Sr Manager

Job Description Location: India (Remote) Shift timings: IST About Us HighLevel is a cloud-based, all-in-one white-label marketing and sales platform that empowers marketing agencies, entrepreneurs, and businesses to elevate their digital presence and drive growth. We are proud to support a global and growing community of over 2 million businesses, from marketing agencies to entrepreneurs to small businesses and beyond. Our platform empowers users across industries to streamline operations, drive growth, and crush their goals. HighLevel processes over 15 billion API hits and handles more than 2.5 billion message events every day. Our platform manages 470 terabytes of data distributed across five databases, operates with a network of over 250 microservices, and supports over 1 million domain names. Our People With over 1,500 team members across 15+ countries, we operate in a global, remote-first environment. We are building more than software; we are building a global community rooted in creativity, collaboration, and impact. We take pride in cultivating a culture where innovation thrives, ideas are celebrated, and people come first, no matter where they call home. Our Impact Every month, our platform powers over 1.5 billion messages, helps generate over 200 million leads, and facilitates over 20 million conversations for the more than 2 million businesses we serve. Behind those numbers are real people growing their companies, connecting with customers, and making their mark - and we get to help make that happen. Learn more about us on our YouTube Channel or Blog Posts Role Overview The Sr. Manager Payroll will lead end-to-end payroll operations for HighLevel India & support global payroll activities as needed. This role ensures accurate, compliant, and timely processing of employee data through Darwinbox, in coordination with internal stakeholders and external payroll vendors. They are also responsible for managing payroll governance, implementing automation and efficiency improvements, and maintaining statutory compliance across all payroll-related functions. What You'll Be Doing: - Payroll Management - Lead the full payroll cycle, including input validation, computation, review, approvals, and disbursement, in partnership with the payroll vendor and internal teams. - Oversee the preparation and validation of payroll inputs, including new joiners, exits, bonuses, overtime, night shift allowances (NSA), statutory deductions, and adjustments. - Review and approve monthly pay registers, ensuring alignment with company policies and statutory requirements. - Manage supplementary payroll cycles and exceptions (off-cycle payments, F&F settlements, etc.) in coordination with People Operations and Accounting. - Stakeholder Coordination - Collaborate with People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Accounting, and external vendors to ensure timely and accurate payroll execution - Liaise with Darwinbox and the payroll vendor to resolve discrepancies, audit findings, and ensure seamless data flow and accuracy - Serve as the primary escalation point for complex payroll or compliance issues. - Compliance and Statutory Filings - Ensure adherence to all statutory compliances, including PF, ESI, Professional Tax, Gratuity, Labour Welfare Fund, NPS, and other applicable regulations - Validate PF/NPS challans and statutory remittances before submission to the Accounts team - Oversee employee income tax computation, TDS deductions, quarterly Form 24Q filings, Form 16 preparation, and timely disbursement, ensuring accuracy and full compliance with the Income Tax Act requirements - Coordinate with external payroll vendors to manage annual filings, resolve queries from respective internal departments and external regulatory authorities, and ensure accurate and timely submissions - Conduct periodic employee sessions on payroll topics such as income tax planning, declarations, proof submissions, and policy or system updates to enhance employee understanding and compliance - Stay updated on local employment and taxation laws to ensure ongoing compliance - Process Governance and Continuous Improvement - Monitor payroll SLAs, accuracy metrics, and audit trails for process control - Review payroll SOPs regularly and identify opportunities for automation and optimization within Darwinbox and related systems - Maintain payroll documentation and ensure readiness for internal and external audits - Team Leadership and Development - Lead and mentor the payroll team, ensuring training on policies, compliance, and tools - Promote collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning across People Operations, Payroll, and Accounting functions What You'll Bring: - Qualifications and Experience - Education: Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Finance, HR, or a related field, MBA preferred - Experience: 10 to 15 years of progressive payroll management experience, with at least 3 to 5 years in a leadership role - Systems Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of Darwinbox, MS Office products (Excel, word, powerpoint), and G Suite (Google Docs, Google Sheets) - Expertise: Deep understanding of Indian payroll regulations, taxation, and statutory compliance - Preferred additional skills (good to have, not mandatory): - Deep understanding of working with the ADP platform - Fair knowledge of the procurement process, particularly in payroll vendor coordination and contract management. - Skills - Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities - Excellent attention to detail and accuracy - Effective stakeholder management and vendor coordination skills - Strong communication and leadership capabilities Equal Employment Opportunity Information The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As an employer subject to affirmative action regulations, we invite you to voluntarily provide the following demographic information. This information is used solely for compliance with government recordkeeping, reporting, and other legal requirements. Providing this information is voluntary and refusal to do so will not affect your application status. This data will be kept separate from your application and will not be used in the hiring decision. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.