Global Payroll Manager - Operations

Job Description :

About us

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world’s most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life’s moments - from everyday connections to landmark celebrations.

Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and raising the bar for our brands, our business and each other.

Join us and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

About the Function:

About the role:

Experience / skills required:

Working with us

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

We recognise and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including:

Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible.

We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives - challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team.

Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to raise the bar, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Ready to bring your best? This could be your opportunity.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.

Recruitment Scam Warning

Protecting candidates is very important to us. All communications regarding your application will come from an email address ending in @diageo.com. In our recruitment process, we'll never ask for money.With over 200 brands sold in more than 180 countries, Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks company. Diageo Global Business Operations (GBO) is a multi-functional global shared services organization established to liberate and equip markets to deliver the Diageo Performance Ambition through:

• Elite end-to-end process execution
• Performance-enhancing insights from data
• Leading digital capabilities and solutions

All underpinned by secure and stable operations and a relentless focus on employee experience.

Diageo Global Business Services enables market performance through reliable processes, actionable insights and digital capabilities, underpinned by secure operations and a strong employee experience.

The Payroll Experience team owns, designs and delivers brilliant execution of payroll processes globally. The Payroll Manager plays a critical leadership role in ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll operations across assigned markets while driving continuous improvement, digital enablement and operational excellence.

The Global Payroll Manager leads payroll operations across multiple countries, partnering with HR, Finance, Tax, Technology and external providers to deliver accurate, compliant and employee-centric payroll services while driving digital transformation, automation and AI-enabled operational excellence.

Financial responsibilities

• Own operational payroll delivery and budget performance across assigned markets, providing clear visibility of costs, variances and improvement opportunities.
• Deliver cost optimisation through process simplification, automation and effective vendor management.
• Contribute to business cases for technology and transformation investments, defining expected benefits and tracking delivery within the assigned scope.

Market complexity

• Manage multi-country payroll across diverse statutory, tax, labour and data privacy requirements, including applicable SOX environments.
• Oversee complex payroll activities, including year-end processing, audits, statutory payments, cross-border payroll and employee escalations.
• Coordinate with HR, Finance, Tax, Technology and payroll providers to resolve dependencies and implement regulatory changes within agreed timelines.

Leadership capabilities

• Lead payroll teams with clear accountabilities, delivery expectations and a strong focus on employee outcomes.
• Build capability in payroll controls, digital tools, analytics and process improvement through coaching and structured development.
• Use performance data to guide decisions, prioritise improvements and strengthen accountability.
• Influence market and global stakeholders to resolve issues and deliver shared operational and transformation objectives.

Purpose of the role

Own accurate, compliant and timely payroll delivery across assigned markets. Strengthen service resilience, employee experience and cost efficiency through effective controls, capable teams, vendor accountability and measurable process improvements supported by digital and AI-enabled ways of working.

Top five accountabilities

1. Operational payroll delivery

• Own end-to-end payroll operations for assigned markets, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time.
• Oversee payroll inputs, processing, output validation, reconciliations and reporting against agreed calendars and service standards.
• Monitor service KPIs, investigate exceptions and recurring failures, and implement actions that improve accuracy, timeliness and employee experience.
• Coordinate upstream and downstream dependencies with HR, Finance and providers, maintaining clear ownership at each hand-off.

2. Compliance governance and risk management

• Maintain compliance with applicable statutory, tax, labour and data privacy requirements, working with specialist functions where interpretation is required.
• Maintain an effective payroll control environment, with documented procedures, evidence of control execution and timely closure of audit actions.
• Identify and assess operational risks, implement mitigation plans and escalate material issues with clear impact and recommended action.
• Lead the resolution of critical payroll incidents and maintain business continuity arrangements for assigned markets.

3. Vendor management

• Manage operational relationships with payroll providers and hold them accountable for agreed SLAs, KPIs and improvement commitments.
• Lead service reviews, track corrective actions and resolve complex vendor, stakeholder and employee escalations.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to address delivery gaps, improve service quality and support cost optimisation.

4. Digital and process excellence

• Simplify and standardise payroll processes, leveraging payroll platforms, HRIS, time and attendance systems and workflow tools.
• Deliver automation and approved AI initiatives with Technology and relevant partners, maintaining controls and employee data protection.
• Use data and analytics to strengthen reporting, exception management and decision-making.
• Track operational outcomes and realised benefits from improvements and transformation initiatives.

5. Team leadership and capability building

• Set clear objectives, coach colleagues and manage performance to build a high-performing payroll team.
• Develop capability in technical payroll, controls, analytics, digital productivity and stakeholder management.
• Embed accountability, collaboration and continuous learning, encouraging early escalation and constructive challenge.
• Build succession and backup coverage for critical activities to sustain delivery through staffing and operational changes.

Core skills required

• Business acumen and enterprise awareness - understand payroll’s financial and operational impact and align delivery to enterprise priorities and the transformation roadmap.
• Communication and storytelling - translate payroll performance, risks and compliance issues into clear insights and recommended actions.
• Stakeholder management - influence internal partners and providers across markets and functions to secure commitments and resolve issues.
• Change management - lead transitions, support adoption and embed new processes and systems without compromising delivery.
• Problem-solving - diagnose complex payroll issues, identify root causes and implement sustainable solutions.
• Collaboration and interpersonal effectiveness - deliver through others and build productive relationships across cultures and geographies.
• Emotional intelligence - manage team dynamics and stakeholder interactions with empathy, sound judgement and clarity.
• Ethical decision-making - uphold compliance, confidentiality and governance standards.
• Resilience and adaptability - maintain effective delivery through competing priorities and changing requirements.

Digital and technical skills required

• Payroll systems - strong working knowledge of payroll processing platforms, calculation validation, statutory deductions and operational controls.
• HRIS and data management - manage and reconcile payroll data and understand interfaces with HR, reward, mobility and finance systems.
• Time and attendance - validate attendance and leave inputs and manage their integration with payroll.
• Workflow automation - use Power Automate or comparable tools to simplify repetitive activities and improve workflow visibility.
• Regulatory knowledge - translate applicable payroll, tax and data privacy requirements into operational procedures and controls.
• Systems thinking and data architecture - understand process dependencies and support structured payroll data and reporting frameworks.
• Analytics - apply root-cause and trend analysis, exception management, data visualisation, statistical reasoning and financial impact assessment; use predictive techniques where appropriate

Advanced skills preferred

• Experience leading payroll transformation, operating model design and process standardisation.

• Practical application of Lean, process excellence and continuous improvement methods.

• Experience implementing HRIS, payroll or ERP programmes and working across global mobility, reward and HR technology processes.

• Demonstrated use of automation, AI and digital technologies to improve payroll outcomes.

Generative AI and digital productivity

• Identify suitable AI opportunities in documentation, knowledge management, reporting and employee support.
• Use approved AI tools to improve productivity, validating outputs through payroll expertise and established controls.
• Partner with Technology to deploy intelligent automation responsibly, protecting confidential employee data and complying with company policies.

Qualifications and experience required

• 10-12 years of progressive payroll experience, including multi-country payroll operations.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of experience leading regional or global payroll teams.
• Experience managing outsourced payroll providers and complex cross-functional stakeholder relationships.
• Strong knowledge of payroll legislation, controls, audit and compliance frameworks, including SOX requirements where applicable and the use of SOC reports in provider assurance.
• Experience in a Global Business Services or shared services environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Finance or a related discipline.
• Strong analytical and data management capability, with proficiency in Microsoft Office, HR systems and payroll technology.
• Proven ability to interpret regulatory changes with specialist support, translate requirements into operational controls and simplify complex payroll processes.

Barriers to success in the role

• Limited ability to influence senior stakeholders or secure cross-functional ownership.

• Weak stakeholder engagement, unclear communication or delayed escalation of material risks.

• Inability to deliver through others or build team capability and accountability.

• Difficulty working effectively across cultures, geographies and regulatory environments.

• Failure to maintain operational discipline, effective controls or timely corrective action.

• Resistance to simplification or inability to translate digital opportunities into measurable service improvements.

Flexible working statement

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you are supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Diversity statement

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. Creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and belongs is central to this purpose.

We welcome and celebrate people of different genders, ethnicities, abilities, ages, sexual orientations, social backgrounds, educational backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. You will help build and champion an inclusive culture that enables colleagues to contribute and succeed.

Our ambition is to be one of the best-performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us to help transform our business, strengthen our brands and shape the next generation of celebrations for consumers everywhere.

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