Operations Manager - HR & Payroll

This role is central to our ability to deliver operational excellence as we scale.\n\nROLE SUMMARY\nThe Operations Manager owns the end-to-end HR operations delivery for a portfolio of GCC clients. You are responsible for team performance, client satisfaction, SLA governance, and operational quality — while also contributing to process improvement and automation initiatives that allow the business to scale without proportionate headcount growth.\nThis is a client-facing leadership role. You will run monthly review meetings, handle escalations, and be the trusted single point of contact for HR and finance leads at your assigned GCC accounts.

You will manage a team of 3–6 Operations Executives and be expected to coach, review, and develop them.\n\nKEY RESPONSIBILITIES\nClient Operations Delivery\nOwn end-to-end HR operations for a portfolio of 5–12 GCC clients, covering payroll inputs, onboarding, BGV, statutory compliance, and exit processing.\nServe as the primary operations point of contact for client HR heads and finance teams. Build trusted, long-term relationships with key stakeholders at each account.\nConduct monthly client review meetings: present MIS dashboards, address open items, discuss upcoming changes, and document agreed actions.\nHandle escalations — both from clients and employees — with speed, ownership, and resolution documentation.\nTeam Management\nLead a team of Operations Executives, allocating client portfolios based on complexity and volume. Monitor daily work queues and ensure no SLA breaches.\nConduct weekly team reviews, identify skill gaps, and drive structured development plans.

Be a coach, not just a manager.\nReview and approve the work of Executives for quality before delivery to clients — payroll reconciliations, MIS reports, F&F settlements, and compliance submissions.\nManage team capacity planning around peak cycles (month-end, quarter-end, appraisal seasons) and flag hiring requirements to the Operations Head in advance.\nSLA, Quality & Compliance Governance\nMonitor SLA and TAT metrics for all client accounts. Maintain a live SLA tracker; identify root causes for any breach and implement corrective actions within 48 hours.\nEnsure all statutory compliance activities — PF ECR, ESI returns, PT challans, CLRA register maintenance — are completed accurately and on time for all assigned clients.\nCoordinate with the compliance team on multi-state registrations, audit responses, and any statutory notices received for client accounts.\nReview and sign off on monthly payroll reconciliations and billing data before invoices are raised to clients.\nPayroll Financing Operations\nCoordinate with the finance team on the payroll financing cycle for clients who have opted for 30/60/90-day payment terms. Ensure outstanding receivables for your portfolio are tracked and escalated if overdue.\nFlag any payment concerns to the Operations Head and finance team at the 30-day mark.

Support in bank guarantee tracking and MSA compliance for financing clients.\nProcess Improvement & Reporting\nIdentify and lead process improvement initiatives: reduce manual effort, automate recurring tasks (HRMS workflows, data pulls, reconciliation macros), and improve turnaround times.\nPrepare and present monthly operational performance reports to the Operations Head, covering SLA metrics, quality scores, client health indicators, and team utilisation.\nDocument client-specific SOPs and ensure they are maintained, version-controlled, and accessible to the team.\n\nKEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES\nClient Management | Team Leadership | Payroll & Compliance | MIS & Reporting | SLA Governance | Process Improvement\nStrong client stakeholder management: experience engaging with GCC HR managers, CFOs, or Finance BPs in a service delivery context.\nDeep knowledge of Indian payroll processing: gross-to-net, statutory deductions, TDS computation, variable pay, and F&F settlements.\nCompliance literacy: PF, ESI, PT, CLRA, Shops & Establishment, TDS (Section 192), and gratuity provisioning.\nAdvanced Excel: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data reconciliation, macros (preferred). Experience with HRMS platforms (Keka, Darwinbox, GreytHR) required.\nPeople management: ability to set clear expectations, give structured feedback, and retain high-performing Executives.\nCommunication and escalation management: professional written and verbal communication in high-stakes client situations.\nPREFERRED BACKGROUND\n5–9 years in HR operations, payroll outsourcing, or EOR services. Experience at Quess Corp, TeamLease, Randstad, Innovsource, Adecco India, or similar is strongly preferred.\nPrior experience managing a team (even 2–3 people) and client portfolio in a B2B HR services environment.\nExposure to GCC, MNC, or IT/BFSI client environments is a strong differentiator.\nExperience with payroll financing, invoice management, or billing reconciliation in an outsourced services context is a plus.\n\nWHAT THIS ROLE OFFERS\nOwnership of a high-quality GCC client portfolio — the most sophisticated and well-paying segment in India's workforce market.\nThe chance to build and lead your own team from an early stage of the business, with significant influence over how operations processes are designed.\nDirect visibility with and access to the Operations Head and founding leadership.\nClear progression path: Senior Manager → Operations Head as the client portfolio and team size scales.\nPerformance-linked incentives tied to client retention, SLA metrics, and team quality scores.