Payroll Team Lead - APMEA

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About The Role

• Work Location: 1Powerhouse, PJ (5mins walk from MRT Bandar Utama)
• Reporting To: Regional Payroll Lead - APMEA & Europe
  
  

As Payroll Manager in our Global Business Centre, you’ll lead a team of experienced Payroll Administrators and Specialists, delivering accurate and consistent payroll services across multiple global locations. Your focus will be on driving operational excellence through compliance, innovation, and a strong customer experience mindset.

You’ll be a key part of our journey to enhance and modernize payroll operations, championing continuous improvement and leveraging technology to simplify and strengthen our processes.

Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and expert guidance for payroll operations across the APMEA region as part of the Global Business Centre, supporting our vision to become a “Best in Class” Global Payroll Provider.
• Monitor and evaluate regional market trends, local regulatory changes, and industry best practices to continuously enhance payroll service delivery in diverse APMEA countries.
• Analyse internal performance metrics to proactively identify areas for improvement, adapting services in an agile, responsive manner aligned with the Kerry GBS operating model.
• Lead and manage relationships with outsourced payroll vendors across the APMEA region, ensuring compliance, quality service delivery, and adherence to agreed SLAs and KPIs.
• Own the regional Payroll Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans, ensuring operational resilience and uninterrupted service during unforeseen events or crises.
• Build, coach, and lead a high-performing regional payroll team focused on operational excellence, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Set clear performance objectives, manage development plans, and foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and learning.
• Promote a strong compliance and control culture, ensuring all regional payroll operations meet local legislative and global audit requirements, with robust documentation and controls.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of Kerry’s GBS service framework, payroll systems, and regional operations to ensure effective collaboration with key COEs, HR, Finance, and external stakeholders.
• Champion Continuous Excellence across the region by embedding lean tools, driving efficiency, and ensuring payroll representation in Continuous Excellence initiatives.
• Lead regional simplification and standardisation initiatives, aligning processes with global standards while adapting for local requirements where necessary.
• Maintain ownership of all regional payroll process documentation, training materials, and performance measures, ensuring consistency and accuracy across APMEA payroll teams.
• Drive a customer-centric and technology-enabled payroll service, leveraging automation and streamlined processes to improve turnaround time and cost-effectiveness.
  
  

Qualifications And Skills

• Bachelor’s Degree with minimum 6 years of progressive payroll experience, including leadership roles within multinational or shared service environments.
• Strong understanding of payroll operations and statutory requirements across multiple APMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) countries.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders across various cultural contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in vendor management and multi-country payroll delivery.
• Expert knowledge of local labour and tax legislation, payroll compliance, and regulatory environments across APMEA.
• Strong working knowledge of data privacy regulations, including GDPR and regional equivalents (e.g., PDPA).
• Experience with global payroll systems and cloud-based HR/payroll platforms (e.g., ADP, SAP SuccessFactors) preferred.