Senior People Operations & Payroll Specialist — Freelance

About the Mission

We are looking for a highly autonomous Senior People Operations & Payroll Specialist to join the People team of an international, fast-evolving company.

The organisation has approximately 200 employees across France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Singapore. The People function is currently undergoing a major transformation, with a strong focus on improving processes, strengthening payroll operations and automating the HR technology ecosystem.

This is a hands-on freelance assignment requiring deep expertise in French payroll, strong operational capabilities and the ability to become productive very quickly.

Your Responsibilities

French Payroll Management

• Independently manage the full monthly French payroll cycle using Silae in a fully in-house payroll environment.

• Collect, review and process payroll variables.

• Ensure payroll accuracy, compliance and timely delivery.

• Manage employee onboarding and offboarding payroll activities, including DPAE declarations and final settlements.

• Handle bonuses, variable compensation and other payroll-related payments.

• Manage quarterly profit-sharing and incentive-payment campaigns.

• Advise the People team and employees on complex payroll matters.

• Ensure compliance with French payroll regulations and the Syntec collective agreement.

International Payroll Coordination

• Coordinate payroll activities for employees based in the UK, Germany, the US and Singapore.

• Work closely with local external payroll providers.

• Review payroll inputs and outputs and ensure the accuracy of information shared with providers.

• Respond to payroll-related questions from international employees in English.

• Identify compliance risks and escalate country-specific issues when necessary.

People Operations

• Support broader People Operations activities when required.

• Handle employee requests through the internal Notion-based ticketing system.

• Respond quickly and clearly to payroll, benefits and HR administration queries.

• Manage more complex employee cases requiring payroll or regulatory expertise.

• Support the team during temporary staffing transitions and periods of increased workload.

Compensation and Benefits

• Manage bonus-payment cycles and variable-compensation calculations.

• Support profit-sharing and employee savings-plan campaigns.

• Coordinate benefits-related payroll inputs.

• Produce accurate calculations and reporting using Excel.

HR Systems and Process Improvement

• Contribute to the redesign and optimisation of the HR technology ecosystem.

• Help improve integrations between Lucas, Silae, Swile and other HR tools.

• Identify manual or inefficient processes and recommend practical automation opportunities.

• Implement quick wins that improve reliability, efficiency and the employee experience.

• Maintain clear and accurate process documentation in Notion.

• Support the continuous improvement of payroll and People Operations processes.

Required Experience

• Approximately 6 years or more of experience in payroll and People Operations.

• Strong hands-on expertise in French payroll.

• Advanced knowledge of Silae in an in-house payroll setting.

• Experience managing payroll internally or with a high level of direct ownership.

• Previous exposure to international payroll and external payroll providers.

• Strong knowledge of French payroll compliance.

• Knowledge of the Syntec collective agreement is highly desirable.

• Advanced proficiency in Excel, including complex payroll and compensation calculations.

• Professional working proficiency in both French and English.

• Experience working in a start-up, scale-up or growing international environment is preferred.

Success Measures

During the assignment, success will include:

• Accurate and timely payroll delivery.

• A smooth transition before the current Senior People Operations team member begins maternity leave.

• Faster and more reliable handling of employee payroll requests.

• Reduced manual work across the People Operations function.

• Improved HRIS and payroll-tool integration.

• Strong documentation and more scalable payroll processes.

• Increased confidence in payroll operations across France and international locations.

What We Are Looking For

You will be successful in this assignment if you are:

• Highly autonomous and able to become operational immediately.

• Reliable and extremely attentive to detail.

• Comfortable taking full ownership of sensitive payroll matters.

• Hands-on, pragmatic and solution-oriented.

• Curious and resourceful when facing unfamiliar issues.

• Able to investigate, understand and resolve problems quickly.

• Proactive in identifying process improvements and automation opportunities.

• Comfortable working in a changing and transformational environment.

• Clear, reassuring and professional when communicating with employees.

• Collaborative, positive and aligned with a culture built around excellence, trust and happiness at work.