Group Payroll Operations Manager

Are you an empathetic leader passionate about operational excellence, people development, and tech-driven innovation? Do you want to guide an international payroll team through a transformation toward smarter, more efficient ways of working?

About the role

As Akind grows and expands, our Payroll function is transforming into a two-pillar model to meet the future needs of the business. By separating system and process ownership from daily operations, we are establishing a clearer structure focused on strategic development, smarter systems, and reliable operational delivery. This structural change creates a vacancy in a high-impact role: Group Payroll Operations Manager.

Reporting directly to the Head of Payroll, you will lead an engaged team of nine Payroll Specialists, making remote and hybrid leadership a natural part of your daily routine. As a member of the Payroll Management Team, you will act as the vital bridge between strategy, technology, and daily operational execution.

The Payroll function manages operations across multiple markets—including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Germany—delivered both in-house and through external payroll partners.

In this role, you will create the right conditions for your team to succeed by driving high-quality delivery and continuously refining our structures, processes, and cross-functional collaboration.

Work tasks

• Leading, motivating, and developing the team while being responsible for resource planning.
• Ensuring that payroll runs are executed with the highest quality and on time for all companies and countries.
• Managing the ongoing relationship and following up on external payroll partners.
• Driving internal knowledge sharing and ensuring the team is updated on laws, regulations, and collective agreements.
• Acting as the main escalation point for operational problems in day-to-day work.

We are looking for

To thrive at Akind Group, you align with our core values: Show Heart, Share Energy, and Beat Yesterday.

As a person, you are an empathetic and confident leader who builds trust, provides clarity, and adapts your style to support both junior and senior specialists. You combine operational excellence with a strong capability to guide teams through change, creating stability during periods of development. Furthermore, you thrive in a tech-driven environment where processes and systems are constantly evolving, and you possess the stakeholder management skills necessary to navigate a complex, international organization.

Other requirements for this role are:

• About five years of leadership experience, preferably including experience leading remote teams.
• Experience from Payroll, HR operations, Finance operations, or other complex, heavily regulated environments (e.g., Shared Service Centers or Customer Operations).
• Strong change management skills and a good understanding of how systems and technology support operational processes.
• Strong communication skills and professional fluency in English and Swedish.

Meriting:

• Experience from a multi-country, complex, or Nordic operational setup.
• Additional language skills, particularly Finnish, German, or French.

Our selection process is continuous and the advert may close before the recruitment process is completed if we have moved forward to the next phase. The process includes two tests: one personality test and one cognitive test. The tests are tools to find the right talent for the right position, to enable equality, diversity, and a fair process.

In this process Akind is working together with Winona (part of the Akind Group). If you have any questions, please contact Consultant Sandra Isojärvi at [email protected]++ or Researcher Liisa Ehrenborg Unenge at [email protected]++.

Benefits you'll get as an employee at Akind:

• Hybrid workplace (remote combined with working at our Linköping office).
• 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
• SEK 4,000 in wellness allowance per year.
• Private health insurance.
• 30 days of vacation.
• 3 additional days off after 2 years of employment.
• 5 additional days off after 4 years of employment.

Practical information:

• Place of employment: Based at Akind's office in Linköping with a hybrid working model (3 days/week on-site).
• Extent: Full time.
• Start date: ASAP, with regard to notice period.