Payroll & Accounting Specialist

Position Overview: The Payroll & Accounting Specialist is a critical shared role operating equally across the Data Reporting & Finance and Human Resources departments. This role will own end-to-end payroll processing and manage transaction oversight, expense categorization, and bookkeeping functions.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Management

• Own and execute end-to-end payroll processing across all employee classifications, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timeliness each cycle.
• Lead the global payroll systems, including system setup, data migration, and ongoing compliance across all jurisdictions.
• Maintain payroll records, resolve discrepancies, and coordinate with HR on new hires, terminations, and compensation changes to ensure data integrity.
• Prepare and submit payroll tax filings, government remittances, and regulatory reports in accordance with applicable labor laws.

Accounting & Bookkeeping

• Monitor daily financial transactions and perform timely, accurate expense categorization across all company accounts and cost centers; flag discrepancies or unusual transactions for review and resolution.
• Maintain the general ledger, reconcile accounts, and support month-end and year-end close processes.
• Manage accounts receivable, including tracking outstanding client invoices and following up on collections to ensure timely reimbursement.
• Manage accounts payable, including vendor payment processing and invoice tracking; maintain complete vendor profiles and conduct periodic audits of active vendors to confirm documentation — including W-9s and certificates of insurance — is current and vendor relationships remain active.
• Assist with structured reporting and ad hoc financial analysis as needed.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in payroll management combined with accounting or bookkeeping responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-entity or multi-jurisdiction payroll, including in-country payroll compliance.
• Proficiency in global payroll platforms (e.g., Rippling, Gusto, ADP, or equivalent) and accounting systems (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, or equivalent).
• Working knowledge of applicable labor law, payroll tax regulations, and statutory compliance requirements.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field required.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in payroll and accounting/bookkeeping; experience in a startup, high-growth, or multi-country environment preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy — errors in payroll and accounting have real consequences, and this role owns them.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing deadlines across two departments independently.
• Discretion and confidentiality in handling sensitive compensation, financial, and employee data.
• Collaborative communicator who builds trust with both HR and Finance stakeholders and can translate financial concepts for non-finance audiences.

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Payroll accuracy — zero unresolved errors across all pay cycles, with the global payroll system transition completed on time and without compliance issues.
• Bookkeeping accuracy and operational follow-through — transactions categorized, ledger reconciled, outstanding invoices collected, and vendor payments processed in accordance with agreed SLAs, with vendor documentation current and books consistently audit-ready.