Team Lead - APAC Payroll

Job Title

Team Lead - APAC Payroll

Job Description

Team Lead Payroll (FSSC APAC)

Role Description

The candidate will lead and manage all aspects of India and Int’l payroll (APAC countries) operations for our company and must be a strategic and tactical leader, with a track record of success. They will drive timely, accurate, and compliant payroll, improving end-to-end processes, as well as be well versed with all details and practicalities of payroll accounting. The Payroll Manager should thrive in a fast-paced, growth environment, and be a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves leader. All countries are fully outsourced to external payroll vendor. The position will be based in Pune, India. As team lead payroll you are in charge when it comes to the daily operation of our experienced HR payroll team. Together with your team you are responsible for correct, timely, complete and non-disputable payroll process for APAC countries. We need to comply with internal and external (country specific) regulations (e.g. Tax, internal/external financial reporting, J-SOX). Main part of your challenge is to prepare and further develop Vanderlande Hire2Retire (H2R) Business process and your team to solid growth and a continuously changing environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and manage all payroll processes internationally in order to process the payroll accurately and timely.

• Align with HR and Finance on the way of working: expectations, deliverables and timing.

• Report and analyze management information and advice the business on payroll related topics.

• Take the lead in complex (international) payroll related changes and come to integrated solutions.

• Translate the rules and policies of international assignments into the payroll of the home and host country.

• Set up arrangements and SLA’s with payroll stakeholders and providers abroad.

• Analyze, audit and validate HR statuses for hires, terminations, transfers and the multiple other pay and deduction components before submitting to the various payroll vendors in the required format for processing

• Process secondary payroll functions (i.e. calculating final payroll, process stop payments, balances and wiring 3rd party payments, manage employee share investment program, etc)

• Audit and review output of processed payrolls for accuracy

• Prepare the various pre-authorization documents for review and submission.

• Prepare expat salary calculations & help in tax calculation by providing relevant information to outsourced tax partners

• Year-end audit and tax preparation and reporting

• Work closely with the accounting team to assist with variance queries, balance sheet reconciliation and other queries where necessary

• Identify and resolve payroll inquiries from internal and external customers; escalating to the Tower Head and Payroll Head where necessary

• Backup for other payroll team members as and when required

• Track and review absence records such as sickness, holidays; calculate overtime, sickness, holidays payments; preparing and reviewing the accruals

• Assist with various ad-hoc projects as directed by the Tower Head and Payroll Head (e.g. setting up a new location/business unit, procedural changes and documentation)

• Coach, mentor, train and coordinate the activities of the staff

• The Senior Payroll Associate must work as part of the wider Payroll team and liaise with appropriate staff within the team

• Adhoc reporting and other duties as required

Your Department:

Hire to Retire(H2R) is a tower within FSSC Central Pune and a major area of Business Support within Vanderlande. The towers is responsible for APAC employee administration, registration and manages the payroll for Vanderlande's operating subsidiaries in multiple countries. There is a high degree of collaboration between International Mobility, HR and Finance and interaction with the business.

FSSC is focused on the further professionalization of Vanderlande’s core administrative processes to facilitate and support the company’s objectives worldwide. In a context with complexity, internationalization, strong growth and entering new countries we focus on one way of working, optimizing and embedding our processes, further digitalization and automation in order to build a sustainable service organization for the future.

Your Profile:

To be successful as Team Lead Payroll you have the following:

• A Bachelors and Masters in Commerce or MBA

• Extended experience in financial and payroll administration and knowledge and proven experience of international payroll processing

• Flexible and adaptable to work in a continuous changing and growing environment.

• Advanced excel and knowledge on payroll systems like Workday, Cloudpay Safeguard etc.

• Willingness to travel overseas for training for 3-6 months

• Minimum 10+ years of payroll experience in complex organizations payroll (2k+)

• A recognized Payroll Qualification/ certification would be advantageous

• Up to date knowledge of APAC Payroll compliances and statutory legislation of law of the land

• Good knowledge and experience and exposure to various payroll software packages (associated software awareness such as Accounting and HR would be advantageous)

• Experience with major payroll software such as Workday Payroll, Cloudpay Safeguard etc.

• Experience in a broad range of payroll matters with experience of controlling or assisting to control payrolls and working with external payroll providers

• Experience in journal creation, analysis and reconciliation of payroll accounts

• Ability to carry out day-to-day responsibilities with minimal supervision

• Strong organizational, analytical, reasoning and reconciliation skills required

• Ability to solve problems of moderate scope and complexity by following established policies and procedures and also to contribute suggestions and solutions to complex issues

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and ensure solutions are consistent with department and organization objectives

• Knowledge of business desktop applications (specifically Microsoft Word, and Outlook) required with intermediate skills on Excel

• Fluent English (additional languages would be advantageous)

Are you ready to take a leading role in shaping Vanderlande’s global supply chain and product development across both Airports and Distribution domains? We are looking for a highly independent and senior Procurement Engineer who will act as the key bridge between our global development teams and our growing capabilities in India.

In this role, you will function as the primary point of contact for development teams in India, driving value creation, supplier development, and strategic procurement initiatives across domains. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy and play a crucial role in enabling competitive, scalable, and future-proof solutions.

What will you be doing?

As a Senior procurement engineer, you act as a strategic procurement partner and coach across the full product lifecycle. You will work across Airports and Distribution domains, ensuring alignment between development, procurement strategy, and supply chain capabilities in India.

You will lead new product development initiatives, guide development teams in value-based decision making, and actively develop and integrate new suppliers in India into Vanderlande’s global supply chain.

During the projects you represent supply chain and will lead a multidisciplinary procurement (QLTC) team, consisting of Quality, Logistics, Sourcing and Cost Engineering and align with the development organization (R&D). You ensure supply is represented in key decisions on core / non-core and make-buy, and safeguard that the equipment is setup in our supply chain in line with reliability, flexibility and competitiveness requirements. You communicate discrepancies within the project team and with the Product Manager Supply Chain who is responsible for the relevant product group.

The Procurement Engineering department has grown rapidly in the past couple of years. We are an energetic group of people who collaborate a lot with other teams, in order to enable a reliable, flexible and competitive supply of Vanderlande’s equipment to the projects, together! Continuous learning, open communication and celebrating successes are deemed important within our team. Are you the enthusiastic, open-minded and creative person who is excited to join our team?

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for development teams in India, ensuring alignment between global development and local execution

• Operate independently with broad autonomy, setting priorities and procurement approaches for complex, cross-domain projects

• Lead medium-to-complex development projects and programs, guiding teams in identifying and realizing value creation opportunities

• Organizes and leads QLTC (‘Quality, Logistics, Technology, Cost’) projects ensuring teams deliver and meet requirements of Development tollgates

• Represent procurement towards senior stakeholders and portfolio boards

• Define and drive make-or-buy decisions and sourcing strategies across modules and solutions

• Develop and onboard new suppliers in India in line with Vanderlande’s global sourcing strategy

• Actively drive cost, quality, lead time, and supply chain optimization across product lifecycles, from setting up new items, to sunsetting old systems

• Identify structural roadblocks and lead improvement initiatives across domains

• Build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships across global and regional teams

What do we ask of you?

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) with significant experience (10+ years) in supply chain, procurement, or product development environments

• Extensive experience in product lifecycle management and strategic procurement

• Strong business acumen and ability to influence senior stakeholders

• Proven experience in supplier development and sourcing strategy

• Experience working with or in India and understanding of regional supply markets

• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

• Ability to coach teams, drive change, and operate at both strategic and operational levels

You will succeed in this role if you:

• Thrive in a highly independent role with minimal supervision

• Can operate across domains and connect strategic objectives with execution

• Are a strong facilitator and coach, able to guide multidisciplinary teams

• Have an entrepreneurial and proactive mindset

• Affinity with technical products and an attention to detail

• Are able to reframe complex problems and drive organizational change

What we offer

• A strategic, high-impact role within Vanderlande’s global organization

• Opportunity to shape and develop the India supply base

• Exposure to both Airports and Distribution domains

• A dynamic and internationally oriented working environment

• Strong focus on personal development and leadership growth

Diversity & inclusion

Vanderlande is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regards to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.