Senior Payroll Specialist - MEA region

Are you an experienced payroll professional ready to broaden your international payroll expertise and take on a new regional challenge?

We are looking for a Senior Payroll Specialist for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region to join our international payroll team and support payroll operations across multiple countries.

This is an opportunity to build strong knowledge of a diverse region, work with colleagues and stakeholders across different countries and cultures and expand your experience beyond the standard monthly payroll cycle.

You will take ownership of monthly payroll activities, resolve payroll queries, support reporting and audits, and contribute to continuous improvement and regional payroll projects.

As a Senior Payroll Specialist, you will support the accurate and timely payroll process for assigned countries and entities across the MEA region.

You will coordinate monthly payroll activities, validate payroll data and employee changes, work closely with HR, Finance, employees, local stakeholders, and payroll partners, and help ensure each payroll cycle runs smoothly and accurately.

You will also support reporting, audits, controls, documentation, and continuous improvements across the regional payroll environment.

This role gives you the opportunity to broaden your payroll expertise beyond a single country or market and develop valuable knowledge of payroll operations across the Middle East and Africa.

You will gain exposure to different countries, local requirements, cultures, stakeholders, and ways of working while strengthening your experience in a truly international payroll environment.

And the role goes beyond the monthly payroll cycle. You will have the opportunity to participate in regional projects, process improvements, audits, reporting, controls, system changes, and harmonization initiatives, allowing you to build a broader understanding of how payroll operates across an international organization.

Whether you already have regional payroll experience or are looking to expand your existing payroll knowledge into a new area, this position offers the opportunity to deepen your expertise, broaden your regional exposure, and build experience that can support your next career step.

• Coordinate monthly payroll activities according to agreed payroll calendars, local requirements, and established processes.
• Collect, review, and validate monthly payroll inputs such as overtime, bonuses, allowances, absences, new hires, terminations, transfers, and other employee changes.
• Prepare and validate payroll data and follow up on payroll-related questions and discrepancies through to resolution.
• Perform payroll checks and controls, investigate variances, and ensure issues are resolved before payroll sign-off.
• Partner with HR, Finance, employees, local stakeholders, and payroll partners to resolve payroll-related queries.
• Support payroll reporting, audits, controls, and required documentation throughout the year.
• Maintain accurate payroll records and ensure payroll-related data is complete and up to date.
• Contribute to payroll process improvements, system changes, harmonization activities, and regional projects.
• Collaborate effectively with colleagues and stakeholders across different countries, cultures, and time zones.
• Take ownership of your activities, proactively investigate issues, seek information, and involve the right stakeholders when clarification is needed.

• 3+ years of experience in payroll administration or payroll processing.
• Good understanding of payroll processes and monthly payroll cycles.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work accurately with payroll data.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage deadlines and priorities.
• Confident written and spoken English.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including lookups, pivot tables, and basic formulas.
• Proactive mindset and strong sense of ownership – you are comfortable investigating issues, asking questions, and driving tasks through to completion.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with an international team.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills.
• Comfort working with stakeholders across different countries and time zones.

• Experience working in an international or multicultural payroll environment.
• Experience supporting payroll across multiple countries.
• Previous exposure to MEA payroll would be a strong advantage, but is not essential.

Johnson Controls, a global leader in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, helps customers use energy more productively, reduce carbon emissions, and operate with the precision and resilience required in rapidly expanding industries such as data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and higher education.

For more than 140 years, Johnson Controls has delivered performance where it really matters. Backed by advanced technology, lifecycle services and an industry-leading field organization, we elevate customer performance, turn goals into real-world results and help move society forward.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion and believe that different perspectives make us stronger. By encouraging open dialogue and valuing individuality, we strive to be one of the most desirable places to work.

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