Overview

Assistant Payroll Manager Jobs in Penang, Malaysia at Jabil

Title: Assistant Payroll Manager

Company: Jabil

Location: Penang, Malaysia

JOB SUMMARY

Support and manage regional payroll operations across Southeast Asia, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing in accordance with company policies, statutory regulations, and internal controls.

This role plays a key part in payroll migration, regional standardization, and GBS transformation, working closely with HR, Finance, and cross-country stakeholders.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Recruitment and Retention:

  • Recruit, interview and support hiring of Payroll personnel across assigned scope
  • Communicate criteria to recruiters for Payroll position candidates
  • Coach Payroll staff in the interviewing/hiring process
  • Monitor team member turnover; identify improvement areas and implement actions

Employee and Team Development:

  • Identify individual and team strengths and development needs on an ongoing basis
  • Create and/or validate training curriculum in payroll operations and controls
  • Coach and mentor Payroll staff to deliver excellence across multiple countries
  • Support succession planning for Payroll function, including cross-country coverage

Performance Management:

  • Establish clear measurable goals and objectives aligned to payroll operations and migration timelines
  • Drive team performance against operational metrics (accuracy, timeliness, compliance)
  • Own the capacity planning and resource allocation for the team, establishing cross-training across country boundaries to eliminate operational single-point-failure risks
  • Motivate and guide team to achieve continuous improvement
  • Drive continuous process optimization, identifying manual workarounds or country-specific spreadsheet dependencies and converting them into automated SAP workflows

Communication:

  • Provide regular communication forum for exchange of ideas and updates
  • Organize verbal and written communication clearly and professionally
  • Act as key point of contact for payroll matters across Southeast Asia
  • Adapt communication style to different stakeholders (HR, Finance, employees, vendors)

Business Strategy and Direction:

  • Understand GBS and regional payroll strategic direction
  • Support development and execution of payroll strategy aligned to Southeast Asia expansion
  • Contribute to payroll migration activities and regional operating model
  • Provide updates to management on payroll operations, migration progress, and risks

Cost Management:

  • Identify opportunities to reduce payroll processing cost through process improvements
  • Drive efficiency through elimination of non-value-added activities
  • Monitor workload distribution and optimize resource utilization
  • Provide input on cost trends and improvement initiatives

Forecast Development and Accuracy:

  • Support preparation of payroll-related forecasts and headcount cost planning
  • Perform trend analysis comparing forecast vs actual
  • Provide insights on payroll cost drivers and variances

Technical Management Responsibilities:

  • Oversee payroll processing across multiple countries, ensuring accuracy and compliance
  • Oversee the operational processing pipeline for regional expansions
  • Ensure 100% compliance with all local laws, statutory contribution caps, and tax rules across Southeast Asia
  • Support payroll migration activities
  • Ensure proper maintenance of payroll records, including salaries, leave, taxes, and statutory deductions
  • Review payroll outputs, journal entries, and reconciliation of payroll accounts
  • Collaborate with HR, Finance, and HRIT to ensure data accuracy and system integration
  • Respond to employee and management payroll inquiries in a timely and professional manner
  • Identify payroll errors, perform root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions
  • Ensure adherence to internal controls
  • Drive continuous improvement through trend analysis, metrics, and process reviews
  • Maintain and standardize SOPs and work instructions
  • Share best practices across regions and support GBS standardization initiatives
  • Comply with company policies, including security and data privacy requirements
  • May perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS

  • Advanced PC skills, including strong proficiency in Excel and payroll reporting tools
  • Experience with payroll systems (SAP, Workday, ADP or similar systems)
  • Strong knowledge of payroll processes, statutory requirements, and compliance standards (Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Singapore is preferred)
  • Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business reports, regulatory requirements, and procedures
  • Ability to prepare reports, business correspondence, and process documentation
  • Ability to solve practical problems and manage multiple priorities across countries and deadlines

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

  • Degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, or related field
  • 8 years of progressive experience strictly with high-volume payroll operations
  • Experience supporting payroll audit, compliance, and control processes
  • Minimum 4-5 years of direct people management experience leading payroll processing teams within a structured Global Business Services (GBS) or Shared Service hub

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving capability
  • High attention to detail and accuracy
  • Ability to manage multiple countries, timelines, and stakeholders
  • Effective communication with cross-functional teams and leadership
  • Strong understanding of payroll controls, governance, and compliance framework

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