Senior Payroll Specialist

About the role

You will own Portuguese payroll end-to-end with full responsibility for accuracy, compliance, and timeliness across the entire payroll cycle. You will serve as the in-house expert for all Portuguese payroll processes, driving standardization and best practices for how payroll should run at scale. You will master and manage the validation of employee payroll master data, ensuring every change from new hires to terminations and variable pay is handled precisely and within strict deadlines. You will configure and maintain the in-house payroll system, testing legislative updates before they go live and partnering closely with Product to improve automation. You will act as the subject matter expert on Portuguese tax, social security, and employment law, advising the business on complex legal interpretations. You will own the full set of statutory filings, including IRS withholding, social security declarations, and annual forms, while overseeing related government accesses and employee documentation. You will run rigorous pre- and post-payroll controls, investigate discrepancies, and ensure issues are resolved before they impact employees or clients. You will prepare and maintain statutory and ad-hoc reports, ensuring full compliance with regulations such as the EU Pay Transparency Directive and RGPD. You will provide structured documentation and data to support internal and external audits, and you will coach junior specialists to elevate the entire payroll team.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Run Portuguese payroll end-to-end, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely processing for the full payroll cycle.
• Master data ownership by validating employee payroll master data, including new hires, terminations, salary changes, variable pay, payroll-related benefits, absences, and garnishments.
• Execute rigorous pre- and post-payroll validations each cycle, investigating discrepancies and implementing corrective actions to maintain payroll quality.
• Handle all statutory filings and government accesses, including monthly IRS withholding declarations, DMR submissions to Segurança Social, and the annual Modelo 10 filing.
• Own the configuration and maintenance of the in-house payroll system, testing legislative updates and troubleshooting issues as they arise.
• Serve as the subject matter expert on Direito Fiscal, Direito da Segurança Social, Direito do Trabalho, and Contrato Coletivo de Trabalho, interpreting legislation for the business.
• Oversee payroll journals, GL mappings, and reconciliations with Finance to ensure full data integrity and accurate ledger postings.
• Act as the key point of contact for complex client payroll escalations, applying deep technical expertise and a customer-first mindset.
• Maintain and prepare statutory and ad-hoc reports to meet regulatory requirements, including obligations under the EU Pay Transparency Directive and RGPD.
• Provide structured data and documentation to support internal and external audits, ensuring transparency and traceability.
• Coach junior payroll specialists through complex problems, helping them build capability and independence.
• Maintain a living knowledge base of playbooks and SOPs so that legal updates and process knowledge are documented and shared across the team.

Requirements

• You have a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent practical experience.
• You have 5+ years of professional experience in payroll, with at least 3 years focused on Portuguese local payroll.
• You have hands-on experience running native Portuguese payroll from the ground up, including deep familiarity with Cegid (Primavera or PHC) and / or Sendys.
• You have strong opinions on doing payroll right and have helped build or transform a payroll function before.
• You understand Portuguese tax and social security legislation, including IRS, Social Security (Segurança Social), and labor law.
• You are fluent in Portuguese and have strong written and verbal communication skills in the language.
• You are highly detail-oriented and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining strict accuracy.
• You have experience with GDPR and data protection principles as they apply to payroll and sensitive employee data.
• You are comfortable working independently and taking ownership for complex, end-to-end responsibilities.
• You have a proven track record of collaborating with Finance, HR, and cross-functional stakeholders to align on payroll processes and controls.

Nice to have

• Experience working with multinational payroll systems and global employment platforms.
• Knowledge of international payroll processes and how they intersect with local Portuguese requirements.
• Experience automating payroll workflows or building integrations between HR and payroll systems.
• Familiarity with TIME and Statista workplace rankings or similar employee-led recognition platforms.

Practical notes

This role requires you to be based in Portugal and have the right to work in this location.