Payroll & HR Ops (Lead), Regional

Role Summary

We're looking for a Senior Executive to lead payroll and HR operations across our Malaysia, Singapore, India, UAE, and Indonesia entities. This is a builder-leader role, you'll design and standardize payroll structures across multiple countries, implement/administer a unified HRIS, and lead compliance across diverse regulatory environments, while managing relationships with local vendors and in-country stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll (Multi-Country)

• Design and implement payroll structures across Malaysia, Singapore, India, UAE, and Indonesia CTC/salary breakups, pay components, bonus/incentive frameworks, and reimbursement policies tailored to each country's norms
• Lead end-to-end monthly payroll processing across all five countries salary computation, deductions, full & final settlements, arrears, and reconciliations
• Ensure statutory compliance across jurisdictions:India: PF, ESI, PT, TDS, gratuity, labour welfare fundMalaysia: EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB (income tax), HRDFSingapore: CPF, IRAS (income tax filing), Skills Development LevyUAE: WPS (Wage Protection System), gratuity/end-of-service benefits, GPSSA (for UAE nationals)Indonesia: BPJS Ketenagakerjaan & Kesehatan, PPh 21 tax, THR (religious holiday allowance)
• Manage relationships with in-country payroll vendors/consultants where local processing is outsourced
• Coordinate with Finance for payroll funding, GL mapping, forex considerations, and multi-entity audits
• Monitor changing labour/tax laws across all five countries and update policies accordingly

HRIS

• Lead selection, implementation, and configuration of a unified HRIS across all countries
• Set up localized workflows for onboarding, attendance, leave, performance, and exit processes per country requirements
• Maintain data integrity across entities, manage system upgrades, and troubleshoot issues
• Build HR dashboards and reports (headcount, attrition, cost-to-company by country) for leadership
• Train regional HR teams and employees on system usage

HR Operations & Leadership

• Own employee lifecycle documentation across jurisdictions (offer letters, contracts, statutory forms, exit formalities) ensuring local legal compliance in each
• Build and maintain HR policies, SOPs, and compliance registers per country
• Lead statutory and internal audits across all entities
• Act as the go-to person for country-specific HR/payroll queries from leadership and employees
• Mentor/guide junior HR or payroll executives as the team scales
• Partner with regional HRBPs and leadership on process standardization and automation

Requirements

• 5–7 years of experience in payroll and HR operations, with proven exposure to multi-country payroll (Southeast Asia and/or Middle East experience strongly preferred)
• At least 1–2 full-cycle HRIS implementations, ideally across multiple entities/countries
• Working knowledge of statutory/labour compliance in Malaysia, Singapore, India, UAE, and/or Indonesia (don't need deep expertise in all five, but demonstrated ability to learn and manage new jurisdictions)
• Experience managing local payroll vendors/consultants in countries where processing is outsourced
• Hands-on experience with payroll software and global/regional HRIS platforms
• Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills; strong reconciliation and reporting ability
• Excellent stakeholder management comfortable liaising with leadership, finance, and in-country partners
• High attention to detail and discretion with confidential, cross-border data

Good to Have

• Experience in a startup or scaling company building payroll/HR systems from scratch across new markets
• Exposure to compensation benchmarking across APAC/MEA
• Certification in HR Analytics, Global Payroll, or related field