Supervisor - Global Payroll (US)

Location: Chennai; Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Department: Finance

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. 

We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. 

We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.

Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow. 

For more information, visit WPP.com.

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 Supervisor will have the responsibility for ensuring that their team performs payroll processing, compensation, as well as associated deductions and benefits payments 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:

• Oversee and manage payroll processing, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and accuracy of payments.
• Review and approve payroll runs before sign‑off
• Handle complex cases (tax, retro, expatriate payroll)
• Coordinate with HR, Finance, and vendors
• Drive standard work instructions and SOP adherence
• Ensure bank reconciliations are completed daily to maintain financial accuracy and liquidity.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations, tax laws, and internal governance standards.
• Develop and maintain strong internal controls and financial policies to safeguard assets and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Assist the Financial Controller with external audits and liaise with auditors, tax advisors, and regulatory authorities as required.
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Act as a key liaison between the India SSC and Global finance teams to ensure alignment of financial processes and reporting.
• Lead and manage the finance payroll team, ensuring optimal performance across all functions.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and career development opportunities for team members.

KPIs

• First‑time‑right payroll (%)
• Escalation volume and ageing
• Team SLA adherence (%)
• Audit issues / control breaches
• Productivity per analyst (payrolls per FTE)

What you'll need:

Skills and competencies

• Excellent Communicator: Demonstrates clear and effective written and oral communication, tailoring messages to different stakeholders while maintaining professionalism and confidentiality.
• Excellent Stakeholder Management Skills: Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, addressing their needs and concerns while ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
• Organized and Detail-Oriented: Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and compliance in all tasks and maintaining data integrity.
• Exceptional Problem-Solving, Analytical, and Decision-Making Ability: Skilled in identifying and resolving issues through analysis and critical thinking, making informed, data-driven decisions.
• Strong project management skills: Ability to manage multiple priorities in a high volume, fast-paced environment.

Qualifications and experience

• 8–10 years of end-to-end payroll experience, including team leadership
• Proficiency in English, both written and verbal
• Strong understanding of global payroll controls and compliance
• Significant experience in a shared services setting across Finance or HR, with proven success in a leadership role
• Experience working in a shared service centre or multinational environment, managing multi-entity and multi-currency financial operations
• Understanding of regional financial regulations and compliance requirements
• 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. 

#LI-Hybrid 

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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