Senior People Ops Manager - Payroll & Systems

Convergent Research•Philadelphia, PA

1d•$165,000 - $175,000•Remote

About The Position

Convergent Research is a nonprofit science studio that builds operational infrastructure for Focused Research Organizations (FROs), enabling scientists and engineers to address important scientific and engineering bottlenecks. The Senior People Ops Manager - Payroll & Systems owns the people operations infrastructure that supports Convergent Research and its FROs, including payroll, benefits, people systems, compliance, and the operational setup and wind-down of FROs. This is a senior, hands-on expert role, initially expected to comprise approximately 60% execution and 40% policy development, infrastructure building, and continuous improvement. The role has significant autonomy within its domain. The Head of People gives final approval on company-wide strategic decisions and decisions affecting multiple teams. The position reports to the Head of People and works closely with the People Ops Manager – Employee Experience, the Sr. HRBP, and the Launch team. A coordinator may be added in the future to support routine administrative work. The role owns US and UK payroll operations using TriNet and Rippling, respectively. Providers handle tax calculations and filings, while the role remains accountable for accurate inputs, output review, and issue resolution. A second People Ops team member provides an independent pre-run review. The position also owns benefits, retirement and leave administration; HRIS architecture and governance; people policies and compliance processes across relevant jurisdictions; and operational coordination for immigration and compensation processes. It establishes people infrastructure for new FROs and manages the people operations aspects of FRO wind-downs. Within six months, the role is expected to take full ownership of US and UK payroll and retirement administration and document those processes; audit and update source-of-truth salary data; create a process for timecards and hourly payroll in Rippling; agree with the Head of People on a 12-month roadmap with OKRs and success criteria and complete two to three high-priority initiatives; implement payroll controls and a people compliance calendar; assess policies by jurisdiction and address the highest-risk gaps; and support at least one FRO launch and one wind-down from start to finish, if project timelines permit.

Requirements

12 or more years of experience in HR operations, payroll administration, or a closely related field, or 8 or more years with a directly relevant master’s degree.
At least 5 years of direct, accountable payroll administration ownership across multiple jurisdictions, including California.
Experience standing up or substantially building people operations processes for a new entity, location, or country.
Hands-on benefits administration experience, including coordinating at least one open enrollment cycle.
Experience owning an HRIS, including configuration, integrations, data integrity, data governance, and reporting.
Experience developing complete, compliant policy suites across multiple states or countries and knowing when to engage legal counsel.
Strong documentation and process-building skills, with examples of playbooks, controls, or operational systems created.
Familiarity with AI-enabled tools for documentation, reporting, and workflow automation.
Ability to manage payroll and compliance details while balancing pragmatism and timely execution.
Ability to build repeatable processes, playbooks, templates, controls, and documentation, and protect time for system improvements.
Experience bringing structure to ambiguous situations, identifying dependencies, and turning complex problems into actionable plans.
Ability to make recommendations, explain risks, exercise sound judgment about decision authority, and escalate decisions appropriately.
Fluency working with HRIS platforms, payroll providers, PEOs, and external partners, including holding vendors accountable.
Ability to prioritize and coordinate concurrent payroll, benefits, launch, open-enrollment, and wind-down work.
Clear communication, respect for others, positive intent, and a low-ego collaborative approach.

Nice To Haves

UK payroll experience, including PAYE, RTI, and pension administration.
Experience in a PEO environment, ideally with TriNet, and with Rippling or a comparable international payroll platform.
Experience with international employer-of-record (EOR) arrangements.
Experience in a nonprofit, startup, research organization, or other fast-moving, mission-driven environment.
Experience supporting multiple legal entities.

Responsibilities

Own US and UK payroll end to end, including timesheets, payroll changes, input accuracy, initial review, reconciliations, change approvals, controls, audit trails, documentation, and provider issue resolution.
Maintain an independent pre-run payroll review process with another People Ops team member and document processes so payroll can be run safely by others.
Administer benefits, COBRA, open enrollment, US 401(k), UK pensions, contributions, records, provider coordination, leave administration in the HRIS, and workers’ compensation.
Partner with the Sr. HRBP on employee accommodations and employee-specific leave issues.
Own HRIS architecture, configuration, integrations, data integrity, governance, source-of-truth rules, field ownership, auditing, and reporting.
Troubleshoot escalated systems issues, manage vendors and platform performance, and recommend whether to build, buy, change, or simplify systems, including outlining costs and risks.
Partner with the Head of People to develop and maintain compliant policies across US federal and state jurisdictions, the UK, and EOR-covered countries, including a jurisdictional compliance matrix, version control, and review dates.
Own the people compliance calendar for filings, renewals, notices, audits, and policy reviews, with clear owners and lead times; engage outside counsel when appropriate.
Facilitate FRO introductions to immigration counsel, coordinate vendors, track timelines, and provide HRIS documentation without managing substantive immigration cases.
Support reporting for compensation reviews; compensation strategy remains owned by the Head of People.
Establish people infrastructure for new FROs, including entity and EOR setup, payroll and benefits activation, policies, and a usable Notion workspace.
Coordinate the people workstream in the broader launch plan owned by the Program Launch Manager, manage dependencies such as TriNet and Rippling onboarding timelines, and flag risks early.
Own operational aspects of FRO wind-downs, including individual terminations, jurisdiction-specific final pay, benefits termination, platform and entity closure mechanics, and records retention.
Partner with the Sr. HRBP on FRO wind-down transition planning and employee communications, and with the Head of People on severance and matters involving counsel.
Within six months, take ownership of US and UK payroll and pension/401(k) administration, update salary data, create a Rippling timecard and hourly-payroll process, and complete priority roadmap initiatives.
Within six months, implement a payroll controls framework and compliance calendar, assess policy gaps by jurisdiction and close the highest-risk gaps, and support an FRO launch and wind-down if timelines permit.

Benefits

A 5–10% compensation premium for employees in especially high-cost labor locations, such as New York City or San Francisco, or working from the NYC office.
Up to a 6% 401(k) match.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with the majority of options fully covered for employees and dependents.
Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, and long- and short-term disability insurance, plus voluntary supplemental insurance options.
19 holidays, including a full week off at the end of the year.
Three weeks of PTO, with increases based on tenure, plus separate sick and parental leave allotments.
Fertility benefits and childcare reimbursement.
Education and professional development benefits.
Wellness allowance for fitness and wellness activities.
Quarterly team offsite retreats and additional opportunities to meet teammates in person.