EMEA Payroll Lead (UK, FR, DE) in London

Founded by fans, Crunchyroll delivers the art and culture of anime to a passionate community. We super-serve over 100 million anime and manga fans across 200+ countries and territories, and help them connect with the stories and characters they crave. Whether that experience is online or in-person, streaming video, theatrical, games, merchandise, events and more, it’s powered by the anime content we all love. Join our team, and help us shape the future of anime!

In the role of Payroll Manager - EMEA, you will report to the Senior Manager, Global Payroll. We are considering applicants for the location(s) of London. We are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager specializing in EMEA payroll, with deep expertise in managing payroll operations across our European locations. This role is responsible for ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing while serving as a subject matter expert on regional payroll legislation, statutory requirements, and best practices.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, fluent in the complexities of European payroll regulations, and comfortable partnering with the People Team, Finance, and external providers to deliver a world-class payroll experience for employees.

• Manage end-to-end monthly payroll cycles for employees across the UK, Germany, and France, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Audit employee payroll data, including compensation changes, benefits, time tracking, statutory leave, and variable payments.
• Validate payroll inputs and outputs, execute reconciliations, run audits, and resolve discrepancies ensuring accuracy of gross-to-net calculations, statutory deductions, and funding requirements before final submission.
• Oversee payroll funding, salary payments, statutory payments, and post-payroll reporting.
• Serve as an internal expert on EMEA payroll legislation, including PAYE, NIC, pension schemes, working time rules, and statutory benefits.
• Ensure payroll compliance with HMRC (UK), Urssaf & French labor laws (France), and German tax and social security authorities.
• Monitor legislative changes, assess operational impact, and implement updates in collaboration with legal and external advisors.
• Ensure GDPR compliance regarding payroll data handling and storage.
• Manage relationships with external payroll vendors and local partners in each region.
• Collaborate closely with People Team, Finance, Accounting, and Legal to ensure alignment across compensation, benefits, tax, and audit processes.
• Partner with HRIS teams to enhance payroll workflows, integrations, and data accuracy.
• Support audits, year-end activities, tax filings, and statutory reporting requirements for each region.
• Identify opportunities to automate and streamline processes, improve accuracy, and enhance employee experience.

We get excited about candidates, like you, because...

• 5+ years of payroll experience with direct responsibility for payroll processing in the UK, Germany, France required.
• Experience managing payroll for 500+ employees across multiple entities preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of regional tax laws, social security requirements, statutory benefits, and labor regulations.
• Experience managing payroll through external vendors or multi-country payroll platforms.
• Strong analytical skills, high attention to detail, and comfort working with large datasets.
• Strong understanding of GDPR and data privacy best practices.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with tight payroll processing timelines.
• Familiarity with payroll/HRIS systems (e.g., Workday, Cloudpay).
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple deadlines and adapt to change.
• Champion a positive employee payroll experience by resolving inquiries promptly, communicating clearly, and ensuring accuracy in every pay cycle.
• Support internal and external audits, proactively identify compliance risks, and implement process improvements to mitigate exposure.

We want to be everything for someone rather than something for everyone and we do this by living and modeling our values in all that we do. We value Courage, Curiosity, Kaizen, and Service.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion reflects our mission of helping people belong. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at Crunchyroll.