Payroll Specialist (Vendor Management)

Job Summary We are seeking a talented Payroll Specialist to join our team based in Asturias, Spain The Payroll specialist responsible for supporting accurate, compliant, and timely payroll operations for France. Acts as the primary payroll subject matter expert for French payroll requirements while partnering with employees, HR, Finance, payroll vendors, and regional payroll leadership to ensure payroll continuity, compliance, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. The role will be reporting to the Regional Payroll Manager EMEA. Finance: Empowering strategic decisions through expertise; fueling sustainable growth by delivering insights, managing risk and driving value across global operations. Where You’ll Make a Difference • Manage payroll administration and day-to-day payroll operations for France. • Coordinate payroll inputs, processing activities, validations, and payroll outputs with payroll vendors and internal stakeholders. • Validate payroll data, statutory calculations, social contributions, payroll reporting, and country-specific outputs. • Ensure payroll activities comply with French payroll legislation, tax requirements, social security obligations, and statutory reporting requirements. • Support payroll operations within environments governed by collective bargaining agreements, labor unions, Works Councils, employee representative bodies, and other labor-related requirements. • Partner closely with HR, Finance, Legal, Total Rewards, Shared Services, and regional payroll leadership to support payroll-related activity. • Review payroll exceptions, investigate discrepancies, and coordinate timely issue resolution. • Support employee lifecycle events impacting payroll, including hires, terminations, leaves, compensation changes, mobility events, and organizational changes. • Maintain France payroll documentation, process maps, controls, and standard operating procedures. • Participate in payroll testing, implementation activities, system updates, and process improvement initiatives. • Support internal controls, audit activities, compliance reviews, and payroll governance requirements. • Identify opportunities to improve payroll efficiency, employee experience, data quality, reporting, and operational effectiveness. First 12-Month Objectives • Successfully support payroll continuity and Day 1 readiness for France during the transition to a standalone organization. • Establish strong operating relationships with payroll vendors, HR, Finance, Legal, Total Rewards, and regional payroll leadership. • Complete payroll process documentation and validation of key French payroll controls and compliance requirements. • Improve payroll issue resolution processes and reduce recurring payroll exceptions. • Strengthen payroll governance, compliance monitoring, and audit readiness for France. • Support payroll stabilization and process improvement initiatives across the EMEA payroll organization. What Makes You the Right Fit • Demonstrated payroll experience supporting France payroll operations. • Strong knowledge of French payroll legislation, tax requirements, social contributions, statutory reporting, and country-specific payroll obligations. • Experience supporting payroll operations within unionized, labor-intensive, or employee representative environments. • Experience working with collective bargaining agreements, labor unions, Works Councils, employee representative bodies, or similar workforce governance structures. • Experience partnering with outsourced payroll providers or payroll vendors. • Strong payroll controls, compliance, issue resolution, and problem-solving capability. • Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. • Fluency in French and strong business English. How Would You Stand Out? • Experience supporting payroll operations within manufacturing, food ingredients, specialty chemicals, life sciences, or industrial environments. • Experience with ADP, TMF, Workday, or similar payroll and HR technology platforms. • Experience supporting carve-outs, business separations, mergers, acquisitions, or transformation initiatives. • Experience working within a multi-country or regional payroll operating model. • Experience supporting payroll process improvement, automation, documentation, or standardization initiatives. Why Choose Us? • Flexible Home Office Opportunities – Enjoy the flexibility to work from home and maintain a healthy work-life balance. • Training Opportunities – Access a variety of training programs designed to enhance your skills and support your professional growth. • Learning & Development Programs – Benefit from continuous learning initiatives, career development resources, and opportunities to advance within the organization. We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability. Visit to learn more