Team Manager, Payroll
Job Title: Team Manager, Payroll
At Pearson , we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it’s one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We also create incredible assessment clinical and professional tests to help people to growth in their personal and professional lives. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology — and each other to surpass these boundaries — we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations, personal and global, large, and small.
What you’ll do
The Regional Payroll Leader – Europe will serve as the senior operational and strategic payroll leader for the region, helping modernize and stabilize operations while partnering closely with stakeholders to drive a scalable, resilient, and future-ready operating model. This role will play a critical part in shaping and maturing that future-state operating model.
The position is designed for a leader who can navigate complexity, lead transformation, orchestrate multiple operational support layers, and help modernize operations within a highly matrixed global organization.
Pearson ’s Global Payroll team has earned industry recognition for innovation and leadership, with team members featured on leading podcasts, and professional publications across the payroll and workforce technology space.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership
- Coach team members through organizational and operational transformation
- Help establish future-state role expectations centered on expertise, governance, stakeholder partnership, operational orchestration, and continuous improvement
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, operational excellence, and modernization
Stakeholder Partnership & Governance
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Support executive-level discussions involving payroll risk, controls, compliance, and operational performance
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Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across the organization
Operational Transformation & Modernization
- Lead Europe transformation initiatives, including vendor transitions and operating model redesign
- Support the continued evolution of operations through optimization and standardization, governance enhancement, and vendor optimization
- Lead automation and AI-readiness strategies
- Help evolve the function to an expertise-led and strategically aligned operating structure
Risk, Compliance & Operational Resilience
- Strengthen governance and operational controls across the region
- Reduce key-person dependency and operational fragility through scalable support models and documentation
- Improve operational resilience and continuity planning across supported markets
- Oversee audit readiness and support remediation activities where needed
- Ensure appropriate escalation management and operational transparency across all supported countries
Success Metrics
Operational Delivery
- Achieve sustained accuracy and on-time delivery across the region
- Reduce manual workarounds year-over-year
- Reduce sustained overtime dependency
- Improve operational continuity through strengthened backup coverage and documentation maturity
Transformation & Modernization
- Increase process standardization and reduce fragmented/manual workflows across the region
- Improve operational readiness for automation and AI-enabled operations
- Successfully implement and mature the Europe hybrid operating model
Governance & Risk
- Improve audit readiness and controls maturity across the region
- Reduce key-person dependency and operational fragility
- Strengthen transparency, governance, and escalation man