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Expatriate Payroll Senior Associate
Rödl & PartnerUnited Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 29 Apr 2026
About the role
We are seeking an experienced Expatriate Payroll Senior Associate to support and manage global expatriate payroll and shadow payroll operations in our Houston, TX office. This role plays a critical part in ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payroll delivery for internationally mobile employees and serves as a key contact for client payroll matters. This position is designed as a developmental role with a clear and accelerated path to Manager, offering exposure to complex international payroll matters, process improvement initiatives, and team leadership responsibilities.Key Responsibilities
- Manage expatriate payroll processing, including shadow payroll calculations and compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions
- Support the delivery of accurate, compliant, and timely payroll operations for assigned clients
- Act as a primary point of contact for payroll inquiries, issue resolution, and coordination with clients
- Coordinate payroll inputs, approvals, validations, and reconciliations
- Partner closely with internal stakeholders and other responsible team members to ensure end‑to‑end payroll accuracy
- Support payroll reconciliations, quarterly and annual reviews, and variance analysis
- Contribute to automation, standardization, and process improvement initiatives within expatriate payroll operations
- Support payroll implementations, system upgrades, and integrations
- Document and improve payroll workflows and controls
- Provide guidance and mentorship to junior staff, supporting their technical and professional development
- 3+ years of payroll experience, including exposure to international or expatriate payroll
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience
- Demonstrated experience supporting payroll implementations, transitions, or upgrades
- Strong problem‑solving and troubleshooting skills with the ability to exercise sound and mature judgment
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, client‑facing environment
- Interest in people development and mentoring junior team members
- Additional language skills are a plus
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including:
- Pivot tables
- VLOOKUP / data analysis
- Payroll reconciliation models
- Payroll software experience required; Thomson Reuters ACS experience is a strong plus
- Senior‑level role with high visibility across global mobility and payroll leadership
- Clear and accelerated progression toward a Manager position based on performance
- Opportunity to influence payroll process design, automation, and standardization initiatives
- Continuous learning through exposure to complex international payroll matters and global clients
- Enjoys solving complex international payroll challenges
- Wants client interaction combined with technical ownership
- Is ready to move beyond execution into leadership, mentoring, and process ownership
- Is looking for a clear path to management within a global mobility expatriate tax practice
- 401K plan (with up to 5% salary paid employer contributions)
- Medical coverage
- Paid Dental coverage
- Employee and Dependent life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Vision insurance
- Accidental death & dismemberment insurance
- Flexible spending accounts
- Paid Day of Service annually
- Flexible work arrangements
- Generous paid time off – 25 day
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