Payroll Specialist, Europe (m/f/d)

What We Can Achieve Together

The Payroll Specialist, Europe will be a member of the Finance & Operations team and will be responsible for the end‑to‑end administration, coordination, and execution of payroll operations across multiple European countries and legal entities. The position ensures accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing and serves as the primary liaison between Finance, Human Resources, employees, and external payroll providers. This position is part of Finance & Operations and focuses on payroll execution, payroll compliance, payroll controls, payroll accounting, and payroll vendor management.

We Are Looking For You

The successful candidate will combine strong payroll administration expertise with attention to detail, customer service, and the ability to manage multiple country payrolls simultaneously while handling confidential information and driving process improvements.

Essential Functions

• Execute end‑to‑end payroll operations across multiple European countries.
• Manage payroll calendars, deadlines, and processing schedules.
• Coordinate payroll activities with external payroll vendors and accounting providers.
• Review and validate payroll calculations, deductions, benefits, taxes, and statutory contributions.
• Maintain payroll‑related employee data, including salary, tax, social security, and bank information.
• Ensure payroll changes related to hires, terminations, compensation changes, benefits, and leave are processed accurately.
• Oversee time reporting and leave administration processes to ensure payroll accuracy.
• Prepare and review payroll accounting reports and related adjustments.
• Reconcile payroll reports to vendor reports, general ledger accounts, and local books.
• Support payroll payments and related banking processes.
• Maintain payroll documentation, audit trails, SOPs, and process controls.
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries.
• Coordinate payroll audits and compliance reviews.
• Produce payroll reports, perform analysis, and identify process improvements.
• Support additional Finance & Operations activities and projects related to payroll, employee compensation accounting, reconciliations, reporting, compliance, and process improvements as assigned.

Responsibilities & Scope

• Own assigned payroll processes end‑to‑end and exercise independent judgment.
• Coordinate payroll activities involving multiple countries, vendors, and stakeholders.
• Handle confidential employee and compensation information with discretion.
• Perform analysis, research, reconciliation, issue resolution, and follow‑through.
• Ensure compliance with TNC policies and applicable legal requirements.
• Manage relationships with payroll providers and related vendors.
• Contribute to payroll process improvement and standardization across Europe.
• Support broader Finance & Operations initiatives and special projects as needed, particularly where payroll, employee compensation, compliance, reporting, or process improvement activities intersect with Finance responsibilities.
• Complete other duties within the scope of the role assigned by the supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 2 years related experience or equivalent combination.
• Experience coordinating administrative processes.
• Experience generating reports and interpreting data.
• Experience in business writing, editing, and proofreading.
• Experience organizing time and managing diverse activities to meet deadlines.
• Experience working across teams and communicating with a wide range of people.

Desired Qualifications

• Professional working proficiency in German and English is required. Additional languages are a plus.
• Multi‑cultural or cross‑cultural experiences are appreciated.
• Ability to analyze information for planning activities and solving problems.
• Ability to use technology to achieve desired results.
• Excellent customer service skills and focus.
• Experience interpreting guidelines to achieve desired results.
• Knowledge of payroll administration, payroll accounting, payroll compliance, and payroll vendor management.
• Experience working with multi‑country European payroll.
• Experience working with Workday or similar HRIS/payroll systems.
• Strong organizational skills, accuracy, and attention to detail.

This position requires a valid driver's license and compliance with TNC’s Auto Safety Program. Employees may not drive Conservancy‑owned/leased vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on behalf of the Conservancy if considered “high risk drivers.” To learn more about the Auto Safety Program, visit the Auto Safety information page. Employment in this position will be contingent upon completion of a Vehicle Use Agreement, which may include a review of the prospective employee’s motor vehicle record.

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to equal employment opportunity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to applyhelp@tnc.org with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.