Payroll Partner, EMEA

ABOUT AIRWALLEX Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own. We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,700 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our operating principles https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/operating-principles to see it in full. HOW YOU'LL MAKE IMPACT Payroll is central to a reliable employee experience and to the financial controls that support Airwallex’s global growth. In this role, you’ll focus on EMEA payroll while contributing to selected global projects and helping shape longer-term payroll capabilities. - Own accurate, efficient EMEA payroll operations, including payroll processing, region-specific securities regulations and employment tax requirements, reconciliations, and month-end and year-end close procedures. - Provide strategic direction across payroll operations, service delivery, control frameworks, advisory, cost reduction, and system improvements. - Lead payroll implementations and improvements, including the rollout of a unified global payroll solution for each entity and the optimisation of system integrations, workflows, and data automation. - Analyse global payroll data and provide insights that help Finance and HR understand employee-cost trends and improve forecasting, while supporting global payroll projects where needed. - Partner with Legal and HR on new entity setup and Employment of Record services as part of Airwallex’s international expansion, and support the evolution of payroll systems and tools. - Advise employees and stakeholders on pay issues, award changes, new policies, and payroll enquiries, resolving queries raised through JIRA and Slack professionally. - Build a practical payroll knowledge repository, including process documentation, FAQs, and response templates, while driving improvements that strengthen efficiency, accuracy, and the employee experience. The role is flexible depending on location, but ideally you’ll work from the Airwallex office in the location you applied for three times a week. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR ESSENTIALS - At least 5 years’ regional experience managing end-to-end payroll processing, with strong EMEA payroll exposure. - Experience providing strategic direction across payroll operations, service delivery, controls, advisory, system improvements, and stakeholder management. - Experience leading or contributing to payroll implementation, HRIS/payroll integration, system optimisation, or workflow automation projects. - Strong understanding of payroll compliance, employment tax requirements, reconciliations, and month-end and year-end close procedures. - Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve payroll discrepancies and issues with accuracy and sound judgement. - Strong analytical and numerical skills, with the ability to analyse payroll data and produce meaningful reports for Finance and HR. - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. - Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team in a high-growth environment. - Careful handling of confidential and sensitive information. - Familiarity with payroll vendor management and payroll-related HRIS integrations. PREFERRED - A bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field. - Experience with private equity, RSU, ESOP schemes, and related reporting requirements. - Experience supporting entity setup and Employment of Record services. - Experience leading a team or coordinating work across payroll operations and implementation projects. - Experience working with JIRA, Slack, or similar tools to manage employee and stakeholder queries. YOU'LL THRIVE HERE IF - You’re consistently looking to take on new and diverse challenges, expand your knowledge beyond your current areas of expertise, and are comfortable stepping outside your comfort zone to do it. - You’re comfortable operating across time zones with a globally distributed team, including colleagues based in APAC and EMEA. - You hold yourself to a high standard even when no one is watching. Quality and accountability aren't external expectations, they're internal ones. - You connect dots across functions and hold the big picture without losing grip on the details. - You simplify complexity rather than hiding behind it. LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR TEAM Finance & Corporate Development helps Airwallex grow with control. We’re a trusted partner to the business, providing actionable insights on performance, supporting market and product expansion and helping to shape the future of our product. We ensure that Airwallex meets its financial reporting, tax and safeguarding obligations globally. We work with existing and prospective investors to raise capital and ensure it is deployed effectively. This is a team for people who want to reimagine how the CFO office works. We’re looking for founder-like energy, high integrity and a passion for technology. You’ll thrive here if you enjoy working cross-functionally, think from first principles and can balance speed of execution with analytical precision. APPLICANT SAFETY POLICY: FRAUD AND THIRD-PARTY R