About the Role & Team
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Hybrid - 2 days per week in office)
We are seeking a detail-oriented and experienced Payroll Senior Representative to support payroll operations across the APAC region. This role supports payroll delivery for some of our 13 legal entities in APAC, with all entities outsourced to external service providers except for China and Singapore processed in-house. The Payroll Senior Representative, APAC will report to Payroll Manager, APAC, and partner closely with regional payroll team members, HR, Variable Compensation, Finance, Treasury, and external payroll providers to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely payroll execution.
- Execute and support end-to-end payroll operations across APAC, balancing accuracy, timeliness, compliance, controls, and employee experience.
- Serve as a key regional payroll subject matter resource, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to resolve issues, improve service delivery, and maintain strong payroll controls.
- Contribute to payroll standardization and modernization efforts through process improvement, AI automation opportunities, and effective use of modern payroll tools and analytics.
What You'll Do
- Process and support end-to-end payroll operations for assigned APAC entities, ensuring each payroll cycle is completed accurately, on time, and in compliance with local statutory requirements and internal policies.
- Coordinate payroll inputs from HR, Variable Compensation, time and attendance, leave, benefits, and termination or severance data, validating completeness, accuracy, and supporting documentation before payroll processing.
- Work closely with external payroll providers to ensure payroll instructions are submitted accurately, questions are resolved promptly, and service level expectations are met.
- For in-house entities, perform payroll calculations, gross-to-net results, payroll registers, statutory deductions, and funding summaries to ensure accurate employee and third-party payments.
- Prepare and reconcile payroll reports, variance analyses, and exception logs, investigating differences and escalating material issues in a timely manner.
- Support payroll funding and disbursement activities by partnering with Treasury and Finance to ensure timely payments to employees, tax authorities, government agencies, and pension or social security bodies.
- Maintain accurate payroll records and documentation, including audit support files, process checklists, reconciliations, and evidence of approvals and controls.
- Support payroll accounting activities by ensuring pay elements are coded correctly, payroll outputs are mapped appropriately to the general ledger, and payroll-related reconciliations are completed on time.
- Monitor recurring payroll compliance requirements across assigned APAC entities, including tax, statutory filings, social contributions, and record retention requirements, and escalate risks or gaps proactively.
- Respond to employee payroll inquiries and stakeholder questions professionally and efficiently, partnering with HR and vendors to resolve complex cases and improve employee experience.
- Participate in payroll process improvement initiatives, including standardization, documentation updates, reporting enhancements, and opportunities to reduce manual effort through automation and modern tools.
- Support internal and external payroll audits and compliance reviews by preparing data, documentation, and explanations related to payroll transactions, and controls.
What You Bring
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business, or a related discipline; relevant payroll certifications are a plus.
- Solid payroll experience with strong hands-on knowledge of APAC payroll operations across multiple countries and legal entities; experience in an APAC payroll shared service environment is a plus.
- Good understanding of payroll tax, statutory compliance, and employment-related payroll requirements across APAC jurisdictions.
- Experience working with outsourced payroll providers and/or in-house payroll processing models.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across HR, Finance, Treasury, Tax, Legal, employees, and external payroll providers.
- Working knowledge of payroll controls, reconciliations, payroll accounting interfaces, and general ledger coding principles.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with high attention to detail and a disciplined, control-oriented mindset.
- Able to manage multiple payroll calendars, deadlines, and competing priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
- Demonstrated interest in process improvement, digital transformation, and practical application of AI automation and modern tools in payroll operations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; additional APAC language capability (such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) is a plus
