Payroll Cluster Manager

Description
Kenvue is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
Kenvue is currently recruiting for:
**Payroll Cluster Manager**
This position is based in Pomezia (hybrid working scheme).
**Who We Are**
At Kenvue, we realize the extraordinary power of everyday care. Built on over a century of heritage and rooted in science, we're the house of iconic brands - including NEUTROGENA®, AVEENO®, TYLENOL®, LISTERINE®, JOHNSON'S® and BAND-AID® that you already know and love. Science is our passion; care is our talent. Our global team is made up with 22,000 diverse and brilliant people, passionate about insights, innovation and committed to deliver the best products to our customers. With expertise and empathy, being a Kenvuer means to have the power to impact life of millions of people every day. We put people first, care fiercely, earn trust with science and solve with courage - and have brilliant opportunities waiting for you Join us in shaping our future-and yours.
**What You Will Do**
The **Payroll Cluster Manager** is responsible for managing the payroll function (including time & attendance) for the Italy Cluster, which includes Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Spain, and Portugal countries. This role is responsible for the day-to-day management of payroll processing tasks, including active management of the payroll checklist, on-cycle and off-cycle payroll preparation and execution, and post-payroll tasks (including audits and reconciliations) for all countries in the cluster. In addition to managing day-to-day payroll operations, the Payroll Cluster Manager will also be responsible for creating country-specific procedures and policies to enhance and maintain effectiveness, ensuring compliance, suggesting areas of improvement, and interacting heavily with third-party payroll providers and other internal stakeholders (e.g. HR, Finance, Benefits, etc.).
Key Responsibilities
- Responsible for day-to-day management of payroll processing for all countries in the Italy cluster, with at least 60-70% of workload on Italian payroll activities
- Create country-specific procedures and policies to enhance and maintain effectiveness (e.g. SOPs, DTPs, Work Instructions)
- Provides coaching and mentorship to payroll resources in the Italy cluster to support a high-performance team environment. Sets annual goals and develops effective career and development paths. Encourages continuous learning.
- Recruits and hires staff, as appropriate.
- Creates and uses metrics to benchmark performance and improve processes/team productivity, plan/execute on implementation of process improvement initiatives
- Provide leadership and guidance on issue resolution, escalation management, and risk mitigations
- Partner with internal cross-functional stakeholders to ensure that upstream and downstream processes are functioning properly (e.g. HR data maintenance, GL file posting)
- Manage third-party payroll providers against contractually agreed upon SLAs and metrics
- Support payroll projects and cross-functional projects with payroll dependency
- Support auditors and legal authorities with the execution of required activities
- Ensure adherence, monitor, remediate and align compliance responsibilities with stakeholders. Manage, mitigate, and escalate risks on a timely basis
- Ensure strong internal controls are in place, to achieve "adequate" internal and external audit ratings
- Ensure month end, quarter end and year end payroll returns are complete, accurate and submitted to Government agencies, in a timely manner.
- Responsible for annual payroll calendar, payroll elements, year-end updates, and proactively communicating to HR/management/employees as appropriate.
**Qualifications**:
**What We Are Looking For**
Required Qualifications
- University degree / Bachelor's degree or equivalent is required
- Minimum of 8 years of prior experience in processing payroll is required
- Experience leading payroll operations and managing 3rd Party Payroll providers and services required
- English language proficiency is required
- Experience in developing/improving Payroll processes to maximize efficiency & deliver quality services is required
- Strong analytical skills and strategic problem solver is required
- Ability to influence others, identify problems and recommend course of actions is preferred
- Language requirements specific to EMEA or Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Spain, and Portugal are preferred
- A high degree of confidentiality, data protection assurance, conformity with J&J policies, procedures, external regulations and agencies is required
- Prior Experience with payroll processes, procedures, controls, regulations,