Sr. Professional, Payroll - EMEA (1 year contract)

At Under Armour, we are committed to empowering those who strive for more, and the company's values - Act Sustainably, Celebrate the Wins, Fight on Together, Love Athletes and Stand for Equality - serve as both a roadmap for our teams and the qualities expected of every teammate.

Our pursuit of better begins with innovation and with our team's mission of being the best. With us, you get the freedom to go further - no matter your role. That means developing, delivering, and selling the state-of-the-art products and digital tools that make top performers even better.

About the role: Sr. Professional, Payroll - EMEA (1 year contract)

Purpose of Role

The Payroll Specialist is responsible for the accurate, timely, and compliant execution of regional payroll operations. This role focuses on payroll validation, administrative controls, and coordination with vendors and internal stakeholders to ensure payroll is processed correctly across multiple countries. The Payroll Specialist plays a critical role in maintaining data integrity, resolving payroll issues, and supporting audit-ready payroll processes for the region.

The Sr. Professional, Payroll EMEA reports directly to the Lead, Payroll EMEA based in Amsterdam.

This role is a one-year fixed-term contract supporting a defined payroll project, with a focus on operational stability, risk reduction, documentation, and knowledge transfer to the permanent payroll team.

Your Impact

• Review, validate, and approve payroll inputs and outputs for assigned countries, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with local requirements, including adherence to country-specific payroll calendars and cut-off dates.
• Coordinate payroll processing activities with external payroll vendors and in-country partners, including submission of inputs and review of payroll results, ensuring timely statutory processing and issue resolution across multiple EMEA jurisdictions.
• Perform detailed payroll checks, reconciliations, and variance analysis prior to payroll approval and posting, with a strong focus on risk identification, error prevention, and corrective action.
• Manage payroll administration activities, including new hires, terminations, salary changes, allowances, deductions, and retroactive adjustments, ensuring accurate tracking of employee data and contractual terms in payroll systems.
• Serve as the first point of contact for payroll-related inquiries from HR, Finance, and teammates; research issues and support timely resolution or escalation, including coordination with vendors and in-country experts for statutory or regulatory questions.
• Ensure payroll data accuracy across HR systems and payroll platforms by validating source data and resolving discrepancies, maintaining audit-ready records.
• Support payroll audits, internal controls, and compliance checks by preparing documentation, reports, and audit evidence.
• Partner with Finance to support payroll accounting, reporting, and general ledger reconciliation activities, including investigation and resolution of payroll-related accounting variances.
• Maintain payroll documentation, standard operating procedures, checklists, and job aids to support consistent execution and knowledge transfer.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of payroll processes, including system testing, enhancements, and administrative simplification initiatives.
• Handle sensitive employee and payroll information with a high level of confidentiality and discretion.
• Support critical payroll events such as year-end processing, statutory reconciliations, off-cycle payments, bonus runs, and remediation activities as required during the contract term.
• Ensure clear documentation and handover of processes, issues, and improvements at the conclusion of the contract.

Qualifications

• 2–4+ years of payroll or HR operations experience, preferably in a regional or multi-country environment.
• Strong understanding of payroll administration, controls, and data validation processes.
• Experience working with external payroll vendors across EMEA and coordinating in-country payroll activities.
• High attention to detail with the ability to identify discrepancies and resolve issues efficiently.
• Comfortable working with HR systems and payroll platforms, including Celergo, WFM, and Success Factors.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage recurring deadlines and competing priorities.
• Ability to handle confidential information with integrity and professionalism.
• Experience in an international or matrixed organization.