Payroll Specialist

Location Tokyo
Discipline Human Resources and Office Professionals
Job type Permanent
Salary Negotiable
Reference 47443

HR Operations Specialist – Payroll & Compensation/Benefits

About the Company
Founded in the late 1920s in Europe, this global fashion brand began as a wholesale seller of women’s accessories and expanded into handbag collections by the 1970s. From the 1990s onward, the company opened stores and branches worldwide, now operating in over 50 countries with hundreds of retail points of sale, including flagship boutiques, franchised shops, and travel retail locations.

Role Objective
The HR Operations function manages all daily HR activities from employee onboarding to offboarding. This includes payroll, benefits, social insurance, attendance tracking, and leave management, ensuring compliance with local labor laws and internal policies.

Key Responsibilities

  • Oversee monthly payroll processing (outsourced), annual bonuses, year-end tax adjustments, and social insurance procedures for all direct employees

  • Manage attendance, annual leave, and overtime in compliance with local labor laws

  • Administer employee life cycle processes, including maternity/parental leave, sick leave, and retirement payouts

  • Lead employee financial benefit programs, including life insurance and paid leave entitlements

  • Coordinate onboarding and offboarding processes

  • Review HR policies with the Senior HR Director to ensure best practices and legal compliance

  • Optimize payroll procedures for efficiency and accuracy

  • Stay up to date on compensation, benefits, and HRIS developments

  • Lead the annual labor management agreement process

  • Maintain HR records on employee changes, job history, retirements, and leave

  • Issue employment-related certificates and create required reports

  • Act as the main point of contact for HR inquiries in assigned areas

  • Support the HR/GA team with administrative duties and ad hoc projects

Requirements

  • 5+ years’ payroll experience in a mid-sized company (300+ employees)

  • Bachelor’s degree or CPP certification preferred

  • Social Insurance and Labor Consultant (Sharoshi) certification preferred

  • Native-level Japanese and business-level English (TOEIC 750+)

  • Strong knowledge of attendance management and social/labor insurance processes

  • Solid understanding of Japanese labor law and tax administration

  • Experience with DC pension plan management

  • Proven business partnering ability with excellent interpersonal skills

  • Strong numerical, problem-solving, and time management abilities

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, SUM, SUMIF) and Word

  • Preferred: experience with HR systems such as King of Time, Kao Navi, and ADP

  • Highly organized, detail-oriented, adaptable, and capable of working well under pressure

Core Values & Competencies

  • Inspire and guide others toward success

  • Demonstrate customer focus and adaptability

  • Show passion, energy, and persistence

  • Take action and deliver results

  • Embrace diversity of thought and authenticity

  • Take ownership from start to finish, with a sense of urgency

  • Be flexible in the face of change and execute with clarity and precision