Senior Payroll Specialist

Location: Dublin, Ireland (Hybrid)

Position Summary:

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Senior Payroll Specialist to lead end-to-end payroll operations across the EMEA entities. In this role, you will ensure total compliance with statutory regulations, drive payroll process and system enhancements, and serve as a senior mentor to junior colleagues. Hands-on experience, analytical precision, and deep payroll expertise are valued above formal credentials.

Responsibilities:

• Own complex and/or high-volume country payrolls end-to-end, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery.
• Serve as the senior point of contact and escalation resource for assigned country payroll providers, providing guidance and resolving complex issues.
• Manage payroll calendars, deadlines, inputs, approvals, and required documentation.
• Lead the review and validation of complex payroll inputs, including new hires, terminations, compensation changes, bonuses, deductions, benefits, leave, equity, and other payroll adjustments.
• Review payroll provider calculations, registers, reports, and variance results for accuracy and completeness.
• Analyze complex payroll discrepancies and variances, determine root cause, and drive resolution with providers and internal stakeholders.
• Reconcile payroll results to HR, Finance, and other applicable source data and investigate significant variances.
• Hold payroll providers accountable for service levels, accuracy, timeliness, issue resolution, and compliance, including escalating performance concerns when necessary.
• Monitor country-specific statutory requirements and partner with providers to ensure required filings, payments, and reporting are completed timely.
• Maintain country-specific payroll procedures, calendars, contacts, escalation paths, and process documentation.
• Lead complex off-cycle payments, corrections, year-end activities, audits, provider escalations, and other country-specific payroll requirements.
• Partner with HR, Finance, Benefits, Compensation, Equity, Tax, Treasury, and other stakeholders on payroll-related matters.
• Act as a subject matter expert for assigned countries and provide guidance to Payroll Specialists and internal stakeholders on complex payroll matters.
• Track provider issues and recurring errors, perform root-cause analysis, and drive corrective and preventative actions to eliminate recurring issues.
• Identify, lead, and implement process improvements, payroll controls, reporting enhancements, and provider performance improvements.
• Maintain appropriate payroll controls, audit trails, approvals, and confidential employee records.
• Support payroll leadership with provider governance, audits, implementations, country transitions, system changes, and other strategic payroll initiatives.
• Provide training, coaching, knowledge sharing, and backup support to Payroll Specialists to ensure consistent and uninterrupted payroll operations.
• Independently manage escalated payroll issues and determine when issues require leadership, provider, legal, tax, or other specialized support.

Qualifications:

• 3+ years of hands-on payroll experience in EMEA multi-country payroll (hands-on experience valued over a degree).
• Senior-level experience with a demonstrated ability to mentor, train, and support junior colleagues.
• Experience with Workday or Dayforce strongly preferred; prior involvement in payroll system implementations or upgrades is a plus.
• Advanced MS Excel skills (lookups, pivot tables, complex data reconciliation).
• Strong statutory & tax knowledge across relevant jurisdictions.
• Fluent English with excellent communication, high attention to detail, strong problem-solving abilities, and strict adherence to confidentiality.

What We Offer:

• A great Team and culture – please see our colleague video. 
• An exciting career as an integral part of a world-leading software company providing solutions for architecture, engineering, and construction - watch this short documentary about how we got our start. 
• An attractive salary and benefits package. 
• A commitment to inclusion, belonging and colleague wellbeing through global initiatives and resource groups. 
• A company committed to making a real difference by advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life, where your contributions help build a more sustainable, connected, and resilient world. Discover our latest user success stories for an insight into our global impact.

About Bentley Systems:

Around the world, infrastructure professionals rely on software from Bentley Systems to help them design, build, and operate better and more resilient infrastructure for transportation, water, energy, cities, and more. Founded in 1984 by engineers for engineers, Bentley is the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner-operators worldwide, with software that spans engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle. Through our digital twin solutions, we help infrastructure professionals unlock the value of their data to transform project delivery and asset performance. www.bentley.com 

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Bentley is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and considers for employment all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, religion/belief, national origin, caste, age, or any other characteristic protected by local law or unrelated to job qualifications.