Senior Analyst - Global Payroll (US) at WPP in Chennai, India

Why we're hiring:

As part of the Global Payroll Team, you will contribute to the ongoing development of the global People strategy. Supporting business growth in an increasingly regulated environment whilst ensuring payroll and tax are compliant across the region. The Payroll Senior Analyst will have the responsibility for ensuring that all compensation, associated deductions and benefits are processed/paid on a timely basis for assigned populations. They will also be responsible for ensuring all statutory filings are completed and deadlines met.

What you'll be doing:

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage and process payroll data for assigned countries, ensuring accuracy and compliance with local legislation
• Validate payroll inputs (time, bonuses, deductions, new hires, exits)
• Run assigned payroll cycles (gross-to-net)
• Perform payroll reconciliations and roll-forward variance analysis
• Resolve employee payroll queries within SLA
• Support statutory filings and audit requests
• Process travel and reimbursements
• Process other statutory payments for employees
• Process employee loan and other schemes as applicable
• Serve as the primary point of contact for inbound tickets/requests from management, handling requests and issues from employees and managers for the assigned population.

• Monitor, track, and resolve requests/queries related to payroll, benefits, and data changes, escalating as needed.
• Collaborate with vendors and internal teams to ensure timely and accurate data processing and issue resolution.
• Maintain confidential records and ensure data integrity in all payroll systems.
• Provide operational support and guidance to employees and managers on payroll data and shared services/workflow processes.
• Support business growth and compliance in a regulated environment.

KPIs

• Payroll accuracy (%) – error‑free payslips
• On‑time payroll processing (%)
• Payroll query resolution TAT
• Rework / correction rate
• SLA adherence for assigned activities

What you'll need:

Skills and Competencies

• Understanding of regional payroll legislation and statutory requirements.
• Advanced data processing skills, including data validation, reconciliation, and reporting.
• Experience managing and resolving queries and tickets, preferably in a global environment.

Qualification and Experience

• Proficiency in English, both written and verbal
• Bachelor's degree in HR, Accounting, Finance, or related field (SSC or multinational preferred)
• 4-8 years of experience in payroll data processing or ticket management, ideally in a multinational or shared services environment
• Good knowledge of payroll legislation and compliance requirements for regional countries
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; experience with payroll reporting and reconciliations
• Experience with service request ticketing systems is a plus.
• Experience with Workday HCM is a plus.

Who you are:

You're open: we are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: we approach all that we do with confidence: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: We are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – we champion a culture of people that do extraordinary work

Scale and opportunity – we offer the opportunity to create, influence and deliver projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers.

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