Location

While this position is posted in a specific region, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote, and you can work from home. Forever. Global candidate-location options available.

In this highly strategic and cross-functional role, you’ll own and evolve Oyster’s global network of external payroll partners and core compliance providers that underpins end-to-end payroll delivery across our markets. Operating with a primary focus (~80%) on core multi-country payroll delivery, vendor accuracy, calendar adherence, and operational controls, alongside secondary oversight (~20%) of specialized Compliance vendors, you’ll ensure our partners deliver scalable, high-quality, and fully compliant solutions that enable our customers to hire anyone, anywhere. You’ll combine commercial acumen, operational excellence, regulatory monitoring, and strong relationship management to drive vendor performance, execute risk assessments, resolve complex payroll escalations, and continuously strengthen our global partner ecosystem.

From leading commercial negotiations, compliance tracking, and governance frameworks to identifying new partner opportunities and ensuring alignment with local legal and statutory payroll standards, you’ll play a critical role in shaping how Oyster delivers global employment solutions at scale.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys solving complex operational challenges, and can confidently influence stakeholders internally and externally. You are commercially minded, data-driven, solutions-oriented, and energized by building strong partnerships that create long-term business impact.

Key Responsibilities

Act as the Subject Matter Expert and primary operational and commercial owner for Oyster's strategic multi-country payroll partners worldwide.

Maintain deep operational mastery of end-to-end payroll delivery workflows, cut-off calendars, variance analysis, Gross-to-Net (GTN) calculations, statutory filings, and failure modes across key markets

Partner with internal Pay & Payroll operations teams to monitor partner SLA compliance, data payload delivery, and payroll cut-off adherence

Proactively evaluate vendor capacity, operational readiness, and processing controls ahead of peak payroll cycles and expansion into new markets

Define partner strategy, governance, scorecards, review cadences, escalation thresholds, and improvement plans

Hold partners accountable for payroll accuracy, timeliness, statutory compliance, compliance tracking, responsiveness, controls, and customer outcomes

Manage the full vendor relationship lifecycle, from partner selection and onboarding through transition, consolidation, or exit decisions

Evaluate partner capabilities, market coverage, operational maturity, security/compliance posture, and scalability

Build and maintain expertise in multi-country payroll delivery, regulatory dependencies, and contractual trade-offs

Establish baselines and monitor vendor performance through KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, and remediation plans

Lead recurring executive business reviews and performance discussions with partner leadership teams

Translate payroll-partner performance data into recommendations for Operations, Product, Finance, Legal, Customer teams, and leadership





Monitor operational performance and proactively identify service risks or quality concerns

Conduct structured vendor compliance audits, risk assessments, and operational reviews across the partner ecosystem

Drive consistent governance standards, regulatory alignment, and operational excellence across vendors

Lead ongoing regulatory monitoring, risk assessments, and compliance tracking to ensure there are no gaps in compliance across all payroll and compliance vendor operations and local legal standards across all operating regions

Commercial & Partnership Management

Build trusted, long-term relationships with external partner leadership teams

Lead or materially shape commercial negotiations, contract renewals, pricing, remedies, and service changes

Strengthen strategic partnerships to support business growth and customer outcomes

Lead complex, multi-market payroll escalations through root-cause analysis, recovery, prevention, and executive communication

Collaborate cross-functionally and externally to resolve sensitive operational challenges

Support customer and internal stakeholder conversations requiring partner expertise

Identify and source new partners to strengthen global coverage and capabilities

Identify operational or geographic gaps within the vendor ecosystem

Evaluate and onboard new partners to strengthen Oyster’s global coverage

Recommend improvements to ecosystem strategy, scalability, and service quality

Partner cross-functionally to evolve how Oyster leverages and manages external vendors

Drive initiatives that improve partner consistency, efficiency, and customer experience

Strategic Business Partnership

Advise internal teams on vendor capabilities, strengths, and operational considerations

Guide partner selection decisions based on customer needs and business priorities

Share insights from vendor trends, escalations, and operational performance data

Partner with Go-To-Market teams to support deal strategy and customer solutions

Enable scalable and commercially sound global employment solutions

Proactively partner with internal teams including HRBPs, Employee Lifecycle Teams, and Payroll/Pay teams to align vendor capabilities with employee support and operational workflows

Escalation Leadership

Maintain secondary oversight (~20%) of specialized Health & Safety and Compliance vendor relationships, ensuring partner capabilities and SLAs support local statutory requirements

Lead high-impact escalations across external partners and internal teams with limited direction

Coordinate cross-functional and cross-partner responses to critical operational issues

Protect customer experience while balancing operational and commercial priorities

Identify root causes and recurring trends across escalations

Drive preventative improvements and operational maturity across the partner ecosystem

Lead in escalations on calls to get to root cause, find solutions, and manage end-to-end resolution.





Continuous Improvement & High Performance

Continuously audit and refine workflows and ways of working to reduce response times and elevate service quality.

Build scalable processes, knowledge, automation, and AI-enabled reporting while protecting payroll and personal data.

Analyze recurring ticket trends and received queries to identify systemic issues, proactively building preventative resources for internal teams.

Identify opportunities to improve workflows, documentation, and knowledge management, ensuring Pearls have accurate, accessible self-service resources to reduce dependency and improve operational efficiency.

Projects

Lead People Services and cross-functional projects as we work towards our Mission to enable companies to hire anyone, anywhere!

Core Requirements

5+ years of direct experience managing multi-country Payroll Vendors and Compliance/Health & Safety partners in a general environment

Strong technical understanding of end-to-end payroll processing cycles, Gross-to-Net (GTN) calculations, statutory filings, and payroll controls

Significant experience owning strategic payroll and compliance vendor relationships in a global or multi-country environment

Deep understanding of payroll operations, compliance tracking, risk assessments, statutory controls, regulatory monitoring, and global legal standards

Evidence of improving vendor performance and regulatory alignment through KPIs, SLAs, vendor compliance audits, governance, remediation, and executive business reviews

Commercial negotiation and contract-management capability, including pricing, service levels, remedies, renewals, and trade-offs

Highly strategic thinker with the ability to balance operational detail with long‑term business goals

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to drive decisions and improvements

Commercially minded and solutions‑oriented, with a pragmatic approach to operational challenges

Exceptional relationship‑building and influencing skills across internal and external stakeholders

Strong ownership mindset with the ability to operate autonomously in a fast‑paced environment

Experience managing complex escalations and driving resolution across multiple stakeholders

Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal

Collaborative and cross‑functional by nature, with experience partnering across Operations, Legal, Support, Sales, and Customer‑facing teams

Process‑oriented and continuously looking for ways to improve scalability and operational maturity

Comfortable working in ambiguity and helping shape evolving operational functions and frameworks

Demonstrated track record of proactive business partnering with internal stakeholders such as HRBPs, Lifecycle Teams, and Pay teams

[BONUS]

Experience working with global vendors across multiple regions (APAC, EMEA, LATAM, AMER)

[BONUS]

Experience building or scaling vendor governance programs and operational frameworks

[BONUS]

Additional languages

[BONUS]

Have worked in a fast‑paced, scaling startup or global tech environment

[BONUS]

Experience implementing AI tools or automation workflows to improve workflows and vendor management

You'll also need A reliable home internet connection (or be able to get one)

📌 Senior Vendor Relationship Manager (Madrid)
🏢 Oyster®
📍 Madrid