Payroll Lead

Payroll Lead WE POWER PEOPLE’S PROGRESS. At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact. We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led, AI-enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries - and we’re only getting started. As a category-defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale. Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day. MEET THE TEAM! The People team is responsible for the entire lifecycle of the employee journey at Preply. This includes everything from onboarding and offboarding, compliance, total rewards and benefits, HR systems and analytics, as well as key People projects related to employee engagement, career development and frameworks, amongst others. We are strengthening our global People Operations team with an experienced Payroll Lead. This role will lead and scale a small but high-performing payroll function, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency across our international footprint. You will oversee payroll across five hubs — the US, UK, Ukraine, Spain, and global EOR partners — each with unique timelines, regulations, and systems. You’ll manage two Payroll Specialists and play a critical role in building scalable processes, driving automation, and ensuring audit readiness in a fast-scaling, high-complexity environment. WHAT YOU'LL DO: - Lead the end-to-end global payroll process across all hubs, ensuring timely and compliant payroll execution. - Manage, coach, and develop two Payroll Specialists. - Establish and continuously improve payroll operations, processes, and controls to meet pre-IPO standards. - Collaborate closely with Finance, HRIS, and external providers to streamline integrations and improve accuracy. - Ensure compliance with local tax, social security, and employment regulations. - Own payroll reporting and reconciliation in coordination with Finance for month-end close. - Drive automation and standardization initiatives to reduce manual work and error risk. - Support due diligence and audit preparation as part of IPO readiness. WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED: - 5+ years of payroll experience - At least 2 years in a leadership role across multiple countries. - Deep understanding of global payroll operations and compliance. - Experience with EOR models and multi-entity payroll complexity. - Proven ability to scale and structure payroll functions in fast-growth environments. - Skilled in systems and automation — ideally familiar with HRIS, Deel, and Finance integrations. - Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills. - Hands-on and proactive — comfortable operating strategically while executing day-to-day tasks WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT AT PREPLY: - An open, collaborative, dynamic and diverse culture; - A generous monthly allowance for lessons on Preply.com http://Preply.com, Learning & Development budget and time off for your self-development; - A competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance; - Access to free mental health support platforms; - Access to Gympass-partnered wellness and gym centers throughout Spain to promote and support well-being and physical health; - The opportunity to unlock the potential of learners and tutors through language learning and teaching in 175 countries (and counting!). #LI-AD1 OUR PRINCIPLES - Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing. - We do i ... (truncated, view full listing at source)