Manager, International Payroll

About Four Seasons:

Four Seasons is powered by our people. We are a collective of individuals who crave to become better, to push ourselves to new heights and to treat each other as we wish to be treated in return. Our team members around the world create amazing experiences for our guests, residents, and partners through a commitment to luxury with genuine heart. We know that the best way to enable our people to deliver these exceptional guest experiences is through a world-class employee experience and company culture.

At Four Seasons, we believe in recognizing a familiar face, welcoming a new one and treating everyone we meet the way we would want to be treated ourselves. Whether you work with us, stay with us, live with us or discover with us, we believe our purpose is to create impressions that will stay with you for a lifetime. It comes from our belief that life is richer when we truly connect to the people and the world around us.

About the location:

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a global, luxury hotel management company. We manage over 120 hotels and resorts and 50 private residences in 47 countries around the world and growing. Central to Four Seasons employee experience and social impact programming is the company's commitment to supporting cancer research, and the advancement of diversity, inclusion, equality and belonging at Four Seasons corporate offices and properties worldwide. At Four Seasons, we are powered by people and our culture enables everything we do.

Manager, International Payroll

The Manager, International Payroll is responsible for all aspects of payroll processing, compliance, recording of payroll costs in the general ledger and regulations for Four Seasons corporate payroll functions outside of Canada and the United States. These locations include but are not limited to Dubai, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, Geneva, and Hong Kong. The Manager, International Payroll is also responsible to verify that payrolls have been processed in select other locations outside Canada and the United States where payroll is processed by a third party and record those costs / accruals in the general ledger.

The Payroll and Labour Processes team executes day-to-day payroll and employment tax activities including understanding and applying employment and tax laws, transaction processing, payroll system administration, journal entries, and reconciliations for all payrolls outside Canada and the United States.

The Manager, International Payroll will ensure strong internal controls and adherence to corporate People & Culture and accounting policies, and lead and support various department initiatives involving budgeting and forecasting, process improvement, automation, and systems implementation for these international locations.

What You'll Be Doing:

Payroll Processing and General Accounting

Process payrolls for Dubai, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, Geneva and Hong Kong and ensure timely payment of all corporate and sales office payrolls. This includes review of payroll data for payrolls processed by third parties on behalf of the Corporate Offices, and initiating net pay cash funding via online banking systems for payrolls where funding is made via a Four Seasons entity. Responsible for Global payroll workflows and processes to ensure accuracy of payment and data input from HRIS (Workday) and other external payroll software or sources into the payroll processing systems, maintain the manual pay system for certain offices, and accurate booking of data into the general ledger. Review and approve payroll processing reports, spot check changes against source information, document process gaps and findings. Use this information to adjust and optimise the workflow and process. Ensure Four Seasons Corporate Offices in Dubai, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, Geneva, Hong Kong and others adhere to all payroll and remittance guidelines set out by the relevant regulatory bodies such as HM Revenue (HMRC) in UK, Inland Revenue Service (IRAS) in Singapore, and other national, provincial / state and local employment and tax agencies. Research and adopt new requirements as appropriate, advise management on impact and recommendations. Process or liaise with the third-party vendor on issuance of employee forms, including tax forms, and other required government filings (ex. IR21 tax clearance for Singapore). Support corporate finance function in annual internal and external audits

Labour Administration

Maintain various accruals for short term and long term employee incentives, benefits, regional staff, expatriate taxes, retirement plans and other miscellaneous payments. Prepare and/or review journal entries, paying particular attention to exceptions and adjustments. Work alongside Labour Administration and People & Culture to collect eligible earnings data for incentive calculations. Communicate approved corporate incentive payments and/or other compensation changes with global paymasters. Administer RVP LTIP plan and communicate plan payments with property-level Directors of Finance.

Process Improvement, Automation, and Data Integrity

Lead / support systems implementation (e.g., ADP Celergo, Blackline, DEWS) for new and existing payroll locations, leverage opportunities to streamline and improve processes and controls. Update and document payroll processes and internal controls to standardize input and processes across global entities promoting efficient workflow and reliable data. Identify where payroll information conflicts with the data in HRIS to determine areas that require review and/or updating.

Staffing/Leadership

Serve as key point of contact for employee payroll enquiries in Dubai, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, Geneva, and Hong Kong offices. Work with a high-performance team, contributing to develop staff knowledge and skills. Develop and maintain effective working relationship with the staff in the overseas' corporate offices, in addition to Finance teams at various Four Seasons properties. Support the finance intern program; develop high-potential future finance leaders.

What You Bring:

Undergraduate Degree with focus in Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, International Business, or Business-related disciplines. 7+ years of experience in payroll administration and management, with at least 3+ years in a global or multi country payroll management role. UK payroll experience is preferred. CPP, CPM or PLP designation or working towards CPP, CPM or PLP designation (Preferred). International Payroll designation (for one of the countries mentioned above). CPA Designation or working towards CPA Designation (optional). Strong understanding of payroll regulations and compliance requirements in multiple countries, keeping abreast with payroll legislative updates, adhering to compliance requirements. Strong understanding of international payroll and expatriate tax implications, pertaining to international employee relocations (ex. familiarity with taxability of company paid relocation expenses, and employee tax equalizations, net vs gross methodologies, etc). Strong understanding of multi-year (grant to vest) compensation plans, and relevant accounting implications for accrual vs payment purposes. Conduct month-end and year-end payroll & accounting requirements for international entities with corporate payroll function. Experience with payroll software and systems (ex. ADP, Ceridian, Bayan, Fourth); proficiency with HRIS and ERP systems is desirable. Minimum 3 – 5 years of work experience in Finance, Accounting, inclusive of payroll management positions. Experience in Global Mobility would be an asset. Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (ex. proficiency with vlookup, xlookup, pivot, and other Excel functionalities) Familiarity with Workday and Fourth payroll systems, or other similar HRIS and payroll systems Familiarity with transactional accounting principles (Debits, Credits, GL terms, Balance Sheet and Income Statement accounts) Familiarity with online banking platforms – creating and managing templates for ACH batch payments, international wires, pr-authorized debits, etc. Knowledge of another language associated with one or more of the international offices preferred but not required (i.e. French, Arabic, Cantonese).

Key Skills:

Attention to detail and ability to work under pressure to meet on going tight deadlines and deliverables. Strong leadership and project management skills, working closely with the payroll team, interacting with Finance, People & Culture, Total Rewards, external vendor relationships and government bodies. Professional and courteous attitude; exercise discretion when handling confidential and sensitive information. Excellent communication skills; verbally articulate with strong written composition with high degree of diplomacy and tact. Strong organizational and multi-tasking skills Excellent relational skills to support professional interaction with internal and external partners at all levels. Possesses sound analytical, problem solving and decision-making skills. Ability to work in a fast-paced, customer service-focused environment. Demonstrated excellence in organization development, HR strategy, talent development and conflict resolution.

This role will be a Hybrid working model, which will require 3 days per week in the Four Seasons Corporate Office located at 1165 Leslie Street, Toronto, Ontario #LI-Hybrid

Four Seasons is committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If contacted for an employment opportunity, please advise Human Resources if you require accommodation.

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