Sr Specialist GBS Payroll (French Speaker)

Ensures the accurate, timely and compliant delivery of French payroll and related HR administration within Global Business Services. It combines hands-on payroll expertise with problem-solving, customer focus and continuous improvement, and helps strengthen controls, implement legal and organisational changes, simplify ways of working and contribute to payroll technology and process transformations. The role works closely with HR Business Partners in France, HR Shared Services teams in Porto, expert teams such as Rewards and Talent Acquisition, business stakeholders including Store Managers and Floor Managers, and cross-functional partners including Finance, GBS, Legal and Internal Controls.

• Deliver accurate and timely payroll and related HR administration in line with French legislation and internal controls.
• Manage employee lifecycle activities, including hiring documentation, contractual changes, employee data, benefits, absences, working time and offboarding.
• Perform payroll controls, reconciliations, statutory declarations and payroll-related activities, resolving issues before they impact employees.
• Provide clear and customer-focused support to employees, managers and HR stakeholders through ServiceNow and other channels.
• Monitor French payroll legislation and translate changes into processes, controls, system requirements and testing activities.
• Investigate complex payroll and HR issues, identify root causes and coordinate sustainable solutions with relevant partners.
• Support audits, statutory inspections and external reviews, including URSSAF controls.
• Drive simplification, standardisation, automation and digitalisation opportunities while ensuring French compliance.
• Contribute payroll expertise to transformation programmes and support implementation through testing, documentation, training and knowledge sharing.

• Professional fluency in French, written and spoken, and strong professional working proficiency in English.
• Strong knowledge of French payroll, HR administration, statutory requirements, social declarations, controls and compliance obligations.
• Hands-on experience with SAP HCM Payroll or a comparable complex payroll system, including investigation of payroll results and collaboration on configuration or system issues.
• Proven experience managing complex payroll cases, conducting root-cause analysis and driving issues through to sustainable resolution.
• Experience implementing legal, process or system changes, including impact analysis, functional testing and operational readiness.
• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills, with disciplined documentation and follow-up across multiple deadlines and stakeholders.
• Ability to operate autonomously in a cross-border organisation, provide clear progress updates, raise risks early and seek support when required.
• High attention to detail, sound analytical judgement, and a pronounced customer-service focus.
• Experience with payroll transformation, process digitalisation, automation or system implementations.
• Experience supporting audits, inspections and payroll-accounting reconciliations.
• 7 years of relevant experience in French payroll and HR operations, or equivalent depth of expertise.
• Experience with ticketing system (ServiceNow, Jira or equivalent).

Adidas believes that through sport, it has the power to change lives, and within Global Business Services it turns that purpose into reliable, efficient and continuously improving services for employees and business teams. adidas believes that embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into its culture and talent processes gives employees a sense of belonging and the brand a competitive advantage, and it recruits and develops people to reflect the diversity of its consumers and communities.