Senior Specialist, Global Payroll

Booking Holdings Inc.

Job Overview

Location

Norwalk Office

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• As a Senior Specialist, Global Payroll at KAYAK (part of Booking Holdings), you will own end-to-end payroll processes for a global travel technology company, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and operational excellence across international jurisdictions while supporting a fast-growing, innovative business that helps millions of travelers plan their trips.
• You will process payroll for employees across multiple countries, manage salary adjustments, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and terminations, maintain SOX-compliant records, and partner with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and Systems teams to drive process improvements and scalability in a complex, evolving payroll environment.
• You will join a mission-driven team at KAYAK, where innovation is embedded in the culture and employees are empowered to challenge the status quo and make meaningful impacts on global travel experiences through data-driven solutions and collaborative problem-solving.
• In this role, you will deepen your expertise in global payroll compliance, gain hands-on experience with enterprise systems like Workday and CloudPay, develop leadership in process automation and controls, and position yourself as a trusted payroll authority capable of scaling operations amid increasing regulatory complexity.
• What the person will do day to day:
• Own and execute end-to-end payroll processing for global employees, including data validation, calculations, gross-to-net and source-to-gross reconciliations, ensuring timely and accurate payments in full compliance with local tax, social security, and statutory requirements.
• Manage payroll changes such as salary increases, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, benefits adjustments, mobility transfers, and terminations, maintaining meticulous records and audit trails to support SOX controls and internal compliance.
• Partner with People Systems and HR Operations to ensure seamless data integrations between HRIS (Workday) and payroll providers (ADP, CloudPay), identify automation opportunities, and support vendor performance management to enhance data integrity and process efficiency.
• Support month-end close activities by preparing payroll-related general ledger entries, reconciling payroll balances, tracking PTO accruals, and collaborating with Accounting to explain variances and ensure financial reporting accuracy.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee and manager payroll inquiries via ticketing systems (e.g., FreshService), investigate and resolve complex queries, escalations, and compliance issues with clear, timely, and empathetic communication.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by reviewing existing payroll SOPs and calendars, identifying bottlenecks, proposing enhancements, and supporting global payroll projects aimed at building scalable, future-ready operations.
• About the team or company:
• KAYAK, a subsidiary of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), operates a portfolio of global travel metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights, and HotelsCombined, processing billions of travel queries annually to help users find flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages.
• The company fosters a culture of innovation, curiosity, and ownership, where employees are encouraged to ask “why?”, challenge existing processes, and drive meaningful change — backed by robust resources, cross-functional collaboration, and a commitment to inclusive growth.
• What the person can learn or achieve in this role:
• Develop advanced expertise in global payroll compliance across multiple jurisdictions, including tax, social security, statutory filings, and mobility regulations, becoming a go-to resource for complex payroll challenges.
• Gain mastery in enterprise payroll systems (Workday, CloudPay, ADP) and advanced Excel analytics, while building influence as a process improvement leader who bridges HR, Finance, and Technology to create more efficient, scalable payroll operations.

🎯 Requirements

• 5+ years of recent, hands-on payroll processing experience, with global payroll experience highly regarded
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration preferred
• Professional payroll certifications such as CPP, IPASS, or equivalent are a plus
• Strong knowledge of payroll protocols, statutory requirements, tax, social security, and compliance with SOX controls
• Proficiency with Workday, CloudPay, and advanced Excel functions (including V-lookups, pivot tables, and data validation)
• Proven ability to maintain data confidentiality, demonstrate professional integrity, and communicate effectively with employees, managers, and cross-functional partners

🏖️ Benefits

• Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year
• Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth and company-paid HeadSpace subscription for mental health and well-being
• Generous paid vacation, birthday time off, paid parental leave, paid volunteer time, and access to Development Dollars, leadership development, and thousands of on-demand e-learnings for career growth
• Free lunch 2 days per week, no meeting Fridays, company-wide week off annually, travel discounts, employee resource groups, and competitive retirement and health plans

Skills & Technologies

C++

Senior

Onsite

$80k-95k

Degree Required

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Booking Holdings Inc.

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About Booking Holdings Inc.

Kayak is a travel search engine and booking platform that aggregates fares and rates for flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages from hundreds of travel sites and suppliers. It provides price comparison tools, price alerts, mobile apps, and itinerary management features to help consumers find and organize travel options efficiently. The company operates globally and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

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