In-House Payroll Operations Manager (18 Month Fixed Term Employment) in City of London

One platform, a whole world of opportunity. Right now, the best jobs are limited to people in a handful of the world’s wealthiest cities, yet brilliant people are everywhere. Driven to overturn the status quo and distribute opportunities equally around the world, Oyster launched its global employment platform to help companies hire, pay, and care for talent anywhere.

The Role

This is an 18-month fixed-term employment contract. Location: While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster's positions are fully remote and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for this employee and to meet the business needs, this role requires you to be based within +2 /-2 UTC.

As our Payroll Manager, you'll lead a team of payroll specialists delivering exceptional payroll services across multiple countries, managing both in-house (native) and Employer of Record (EoR) operations. This isn't just a typical payroll management role – it's an opportunity to build and optimize payroll operations in a hyper-growth, global-first environment. You'll report directly to our Head of Payroll Operations and have the opportunity to drive payroll transformation through automation, shape strategy for new country launches, build a high-performing team, and partner with Product, Finance, and HR to revolutionize how we deliver payroll at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee a team of payroll specialists to deliver both in-house (native) and EoR payroll for Oyster's team members across multiple countries as assigned.
• Managing, coaching, and monitoring the successful transition to, and adoption of, Oyster's automated payroll tooling and processes for delivering payroll at scale whilst maintaining Service Delivery targets and KPIs.
• Delivering a best-of-breed payroll experience, ensuring payroll queries are resolved in line with SLAs.
• Managing the transition to, and overseeing the execution of, Oyster's native payroll operations in the United Kingdom and additional countries as per the native payroll roadmap.
• Performing the lead role in managing, communicating, and resolving payroll escalations pertaining to countries under your charge.
• Ensuring you and your team maintain professional knowledge of payroll legislative changes.
• Working closely with HR Advisory to manage enhancements to processes and legislative issues.
• Overseeing effective working relations and monitoring SLA adherence with local payroll vendors, accountants, and employment advisors.
• Leading optimization of payroll processes and engaging with cross-functional teams such as Product, Treasury, Accounting, and Finance Transformation.
• Building and developing your team through coaching, performance management, and career development planning.
• Leading due diligence, vendor selection, and implementation planning for new country launches.
• Presenting management reports on payroll metrics and operational performance to senior leadership.

Core Requirements

• Must have 7+ years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years of people management experience (hiring, coaching, performance management), leading a team of payroll professionals.
• Responsibility for delivering end-to-end native (in-house) payroll for the United Kingdom.
• Delivery of at least one other payroll outside of the United Kingdom (e.g., in Europe).
• Country-specific taxation and compliance for the United Kingdom (taxation of benefits, expenses, income, national insurance, pension auto-enrolment, statutory payments).
• Working with local payroll engines (software) in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe.
• Proven track record working with finance transformation, RPA, and process improvement teams to achieve automation and efficiency.
• Experience managing payroll for 1,000+ employees across multiple jurisdictions.
• Project management experience leading payroll implementations or transformation initiatives.
• [BONUS] Recognized payroll qualification/diploma/certification (e.g., CIPP, FPC, CPP).

You’ll also need

• A reliable home internet connection (or be able to get one).
• Fluent English language skills.

How we work together at Oyster

Our values guide the work we do, the decisions we make, and the culture that makes us special. We elevate talent. We build trust. We thrive together. Our mission is to create a more equal world—one global hire at a time.

Everything we do ladders up to our mission—and that doesn’t just mean building software. We develop programs, participate in workshops, and create dedicated teams to ensure we successfully support companies and knowledge workers in this new world of work.

We embrace asynchronous communication and collaborative work.

How YOU work

• Work from anywhere: Oyster is a borderless, HQ-less company.
• Paid time off: We’re all about taking breaks—we all need it. Oyster provides employees with 40 days off each year, which includes public/bank holidays and vacation/holiday leave.
• Mental health support: We consider your mental health a top priority.
• Wellbeing allowance: Each month, Oyster will top up your ThanksBen wallet with a wellbeing allowance.
• Flexible parental leave: Families are created in lots of different ways. Our parental leave policy applies to all employees who are becoming parents.
• WFH stipend: Stipend to spend on your laptop and any other equipment you need for your home office.

At Oyster, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences and we’ve intentionally built our product and our company with an inclusive, global mindset. We know from experience that people from underrepresented groups often don’t apply for roles they don’t feel they meet all the criteria for. We’re committed to elevating talent by creating a trust-based environment where we can all thrive together.