; paid time off (including PTO, paid sick leave, medical leave, bereavement leave, floating holidays and paid holidays); and parental leave benefits. This role is eligible to be considered for an annual bonus.

Inclusion

At KAYAK, we want everyone to have the space to grow, share ideas and do great work. That’s why we’re focused on hiring the best talent from all walks of life and experiences, supporting them well and making sure no one feels like they have to fit a mold to belong here.

Need any adjustments for the interview, application or on the job? No problem - just give us a heads-up. We’ve got you.