Payroll Team Lead Colombia

Location: Colombia Our HR team plays a key role in supporting Plata’s growth by ensuring efficient, compliant, and scalable people operations. Payroll is a critical function within this area, connecting HR, Finance, and Accounting to ensure accurate employee compensation, reliable reporting, and a seamless employee experience. As our business continues to grow, we are transforming our payroll operations to strengthen internal processes, implement robust controls, and build a sustainable model that can support our future needs. The Payroll Team Lead is responsible for: Managing end-to-end monthly payroll operations for 150+ employees in Colombia, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely payments. Leading some transitions of payroll services ensuring business continuity, accurate data migration, and effective knowledge transfer. Designing and implementing standardized payroll processes, validation procedures, reconciliations, and internal controls. Ensuring compliance with Colombian labor legislation, payroll taxation, social security, statutory benefits, and collective bargaining agreements. Managing relationships with external payroll providers and acting as the main point of contact for HR, Finance, Accounting, and other internal stakeholders. Ensuring accurate payroll reporting, employee cost analysis, and timely delivery of financial information. Leading process optimization, automation, and the roadmap to bring payroll operations in-house. Supporting employees and internal teams with payroll-related inquiries and compensation matters. Challenges that await you: Build transparent, well-documented, and scalable payroll processes from the ground up. Strengthen payroll governance by implementing robust controls, reconciliations, and risk prevention mechanisms. Coordinate multiple stakeholders across HR, Finance, Accounting, and external providers, including international teams. Lead the transformation towards an in-house payroll model defining the systems, resources, processes, and capabilities required. Support a growing organization while maintaining high standards of accuracy, compliance, and operational efficiency. What makes you a great fit: 5+ years of hands-on experience managing end-to-end payroll operations, with strong expertise in Colombian payroll and labor legislation. Proven experience managing outsourced payroll providers and leading payroll operations or process transformation initiatives. Strong knowledge of payroll taxation, social security contributions, statutory benefits, termination settlements, and collective bargaining agreements. Experience designing payroll controls, reconciliations, reporting procedures, and payroll accounting processes. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to confidently lead meetings and explain complex payroll matters to local and international teams. Fluent English (B2+/C1), both written and spoken. Strong analytical skills, advanced Excel proficiency, and experience working with payroll systems and large datasets. A proactive, detail-oriented, and ownership-driven mindset, with the ability to independently lead cross-functional projects and turn challenges into structured, actionable solutions. Our ways of working: Innovative Spirit: A commitment to creativity and groundbreaking solutions Honest Feedback: valuing open, transparent communication Supportive Team: a strong, collaborative community Celebrating Achievements: recognizing our wins together High-Tech Environment: a team full of smart and revolutionary people who date to challenge the status quo of incumbent finances