This role is the connective tissue for international payroll across Nelnet. This role drives the country-by-country evaluation of how we pay associates (EOR, PEO, or direct), builds the processing playbooks People Operations runs on, trains People Operations to handle international work directly, and serves as the escalation point and backup when something falls outside documented guidance.
International processing stays inside the existing People Operations team rather than a separate international team. This role provides the expertise and backup for People Operations.
Compensation for this role starts at $90,000 USD / $125,000 CAD depending on experience.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:- Lead the country onboarding assessment for each new or acquired country: determine the right payroll mechanism (EOR, PEO, or direct) and worker classification approach (employee vs. contractor) in partnership with Legal, Tax and business leaders, and drive setup of that system or vendor relationship.
- Define country-specific payroll build requirements: earnings and deduction codes, how each is taxed, and country-specific pay practices, partnering with the Payroll Tax Manager. Maintain a standing reference of these requirements so they don't rely on institutional memory.
- Partner with the Payroll Tax Manager on tax and compliance requirements for each country: supply country-specific context on filings, statutory obligations, and year-end statement requirements, while the Payroll Tax Manager owns the tax decisions and framework.
- Define statutory and market-standard time-off and leave entitlements per country, and translate them into policy People Operations can administer.
- Define statutory termination and severance requirements per country (notice periods, mandatory severance formulas, required documentation), and build them into playbook guidance for People Operations and HRBPs.
- Own data privacy and cross-border data handling requirements for associate payroll data, including GDPR for EU countries, partnering with Legal and IT/Security on compliance.
- Serve as the HR-side point of contact for payroll funding and banking mechanics (currency, timing, in-country account requirements), partnering with Treasury and Finance.
- Lead and develop international People Services team members, providing direction, coaching, performance management, and capability-building to ensure consistent delivery of global payroll and people operations support
- Build and maintain the processing playbook for each active country, the documented reference People Operations uses to run day-to-day pay.
- Oversee the training and certification of People Operations team members as first-line international specialists, embedding international expertise within the current team through a tiered capability model.
- Serve as the escalation point and working backup for international payroll issues, associate questions, and processing gaps, including holiday and coverage mismatches that fall outside documented playbook guidance.
- Own vendor relationships for EOR, PEO, and international payroll providers: contract negotiation, SLA management, and ongoing performance evaluation.
- Continuously reevaluate the right operating model (EOR, PEO, or direct) per country as company size, strategy, or footprint changes, rather than treating the initial choice as permanent.
- Partner with HRIS and Systems on configuration and integration needs for new countries, and with HRBPs to close the international knowledge gap they've inherited but don't yet have.
Required experience - 5+ years of hands-on multi-country payroll experience, including having personally stood up payroll in at least one new country, not just administered an existing setup.
- Experience selecting and managing EOR/PEO or in-country payroll vendors, including contract negotiation and SLA management.
- Experience building process documentation and training others to run it.
- Experience integrating a newly acquired or newly established entity into an existing payroll, benefits, or tax framework.
- Demonstrated comfort with ambiguous, build-as-you-go mandates.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills. This role touches Tax, Legal, HRIS, Benefits, and HRBPs constantly.
- Working fluency in international payroll tax fundamentals: how earnings and deduction codes are taxed, statutory filing cycles, and year-end reporting, enough to partner directly with the Payroll Tax Manager without needing a translator.
Preferred experience- Direct payroll or employment law experience in Canada, Australia, or India specifically.
- Global Payroll Management Institute (GPMI) or CPP certification with an international component.
This position is for an existing vacancy within our organization.
Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc.
