Senior Payroll Specialist
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Job Description
Senior Payroll Specialist owning native German payroll for Oyster, a global employment platform. Managing DATEV, statutory filings, controls, escalations, and payroll process improvements.
Responsibilities:
- Own the complete native in-house German payroll cycle accurately, compliantly, and on time
- Validate payroll master data, including hires, terminations, salary changes, variable pay, benefits, absences, and garnishments
- Conduct pre- and post-payroll validations, investigate discrepancies, and implement corrective actions
- Own statutory filings and activities, including Lohnsteueranmeldung, SV-Meldungen, Jahresmeldung, U1/U2 claims, and ELStAM data
- Set up and manage required government accesses
- Configure and maintain the in-house payroll system and test legislative updates
- Troubleshoot payroll-system issues and partner with Product to improve automation and scalability
- Advise the business on German wage tax law, social insurance law, labor law, and collective agreement interpretation
- Oversee payroll journals, GL mappings, Finance reconciliations, and data integrity
- Handle complex client payroll escalations as a key technical and customer-focused contact
- Prepare statutory and ad-hoc reports, including pay-transparency, works-council pay-assessment, and GDPR-related documentation
- Provide data and documentation for internal and external audits
- Improve processes, coach junior specialists, back up Regional Managers, and maintain playbooks, SOPs, and a shared knowledge base
Requirements:
- 5+ years running the complete native in-house payroll process for Germany
- Experience independently handling a high volume of German payslips per month
- German at C1/C2 level for interaction with local authorities
- Fluent English for collaboration with an asynchronous global team
- Advanced, hands-on DATEV experience
- Deep, current knowledge of German wage tax, social insurance, and labor law
- Ability to advise stakeholders directly on payroll and employment-law matters
- Experience handling complex, sensitive client escalations
- Analytical, productivity-focused, automation-oriented mindset
- Ability to build and improve processes from a blank canvas
- Comfort operating in ambiguity and driving cross-functional change
- Experience coaching or mentoring less experienced colleagues
- Comfort working asynchronously in a fast-paced, remote-first environment
- Completed Kaufmännische Ausbildung and/or Lohnbuchhalter qualification is desirable
- Broader accounting background or qualification, such as Bilanzbuchhalter, is desirable
- Experience delivering cross-functional HR/payroll projects is desirable
- Hands-on experience with AI tools for payroll or operations workflows is desirable
- Strong data transformation skills and practical experience with data analytics platforms are desirable
- Must have the right to work in Germany
Benefits:
- Work from anywhere, subject to being authorized to work where you live
- 40 days off per year, including holidays and vacation, or more if required by country
- Mental health support through Plumm
- Monthly wellbeing allowance through the ThanksBen wallet
- At least three months’ paid parental leave for all new parents
- Job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally
- WFH stipend for laptop and home office equipment
- Flexible, asynchronous, collaborative remote-first work
- Inclusive work environment and reasonable accommodations during recruiting
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