Head of People Operations

Farfetch is a leading global marketplace for the luxury fashion industry. The Farfetch Marketplace connects customers in over 190 countries and territories with items from more than 50 countries and over 1,400 of the world’s best brands, boutiques, and department stores, delivering a truly unique shopping experience and access to the most extensive selection of luxury on a global marketplace.

PEOPLE TEAM

We're a global and collaborative team with the mission to create a "Happy People Revolution", by building a world-class company and inspiring Farfetchers to live our values and grow with us. We foster our consciously inclusive culture by empowering individuality and building a diverse brand people dream to be a part of.

ROLE

Based in Portugal, this position leads international payroll operations, collaborating closely with People Ops teams across all Farfetch offices to ensure a globally consistent employee experience. This person will oversee full-cycle payroll processing and work with various stakeholders, including employees, contractors, Talent Acquisition, People Partners and Total Rewards teams. Additionally, this role involves evaluating, developing, and improving payroll processes, mentoring a team, and driving improvements for best-in-class payroll services on a global scale. Extensive payroll experience and a passion for optimizing processes are key to success in this role.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Oversee and manage end-to-end payroll operations for a company with over 2,000 employees, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing across multiple regions.
• Lead a team of 10+ members, providing mentorship, development, and performance management, fostering a high-performance culture that delivers excellence in people services.
• Ensure payroll compliance with local, national, and international tax regulations, labor laws, and statutory requirements, including managing multi-state and multi-country payroll complexities.
• Collaborate closely with HR, Finance, and other key stakeholders to ensure people operations processes align with business needs and support broader organizational goals.
• Implement and optimize payroll systems and processes, leveraging technology like Workday and ADP to drive efficiency, accuracy, and automation in payroll operations.
• Manage payroll audits, year-end processing, reconciliations, and reporting, ensuring accuracy and adherence to regulatory deadlines.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to streamline payroll workflows, reduce errors, and improve the overall employee experience.
• Act as a key liaison between employees and payroll, addressing and resolving payroll-related inquiries and issues in a timely and professional manner.
• Ensure the security and confidentiality of employee payroll data, maintaining strict data privacy standards in all payroll processes.
• Stay updated on industry trends, payroll best practices, and regulatory changes, ensuring the company remains compliant and competitive in payroll management.
• You will manage relationships with internal stakeholders and external payroll providers.
• You will manage SOX compliance processes related to payroll and stay current on regulations, benefit changes, and labor laws related to the payroll process

WHO YOU ARE

• You have a bachelor’s degree or 5+ years of equivalent payroll experience, with strong expertise in international payroll.
• You are a proven leader with a minimum of 4 years' experience leading a payroll team in either HR or Finance.
• You possess extensive knowledge of payroll taxation, including experience with variable hourly, salaried payroll, and commission payments.
• You have hands-on experience with medium-sized payrolls (1,000+ employees).
• You have an understanding of stock and equity disbursement and the related tax implications.
• You have an understanding of benefits management and the related implications in payroll.
• You are proficient in using payroll systems like SAP, Workday or ADP, and have experience with HRS systems in general.
• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills and can effectively convey complex information to different levels of the organization.
• You are highly organized, able to manage multiple priorities, and can work efficiently under tight deadlines.
• You have strong attention to detail and a focus on accuracy in all payroll operations.
• You take both a strategic and operational approach to managing payroll, capable of driving both vision and execution.
• You are highly analytical, with strong skills in data analysis, and can use data to inform decision-making and improvements.
• You have previous experience with year-end payroll processing and reconciliation.
• You thrive in a high-paced team environment and are proactive in solving problems and improving processes.
• You are approachable and comfortable working with all levels of the business, particularly in addressing complex tax, benefit, and equity queries.
• You are committed to providing a great employee experience by ensuring seamless and accurate people operations processes that foster trust and satisfaction across the organization.
• This role will demand some regular monthly presence in Porto Office.

REWARDS & BENEFITS

• Health insurance for the whole family, flexible working environment and well-being support and tools
• Extra days off, sabbatical program and days for you to give back to the community
• Training opportunities and free access to Udemy
• Flexible benefits program

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES STATEMENT

• FARFETCH is committed to being an inclusive workplace where diversity in all its forms is celebrated. We make employment decisions without regard to race, religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, marital status, medical condition as defined by state law, physical or mental disability, military service or veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, genetic information or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local laws or ordinances. If you require special accommodation, please let us know.

This position leads international payroll operations, collaborating closely with People Ops teams across all Farfetch offices to ensure a globally consistent employee experience. The Senior Payroll Manager will oversee full-cycle payroll processing and work with various stakeholders, including employees, contractors, Talent Acquisition, People Partners and Total Rewards teams. Additionally, this role involves evaluating, developing, and improving payroll processes, mentoring a team, and driving improvements for best-in-class payroll services on a global scale. Extensive payroll experience and a passion for optimizing processes are key to success in this role.