Senior Associate, Global Payroll (LTE)

Gates Foundation•Seattle, WA

About The Position

The Foundation We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally. The Team The vision of Global Financial & Accounting Services (GFAS) is to provide innovative and scalable global business solutions in accounting, tax, payroll, treasury, procurement, and financial operations while safeguarding the reputation of the foundation and our related entities, with the highest standards of integrity and operational excellence. GFAS is a team within the Finance organization at the foundation and an important part of the operations function. Operations supports and enables the six program divisions to make investments and to run effectively and efficiently. As a function, Finance employs approximately 200 full-time employees (FTEs). The GFAS team is significant (45+ FTEs), and continues to scale up to support the increasing breadth and complexity of global operations for the foundation and its affiliated entities. Your Role The Senior Associate on the Global Payroll team will lead the processing of U.S. and global company payroll. The person hired in this role will need to be a problem solver, trusted business partner, and have understanding and experience with payroll operations in US and international contexts, payroll accounting and auditing, and HRIS systems. This role will ensure accurate calculation of wages, tax withholdings, and company deductions as well as proper governmental reporting and compliance. This position is a limited-term position for 24 months. Relocation will be provided.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in accounting or finance and at least 7 years of payroll experience or 10+ years of payroll experience is required.
Progressive technical expertise in payroll operations with related HRIS systems (Workday preferred) with continuous improvement mindset.
Must possess excellent organizational skills and be able to work independently and prioritize tasks in a changing environment with a high degree of accuracy.
Skilled in building strong relationships and communicating optimally and concisely with a variety of constituents inside and outside the organization.
Detailed knowledge of payroll standard methodologies related to risk, internal controls, audit readiness, accounting, and regulatory matters.
Strong judgment and customer-service orientation; proven discretion handling sensitive data.
Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g. H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

Nice To Haves

International processing (UK and/or India) experience highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Oversee end-to-end payroll service delivery for a multi-jurisdiction workforce to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant pay outcomes.
Serve as a subject matter expert on payroll requirements, statutory obligations, and the Foundation’s HRIS/payroll ecosystem.
Research and analyze new payroll and employer compliance requirements including withholding, reporting, and registration obligations in partnership with advisors.
Manage relationships with outsourced payroll providers and in-country partners by setting expectations, monitoring SLAs, and driving corrective actions.
Establish cross-functional partnerships within GFAS and other operations teams (HR, Legal, and IT) to collaborate and develop solutions to complex payroll issues
Lead and coordinate payroll-specific audit support (internal, external, and statutory, as applicable) for compliance testing or financial statement preparation.
Identify and recommend updates to payroll processes, systems, and procedures, focusing on efficiencies and standard processes
Provide responsive support to employees and partners by resolving payroll questions and inquiries with a customer-service mindset.