Global Payroll & Benefits Manager (12 months Fixed Term Contract)

Global Payroll & Benefits Manager (12 months FTC)

About IG Group 

About the Role 

The Global Payroll & Benefits Manager leads IG's payroll and benefits function across 14+ countries, sitting within the People Services team and reporting to the Head of People Services.

Accountable for end-to-end payroll delivery across insourced and outsourced models, the role also oversees benefits administration in each market. You'll lead a team of payroll & benefits specialists while working closely with Finance, Tax, and local HR contacts to ensure compliant, accurate, and timely delivery that supports IG's employee value proposition.

Key Responsibilities 

Benefits Administration 

• Oversee the administration of employee benefits programmes across 14+ countries, ensuring each market’s benefits are accurately maintained, communicated, and delivered. 

• Act as the operational owner of benefits enrolment, renewals, and changes, coordinating with local HR contacts, brokers, and benefits providers to ensure seamless employee experience. 

• Maintain accurate benefits data and records, ensuring alignment between benefits systems, payroll, and HR platforms. 

• Support the review and benchmarking of country-level benefits offerings in partnership with the broader People team, ensuring programmes remain competitive and compliant with local requirements. 

• Manage relationships with benefits brokers and third-party providers, holding them to account on service quality and cost. 

Payroll Operations & Service Delivery 

• Oversee the accurate and timely delivery of payroll across 14+ countries, managing a mix of insourced and outsourced payroll models. 

• Own the end-to-end payroll calendar, ensuring all country payrolls are processed within defined SLAs and in compliance with local legislation. 

• Act as the escalation point for complex payroll queries and cross-country issues, driving prompt and effective resolution. 

• Establish and maintain robust payroll controls, reconciliation processes, and audit trails to ensure data integrity and regulatory compliance. 

Team Leadership 

• Lead, develop, and performance-manage a team of 7+ payroll & benefits specialists, building individual capability and overall team effectiveness. 

• Foster a high-performance team culture focused on accuracy, continuous improvement, and colleague service. 

• Drive workload planning and prioritisation across the team to ensure resilience and consistent service delivery. 

Vendor & Partner Management 

• Manage relationships with outsourced payroll vendors, holding them to account against agreed SLAs and quality standards. 

• Lead or contribute to any vendor review or consolidation activity, including scoping, selection, and transition planning. 

• Partner closely with Finance and Tax teams to ensure payroll outputs are accurate, well-reconciled, and aligned with statutory obligations. 

Process Improvement & Transformation 

• Identify and drive improvements to payroll processes, controls, and tooling — reducing manual effort, improving accuracy, and increasing scalability. 

• Lead the stabilisation of current payroll operations, building a clear baseline and roadmap for ongoing improvement. 

• Leverage ADP and Workday effectively, partnering with HR Technology colleagues to ensure platforms support operational needs. 

Governance, Compliance & Risk 

• Ensure all payrolls are processed in line with local legislative requirements, tax obligations, and IG’s internal policies. 

• Maintain a strong controls framework and provide clear, accurate reporting to senior stakeholders on payroll performance and risk. 

• Support internal and external audits, ensuring documentation and processes meet required standards. 

Role Requirements 

• Proven experience managing multi-country payroll operations, ideally across both insourced and outsourced models. 

• Experience overseeing benefits administration across multiple countries, including working with brokers, providers, and local HR contacts. 

• Strong people leadership skills with experience managing and developing a team of payroll professionals. 

• Hands-on experience with ADP in a multi-country payroll environment. 

• Solid understanding of payroll compliance, statutory requirements, and audit/controls frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. 

• Track record of improving payroll processes, controls, and service quality in a complex organisation. 

• Demonstrated ability to manage and hold to account external payroll vendors against defined SLAs. 

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, particularly with Finance and Tax stakeholders. 

• Comfortable operating in an environment where structure and process improvements need to be built, not inherited. 

Desirable 

• Experience working in a fintech, financial services, or similarly regulated industry. 

• Familiarity with Workday in an HR/payroll or benefits context. 

• Exposure to benefits benchmarking or renewal processes across multiple geographies. 

• Exposure to payroll vendor consolidation or re-procurement exercises. 

• Experience working within a matrix-structured, globally distributed People or HR function. 

• Knowledge of payroll requirements across European, APAC, or North American jurisdictions. 

How we work