The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The vision of Global Financial & Accounting Services (GFAS) is to provide innovative and scalable global business solutions in accounting, tax, payroll, treasury, procurement, and financial operations while safeguarding the reputation of the foundation and our related entities, with the highest standards of integrity and operational excellence.

GFAS is a team within the Finance organization at the foundation and an important part of the operations function. Operations supports and enables the six program divisions to make investments and to run effectively and efficiently. As a function, Finance employs approximately 200 full-time employees (FTEs). The GFAS team is significant (45+ FTEs), and continues to scale up to support the increasing breadth and complexity of global operations for the foundation and its affiliated entities.

Your Role

The Senior Associate on the Global Payroll team will lead the processing of U.S. and global company payroll. The person hired in this role will need to be a problem solver, trusted business partner, and have understanding and experience with payroll operations in US and international contexts, payroll accounting and auditing, and HRIS systems. This role will ensure accurate calculation of wages, tax withholdings, and company deductions as well as proper governmental reporting and compliance.

This position is a limited-term position for 24 months. Relocation will be provided.

What You’ll Do

• Oversee end-to-end payroll service delivery for a multi-jurisdiction workforce to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant pay outcomes.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on payroll requirements, statutory obligations, and the Foundation’s HRIS/payroll ecosystem.
• Research and analyze new payroll and employer compliance requirements including withholding, reporting, and registration obligations in partnership with advisors.
• Manage relationships with outsourced payroll providers and in-country partners by setting expectations, monitoring SLAs, and driving corrective actions.
• Establish cross-functional partnerships within GFAS and other operations teams (HR, Legal, and IT) to collaborate and develop solutions to complex payroll issues
• Lead and coordinate payroll-specific audit support (internal, external, and statutory, as applicable) for compliance testing or financial statement preparation.
• Identify and recommend updates to payroll processes, systems, and procedures, focusing on efficiencies and standard processes
• Provide responsive support to employees and partners by resolving payroll questions and inquiries with a customer-service mindset.

This position has no direct reports, but works in a highly matrixed environment with the following partners:

• Frequent interaction with individuals in Legal, IT, and Human Resources and external vendors
• Interaction with all members in GFAS, including the Accounting, Payments, and Tax teams
• Interaction with staff as primary internal partner/customer

Your Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in accounting or finance and at least 7 years of payroll experience or 10+ years of payroll experience is required.
• Progressive technical expertise in payroll operations with related HRIS systems (Workday preferred) with continuous improvement mindset.
• International processing (UK and/or India) experience highly preferred.
• Must possess excellent organizational skills and be able to work independently and prioritize tasks in a changing environment with a high degree of accuracy.
• Skilled in building strong relationships and communicating optimally and concisely with a variety of constituents inside and outside the organization.
• Detailed knowledge of payroll standard methodologies related to risk, internal controls, audit readiness, accounting, and regulatory matters.
• Strong judgment and customer-service orientation; proven discretion handling sensitive data.

Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located.

The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g. H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

The salary range for this role is $107,400 to $161,200 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $118,200 to $177,200 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact HR@gatesfoundation.org with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.