Senior Global Payroll Specialist, KAYAK
$80-90k
+ Eligible to be considered for an annual bonus
Office located in Coral Gables, FL
Travel search engine
Be an early applicant
Travel search engine
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$80-90k
+ Eligible to be considered for an annual bonus
Office located in Coral Gables, FL
1001+ employees
Company mission
To help millions of travelers around the globe make confident travel decisions.
Role
Who you are
- The ideal candidate is organized, accountable, and process- and systems-oriented — someone who asks “why?” and proactively identifies opportunities to enhance our processes and drive greater impact.
- You bring a strong sense of ownership and continuous learning, operate effectively as an individual contributor, and collaborate seamlessly across HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and Systems. Above all, you are motivated to help build a future-ready payroll function that can scale with the business and navigate increasing complexity with confidence
- 5+ years of recent, hands-on payroll processing experience, global payroll experience is highly regarded
- Bachelors in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration preferred
- Professional Payroll Certifications such as CPP, IPASS etc are a plus
- Highly analytical, with strong knowledge of payroll protocols, statutory requirements, tax and social security
- Software experience with Workday, Cloudpay, and proficient in Excel (including v-lookups and other advanced functions)
- Proven ability to maintain data confidentiality and demonstrate strong professional integrity
- Strong attention to detail and ability to manage a proactive, solutions-focused mindset
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to build effective relationships with employees, managers and cross-functional partners
What the job involves
- As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others
- From start-up to industry leader, innovation is in our DNA and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark
- Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world
- We are seeking a highly curious, self-starter Senior Specialist to own end-to-end payroll processes and elevate the standard of our payroll function
- This role requires a strong communicator with deep hands-on expertise, exceptional attention to detail, and a growth mindset that thoughtfully challenges existing processes
- End-to-End Global Payroll Ownership
- Own and process payroll, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and full compliance with local regulations
- Help manage payroll administration including data validation, calculations, reporting, and reconciliations (Source-to-Gross / Gross-to-Net)
- Process payroll changes including salary increases, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, other benefits, mobility changes, and terminations
- Maintain complete and accurate payroll records in accordance with SOX controls, company policies, and audit requirements
- Compliance & Controls
- Ensure compliance with payroll taxes, social security, fringe benefits, stock-based compensation, global mobility matters, statutory filings, and remittances
- Respond to statutory notices and manage annual filings and regulatory reporting
- Support payroll audits and strengthen internal controls
- Systems & Technology Enablement
- Partner with People Systems and HR Operations to ensure seamless payroll data integrations (e.g., Workday, ADP, CloudPay), proactively identifying enhancements and automation opportunities
- Support payroll vendor relationships and help hold providers accountable for performance and accuracy
- Help develop and maintain payroll SOPs and calendars to ensure process clarity and operational excellence
- Accounting & Reporting
- Support month-end close activities, including payroll-related GL entries, reconciliations, PTO accruals, and reporting
- Help maintain payroll balances and partner with Accounting on reporting and variance explanations
- Issue Resolution & Stakeholder Partnership
- Assist with the investigation and resolution of complex payroll queries, escalations, vendor issues, and compliance matters
- Serve as a trusted point of contact for employees and managers, delivering clear, timely communication
- Own payroll queries through ticketing systems (e.g., FreshService)
- Continuous Improvement
- Help drive process improvements and operational efficiencies to future-proof payroll operations
- Contribute to global payroll projects and support scalable solutions in an increasingly complex environment
Our take
KAYAK is a travel agency and metasearch engine owned and operated by Booking Holdings. KAYAK processes over 6 billion queries across its platforms each year for travel information - as one of the world’s leading travel search engines, KAYAK searches other sites to show travellers the information they need to find the right flights, hotels, rental cars and vacation packages. It offers a variety of tools and features such as KAYAK trips, explore, and price forecast.
There’s been speculation over the years about online travel companies getting into the hotel business, and KAYAK is no exception. The company is expanding its hospitality offerings beyond its traditional hotel referral and booking services, but despite speculation through the 2020s, has stopped short of opening hotels under its own brand, preferring to partner with preexisting companies on their hotel tech.
Since being acquired by Booking Holdings, the global leader in online travel, in 2013, KAYAK has continued to expand and innovate, enhancing the travel experience for users all around the world. And now KAYAK manages a portfolio of metasearch brands including SWOODOO, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi and HotelsCombined. With the aim to make it easier for everyone to experience the world - it now operates sites in more than 70 countries and territories.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
6% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Work flexibly: Our global flexible work policy lets our teams decide if they head into one of our offices or work from anywhere else
- Team-wide time off: Most of our team disconnects at the same time each year to recharge and reconnect
- Global volunteer week: Take VTO (Volunteer Time Off) to support the organizations and charitable efforts you believe in
- Wellness: We take care of each other - providing opportunities and spaces to live that work-life balance
- Resource groups: Our five ERGs are employee-led groups for underrepresented communities and their allies
- Career growth: We provide opportunities for our team to develop their skills – or learn new ones – on their own terms
Company HQ
East Side of Stamford, Stamford, CT
Leadership
Steve Hafner
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously Board Member of Trulia, Blade and SeatGeek and currently an Executive at OpenTable.
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