International Payroll Specialist – APAC
Overview
Own and elevate payroll operations across the Asia-Pacific region in this high-impact, hands-on opportunity with a fast-growing technology organization. As the International Payroll Specialist – APAC, you will manage monthly payroll for Australia and Singapore, lead the launch of South Korea payroll, oversee Japan payroll activities, and partner with global teams and external providers to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely employee payments.
This role is ideal for a payroll professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys building processes from the ground up, and can confidently balance day-to-day execution with international payroll implementations and continuous improvement. You will also develop country-specific runbooks, maintain the APAC compliance calendar, reconcile payroll registers to Workday, and manage relationships with payroll providers across multiple countries.
Required Skills
- Five or more years of payroll experience, including hands-on responsibility for at least two of the following:
- Australia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Japan
- Working knowledge of Australian payroll requirements, including:
- PAYG withholding
- Superannuation guarantee
- Single Touch Payroll (STP)
- State payroll tax
- Working knowledge of Singapore payroll requirements, including:
- Central Provident Fund (CPF)
- Skills Development Levy (SDL)
- IR8A
- Equivalent depth of experience in South Korean or Japanese payroll, with the ability and willingness to learn additional APAC payroll requirements.
- Experience running payroll through an outsourced provider and reviewing provider output.
- Ability to reconcile payroll registers to an HRIS, preferably Workday, investigate variances, and confirm funding.
- Experience processing new hires, terminations, final pay, one-time payments, commissions, and reimbursements.
- Strong process documentation and organizational skills.
- Fluent written and spoken English.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with US-based teams and vendors across multiple time zones.
- Strong judgment when handling confidential payroll and employee data.
- Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced startup environment.
Nice to Have Skills
- Experience launching payroll in a new country.
- Japanese or Korean language skills.
- Experience with weConnect, Breeze, SmartHR, or ADP Celergo.
- Experience with Workday Payroll or Workday HCM integrations with local payroll providers.
- Experience working for a high-growth technology company expanding into new countries.
- Experience managing or mentoring a part-time or junior payroll resource.
- Experience with payroll implementation planning, provider management, and internal audit processes.
Preferred Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, human resources, business administration, or a related field is preferred.
- Five or more years of progressive international payroll experience, with direct responsibility for payroll operations in at least two APAC countries.
- Experience supporting payroll compliance, provider relationships, process development, and payroll implementations is strongly preferred.
Other Requirements
- Work arrangement: Remote.
- Engagement: Six-month contract-to-hire opportunity.
- Ability to support recurring payroll deadlines and collaborate with teams and vendors across APAC and US time zones.
- Ability to complete a background check.
- Willingness to operate effectively in a dynamic, rapidly changing startup environment.
- Ability to develop and maintain country-specific payroll runbooks and an APAC compliance calendar.
- Availability to support payroll provider coordination, employee inquiries, monthly audits, funding requests, and implementation milestones.
