We're Hiring
Director — BAU (Business-As-Usual), Payroll & SaaS Operations
Re-engineer a global payroll operation: platform-led, offshore-first, automated, advisory.
Department: Payroll & SaaS
Reports To: Initially the Group CEO; transitioning to the Business Unit Managing Director
Location: Dubai, UAE (onsite preferred); hybrid considered for the right candidate. Travel required.
About Mercans
Mercans is a global workforce solutions company. Through technology-led payroll and SaaS services, we help organizations pay and manage their people across borders — compliantly and at scale. We are re-engineering how our global payroll operation runs, and this role leads that transformation.
The Opportunity
This is a hands-on transformation role, not a back-office management one. We are looking for a leader to re-engineer Mercans' managed-payroll operation into a country-agnostic, offshore-first, product-led model — one where country knowledge lives in the platform and a central compliance center of excellence rather than in individuals, where automation and AI remove manual work, and where customers own and control their data and execution through self-service. The goal is a standardized run-cycle where any consultant can run any payroll anywhere, and an operation that partners with clients strategically rather than just processing their payroll.
This is a hands-on, grass-roots role. You will learn the product deeply, get close to clients and the operation, resolve issues at the grass-root level, and lead by doing rather than delegating. You will report initially to the Group CEO and, in due course, to the Business Unit Managing Director.
What You'll Own
Your mission is to deliver a new operating model. You will:
- Build a country-agnostic operating model — codify country rules and knowledge into the platform and a central compliance center of excellence, with one standardized run-cycle and no single-expert dependency.
- Build an offshore-first, fungible workforce — cross-trained and “2-deep” in every country, delivering high productivity at scale.
- Put customers in control — self-service and data ownership through the product, and a strategic, advisory relationship instead of support ping-pong.
- Automate relentlessly — automate manual and country-variable steps, deploy AI as a knowledge layer, and use anomaly detection for visibility and quality.
- Run a leaner, focused delivery core with disciplined quality and performance governance.
- Migrate all clients onto a single platform to eliminate manual processes and enable people to move freely between clients.
Key Responsibilities
Country-Agnostic, Platform-Led Operating Model
- Relocate country knowledge out of individuals into the platform (codified rules, wage-type catalogs, formulas) and a central compliance center of excellence.
- Establish one standardized, country-agnostic run-cycle so any consultant can run any payroll anywhere, eliminating single-expert dependency.
- Migrate all clients onto a single platform to remove manual processes and enable free movement of people between clients.
Offshore-First, Fungible Workforce
- Make offshore the primary delivery model; cross-train so no client depends on a single person and every country is “2-deep.”
- Drive consultant productivity toward best-in-class levels at scale.
Customer Experience, Self-Service & Data Ownership
- Give customers ownership and control of their data, timelines, and execution through self-service.
- Shift client engagement from tactical execution to a strategic, advisory partnership, and drive changes to customer data toward zero for compliance.
Automation & AI
- Automate every manual and country-variable step (statutory reports, integrations, bank files, and more) using a deliberate map → automate → internalize approach.
- Deploy AI as an on-demand knowledge layer and anomaly-detection tooling for visibility and quality.
Scope, Quality & Performance Governance
- Run a leaner, focused managed-payroll delivery core with clear scope discipline.
- Stand up a business-assurance / QA function with process audits, SLA monitoring, a regional RAG on stability, scalability, and resilience, and a disciplined review, coaching, and appraisal cadence.
How You'll Work — Hands-On & Grass-Roots
- Learn the product and the operation first-hand, stay close to clients, and resolve issues at root cause rather than delegating.
What You'll Bring
- Hands-on and grass-roots by nature — you learn the product deeply, get close to clients and operations, and resolve issues at root-cause level rather than delegating.
- Operating-model transformation — proven design and delivery of a standardized, offshore-first, platform-led payroll/operations model that removes country-knowledge and single-expert dependency.
- Automation and AI expertise — process standardization, product adoption, automation, and applied AI (including agentic AI) to eliminate manual work.
- A customer-advisory and self-service orientation — you move clients to self-service and strategic partnership, delivering an unparalleled client experience.
- Operations leadership at scale — 10+ years in global payroll outsourcing or SaaS operations, including multi-regional and offshore delivery leadership.
- Technology and compliance fluency — deep understanding of payroll/SaaS platforms, config-driven operations, integrations, and multi-country payroll compliance.
- Leadership and resilience — proven ability to coach teams, influence stakeholders at all levels, and stay composed under pressure.
- Education — Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, or a related field; MBA preferred.
What Success Looks Like
In your first 12–18 months, success means:
- A standardized, country-agnostic run-cycle is live — any consultant can run any payroll anywhere, with no single-expert dependency.
- Delivery is offshore-first and “2-deep,” with strong consultant productivity.
- Customers self-serve and own their data, and the relationship is strategic and advisory — with excellent CSAT and retention.
- Manual and country-variable steps are automated, and clients are migrated onto a single platform.
- The delivery core is leaner and well-governed, with clean compliance and strong quality assurance.
Why Mercans
- Lead a genuine transformation of a global operation at the center of how the world pays its people.
- A real mandate to re-engineer the model — this is a role for a builder, not a caretaker.
- A global, fast-moving, technology-led environment with a direct line to senior leadership.
- Competitive compensation aligned to the seniority and impact of the role.
Mercans is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.
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