Senior People Ops Manager - Payroll & Systems

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About This Role

Convergent Research operates as a nonprofit science studio dedicated to building critical infrastructure and removing obstacles to breakthrough scientific research through the creation of Focused Research Organizations. The organization seeks a Senior People Ops Manager - Payroll & Systems to take charge of the people operations infrastructure supporting the studio and its entities. This is a senior, hands-on expert role that involves approximately sixty percent execution and forty percent policy…

Job Description

Responsibilities

• Manage US and UK payroll end-to-end using TriNet and Rippling, ensuring accuracy for timesheets, payroll changes, and initial reviews.
• Build and maintain operational controls including input validation, independent pre-run reviews, reconciliations, change approvals, and audit trails.
• Oversee benefits administration, COBRA, open enrollment, US 401(k), UK pension administration, leave administration, and workers’ compensation.
• Manage human resources information systems architecture, configuration, integrations, data integrity, governance, reporting, and vendor relationships.
• Partner with the Head of People to write, maintain, and review compliant policies across US federal and state jurisdictions, the UK, and employer-of-record countries.
• Establish and maintain a people compliance calendar covering filings, renewals, notices, audits, and policy reviews.
• Coordinate immigration processes by facilitating introductions to counsel, managing vendors, and providing human resources documentation.
• Stand up people infrastructure for new Focused Research Organizations, covering entity and EOR setup, payroll activation, policies, and workspace creation.
• Manage operational wind-downs for concluding entities, including individual terminations, final pay, benefits termination, platform closure, and record retention.

Requirements

• Over 12 years of professional experience in human resources operations, payroll administration, or a closely related field, or over 8 years with a directly relevant master’s degree.
• At least 5 years of direct, accountable ownership of payroll administration across multiple jurisdictions, including California.
• Hands-on experience standing up or substantially building people operations processes for a new entity, location, or country.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience administering benefits, including coordination of at least one open enrollment cycle.
• Direct experience owning a human resources information system, encompassing configuration, integrations, data integrity, data governance, and reporting.
• Proven experience developing complete and compliant policy suites across multiple states or countries, alongside knowledge of when to engage legal counsel.
• Strong documentation and process-building skills featuring created playbooks, controls, or operational systems.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence-enabled tools utilized for documentation, reporting, and workflow automation.

Qualifications

• Practical experience with United Kingdom payroll, encompassing PAYE, RTI, and pension administration.
• Prior experience operating within a Professional Employer Organization environment, ideally using TriNet alongside Rippling or a comparable international payroll platform.
• Experience working with international employer of record arrangements.
• Background in a nonprofit organization, startup, research institution, or another fast-paced, mission-driven setting.
• Demonstrated experience supporting multiple legal entities concurrently.

Core Skills

Benefits

• Annual salary ranging from USD 165,000 to 175,000, with a 5 to 10 percent premium available for high cost-of-labor locations or the New York City office.
• Up to a 6 percent match on 401(k) contributions.
• Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance options with the majority fully covered for employees and dependents.
• Company-paid life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, and short-term disability insurance, plus voluntary supplemental choices.
• 19 paid holidays, which includes a full week off at the end of the year.
• 3 weeks of paid time off featuring tenure increases, with separate allotments for sick leave and parental leave.
• Generous fertility benefits and childcare reimbursement.

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