Senior Payroll & People Operations Specialist

Senior Payroll & People Operations Specialist managing end-to-end payroll processing, German labor law compliance, and second-level support for People Operations. You'll serve as the internal specialist for wage tax, social security regulations, and German labor law, ensuring operational processes remain fully compliant.

What you'll do

• Process and manage end-to-end monthly payroll for all employees, ensuring full accuracy in salaries, bonuses, overtime, deductions, social security contributions, and tax withholdings within set deadlines, including monthly adjustments in close collaboration with the Tax Advisor.
• Manage and process employee leave entitlements (vacation, sick leave, parental leave, maternity protection, and flexible benefits) and ensure all absence data is accurately reflected in payroll systems.
• Maintain and update employee payroll records, ensure strict confidentiality of personal data, and maintain clean archiving of all payroll documentation for internal, tax, and regulatory auditing purposes.
• Act as the internal specialist for German wage tax, social security regulations, and local German labor law, keeping operational processes fully compliant.
• Support internal and external audits (including tax, social security, banking regulatory, and financial audits) by preparing documentation, managing data requests, and serving as a key operational contact.
• Provide specialized labor law, exit calculation, and legal compliance support to People Partners for complex lifecycle cases, contract amendments, and severance topics.
• Respond to complex employee and manager inquiries regarding payroll matters, salary discrepancies, tax withholdings, benefits, and deductions, resolving discrepancies in a timely and professional manner.
• Drive continuous process improvement by leveraging modern HR tools, Personio workflows, and AI solutions to eliminate manual administrative friction in payroll operations.

What you'll need

• Apprenticeship (kaufmännische Ausbildung / Personalkaufmann/-frau) or university degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Business Law, Finance, or a related field.
• 4+ years of progressive HR experience with full ownership of end-to-end German payroll processing and People Operations, preferably within a fast-paced or regulated corporate setting.
• Deep expertise in German payroll processing, wage tax laws, social security regulations, and core German labor law frameworks.
• High proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Word), Personio (or comparable HRIS systems), and payroll reporting tools.
• Professional fluency in German (C1/C2 required for legal, tax, and authority interactions) and fluency in English.
• High attention to detail and accuracy in processing payroll and financial data.
• Comfortable working with AI tools, thinking critically about AI outputs, and contributing to a culture of responsible AI use.

What they offer

• Competitive salary €65,000–€75,000 and variable remuneration program.
• Learning & development budget of €1,000 per year and transparent growth framework.
• 28 vacation days, increasing by 2 days after 2 years and 3 days after 3 years.
• Home office budget, monthly meal allowance, and Deutschland ticket subsidy.
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to 12 weeks per year.