Head of People Operations and Payroll (D/M/W)

Blacklane · Berlin

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Your Challenge

As Head of People Operations and Payroll, you will play a key role in delivering a seamless, compliant and employee-focused experience across our international workforce. You will help ensure that our people processes, payroll operations and HR systems run accurately, efficiently and consistently—giving our employees the support they need to do their best work for the business.

Working closely with People & Culture, Finance, Legal and leaders across the business, you will contribute to improving and scaling the way we work. From automating operational processes and ensuring reliable payroll delivery to using data to identify improvements, your work will have a direct impact on the employee experience and on Blacklane’s continued growth.

This is an opportunity to join an international team where operational excellence matters, collaboration is highly valued and your expertise can help shape people's practices for the future.

• Lead and develop the People Operations and Payroll team, setting clear priorities, service standards and ways of working that enable consistently high-quality support for employees and the business.
• Own the operational delivery of the employee lifecycle together with your team, including contracts, onboarding, employee data changes, mobility, leave administration and offboarding.
• Hold the team accountable for accurate, timely and compliant monthly payroll delivery, ensuring that employee data and payroll inputs are prepared, validated and submitted on time in close partnership with Payroll and Finance. Chip in by handling 2 countries yourself and maintaining a good relationship with our payroll vendor Deel. 
• Establish robust payroll governance, controls and escalation processes, ensuring clear ownership, effective issue resolution and continuous improvement across the payroll cycle.
• Ensure compliance with local employment, payroll and statutory requirements across relevant countries, working closely with Legal, local experts, external providers and EOR partners.
• Define and drive the standardisation and continuous improvement of People Operations and payroll processes, policies, documentation and service delivery across regions.
• Ensure employee records and HR data are accurate, complete and maintained to a high standard, with systems, workflows and documentation that are reliable, secure and audit-ready.
• Lead the effective use and development of People systems, leveraging state-of-the-art technology, automation and data flows to simplify processes, improve controls and scale operations.
• Establish meaningful People Operations and Payroll reporting, translating data into clear insights, risk indicators and practical recommendations for senior leadership.
• Lead and sponsor cross-functional People projects, including systems implementations, process redesign, process standardisation and organisational change.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and the wider business on complex People Operations and payroll matters, providing clear, pragmatic and commercially aware guidance.
• Identify operational risks proactively and ensure that appropriate controls, documentation, escalation routes and follow-up actions are in place and consistently applied.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders, across regions, representing Blacklane with professionalism and accountability.

About You

• Significant experience leading People Operations, HR Operations, Payroll or a similar function within an international organisation.
• Proven experience managing, developing and motivating high-performing teams, with the ability to create clarity, accountability and a strong service culture.
• Strong knowledge of employee lifecycle processes, HR systems, payroll interfaces, employee data and operational governance.
• Experience overseeing payroll operations across multiple countries, with a solid understanding of local employment, payroll, tax, social security and compliance requirements.
• A track record of simplifying, standardising and automating People Operations and payroll processes to improve quality, efficiency and scalability.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn People and payroll data into clear insights, risks and practical recommendations.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and communication skills, including the confidence to influence senior leaders and collaborate effectively with Finance, Legal, Technology and external partners.
• A structured, pragmatic and hands-on leadership approach, combined with strong attention to detail and a clear focus on operational excellence.
• The ability to balance global consistency with local requirements, business priorities and the needs of employees and managers.
• The judgement to manage sensitive and complex People Operations and payroll matters with discretion, resilience and sound decision-making.
• Fluency in English; German or other languages are a plus.

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