Advanced Specialist, Payroll

Job Title : Advanced Specialist, Payroll

Description: In this role, You will be working as a senior individual contributor responsible for the validation, checking and reconciliation of payrolls across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, ensuring payrolls are accurate, timely and compliant with local legislation, company policies and internal controls. This role aligns with industry titles such as Senior Payroll specialist, Payroll operations specialist, Payroll Compliance Specialist or Assistant Manager, Payroll.

Reports To: Payroll Manager India

About Pearson India

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.

JOB PURPOSE

Reporting to the India Payroll Manager and working as part of the wider APACMEA Payroll team, this role provides an important second level of payroll review and control. The role will work closely with the Payroll Administrator responsible for day-to-day payroll processing, independently reviewing payroll inputs, outputs, calculations, reconciliations and statutory requirements prior to final approval.

The IC25 will also act as the backup payroll processor across the assigned countries, maintaining sufficient end-to-end payroll knowledge to ensure continuity of payroll delivery during periods of leave, absence or increased workload.

As a senior member of the team, the role will support the India Payroll Manager with complex payroll matters, compliance, controls, issue resolution and continuous improvement, while providing technical guidance and support to other payroll team members.

While the role does not have formal people-management responsibility, it is expected to demonstrate leadership through technical expertise, ownership, collaboration and the ability to work independently

Who You Will Work With

You will work closely with the India Payroll Manager and the wider South Asia and MEA Payroll team.

You will also partner with Pearson's People/HR teams, Finance, Tax, Technology, HR Business Partners, external payroll providers and other key stakeholders to ensure effective payroll delivery.

Key Responsibilities & Measures

• Support the Payroll Manager with the day-to-day operational delivery of India payroll, ensuring payroll is accurate, compliant and delivered within agreed timelines.
• Act as a senior payroll subject matter expert for India, maintaining strong knowledge of payroll legislation, taxation, statutory requirements and fiscal year-end processes.
• Take ownership of complex payroll activities, queries, issues and reconciliations, escalating significant risks or issues to the Payroll Manager where appropriate.
• Act as a key operational support to the Payroll Manager and provide continuity of payroll operations when the Manager is unavailable.
• Review payroll inputs, outputs, validations and reconciliations to ensure accuracy and completeness prior to payroll finalisation.
• Provide technical guidance and day-to-day support to Payroll Administrators and other team members, helping build capability and payroll knowledge across the team.
• Support the Payroll Manager in coordinating payroll activities, priorities and deadlines across the India payroll team.
• Work closely with external payroll providers to resolve operational issues and ensure agreed services and timelines are achieved.
• Maintain a strong understanding of India payroll legislation and statutory requirements, proactively identifying legislative changes and supporting their implementation.
• Support compliance with company policies, internal controls, payroll governance requirements and local legislation.
• Identify payroll risks and control gaps and work with the Payroll Manager to develop and implement appropriate corrective actions.
• Perform and/or review payroll reconciliations and support the investigation and resolution of payroll variances.
• Partner with Finance to support payroll journals, reconciliations, reporting and payroll-related accounting requirements.
• Support internal and external audits by preparing documentation, responding to payroll-related audit requests and implementing agreed actions.
• Maintain accurate payroll documentation, standard operating procedures, work instructions, process maps and business continuity documentation.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise and improve payroll processes and ways of working.
• Support payroll system enhancements, testing, implementation activities and transformation projects.
• Play a key role in implementing legislative and regulatory changes impacting India payroll.
• Monitor recurring payroll issues and trends and recommend improvements to strengthen payroll accuracy, controls and employee experience.
• Support knowledge sharing and cross-training across the payroll team to reduce key-person dependency and strengthen operational resilience.
• Build strong working relationships with People/HR, Finance, Tax, Technology and other stakeholders to ensure payroll issues are resolved effectively.
• Support the Payroll Manager with payroll reporting, operational metrics and information required for regional payroll governance.

Main Job Dimensions

• Senior individual contributor supporting the operational delivery of India payroll.
• Provides technical leadership and guidance without formal people-management responsibility.
• Supports the Payroll Manager in coordinating workload, priorities, deadlines and operational activities across the India payroll team.
• Acts as a subject matter expert for India payroll legislation, taxation, statutory compliance and year-end requirements.
• Supports strong payroll governance, controls, reconciliations and audit readiness.
• Takes ownership of complex payroll issues and supports their resolution.
• Drives continuous improvement and supports payroll transformation and system initiatives.

Key Relationships / Stakeholders

Payroll Manager – South Asia & MEA

Regional Payroll Manager

India Payroll Team

People / HR Care

HR Business Partners

Finance Business Partners

Pearson Financial Services

Payroll Vendors

Country Stakeholders

Required Skills / Experience

• Strong hands-on experience in India payroll operations, preferably within a large, complex or multinational organisation.
• Strong knowledge of India payroll legislation, statutory requirements, taxation, social security and fiscal year-end processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex payroll activities and resolving payroll issues independently.
• Experience performing and/or reviewing payroll reconciliations, validations and payroll controls.
• Strong understanding of payroll governance, risk and internal controls.
• Experience working with third-party payroll providers and managing operational payroll issues.
• Ability to interpret legislative or regulatory changes and translate them into payroll processes and requirements.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritise multiple payroll deadlines and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, guide and support other payroll team members without requiring formal people-management responsibility.
• Strong stakeholder-management and relationship-building skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively across different functions, cultures and levels of the organisation.
• Experience supporting payroll projects, system implementations, testing or process-improvement initiatives would be advantageous.
• Experience with Oracle and/or major payroll platforms would be advantageous.
• Must be fluent in English, both written and spoken.