HR and Payroll Specialist - South Europe

HR & Payroll Specialist (South Europe)

Industry: Designer toys and collectible pieces

Location: Milan, Italy (Cordusio M1)

Job type: Full time - Permanent

Working Hours: 40 hours per week

About POP MART

Founded in 2010, POP MART is a market-leading entertainment company and a global champion of designer toy culture. Through global artist development, IP operations, and designer toy culture evangelism, we have built an integrated platform covering the entire designer toy value chain. Besides our original and iconic IPs such as Molly, Hirono, Skullpanda, and LABUBU, POP MART collaborates with top-tier toys and lifestyle brands including Disney, Universal Studios, and Sanrio to create collectible art toys featuring their iconic characters.

POP MART has established a strong presence across key European markets, including Italy, UK, France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. As part of our strategic growth initiatives, we are focused on expanding our retail network into additional high-potential markets across Europe, continuing to strengthen our brand's position in the region.

For more information, please visit and our LinkedIn Career page.

What to Expect

POP MART is a boutique-sized company with a young and multicultural team where you can expect to:

• Gain valuable professional experience covering the entire retail life cycle
• Have the opportunity to work with people from different countries and cultures in a collaborative environment
• Receive structured customer service, retail operations and product training
• Be proactively involved in the company’s growth

Benefits

POP MART offers our employees:

• Selected POP MART toys as appreciation gifts every month
• A structured bonus/commission scheme in line with the company’s and the individual’s performance
• Comprehensive training and development programs
• Regular team social events
• Employee Assistance Program
• Corporate Benefits

The Role and Candidate

The HR & Payroll Specialist role will support accurate, timely and compliant payroll operations across Italy and Spain. The position focuses on assisting in payroll processes, ensuring data accuracy, and supporting compliance with local labor laws and regulations.

Reporting to the HRBP, this role will help coordinate with external payroll providers and tools such as ADP, assist with employee changes (hires, terminations, salary updates, bonuses) and support monthly payroll closures. The HR & Payroll professional will also help with payroll reporting, audits and data reconciliation, contributing to continuous process improvement.

The successful candidate will work closely with internal departments and external partners to ensure accurate payroll data, confidentiality and operational efficiency, supporting POP MART’s HR operations across the region.

Responsibilities

• Act as a support point of contact for payroll and benefits matters across South Europe, working closely with local HRBP, HQ payroll teams and external providers.
• Support the HRBP in day-to-day HR operations, providing assistance on payroll, benefits and employee queries.
• Support the coordination of payroll activities to ensure accurate, timely and compliant payroll processing.
• Assist HR and payroll teams in managing day-to-day payroll questions, employee queries and data checks.
• Help ensure payroll, reward and benefits practices comply with internal guidelines and local regulations, escalating issues when necessary.
• Support group-wide reward initiatives, benefits administration and annual compensation activities through data collection and documentation.
• Monitor payroll and labor law updates across South European countries and flag relevant changes to the team.
• Support the investigation of payroll discrepancies and contribute to corrective actions.
• Maintain payroll-related records, reports and documentation accurately and on time.
• Contribute to process improvements by identifying recurring issues and supporting enhancements to payroll systems and HR tools.
• Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing within HR and payroll teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Economics, Accounting, or a related field (interest in HR operations and administrative processes is a plus)
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant work experience
• Proficiency in MS Office suite (particularly Excel and PowerPoint) and data analysis tools
• Strong sense of responsibility, with good organisational and coordination abilities
• Detail-oriented, with the ability to quickly solve problems and handle operational emergencies
• Capable of efficiently handling multiple tasks and working effectively in a team environment
• Strong self-motivation and ability to work independently when required
• Proven experience in payroll operations
• Understanding of European employment legislation and payroll compliance requirements.
• Experience managing third-party payroll providers (ADP) and internal stakeholder relationships.
• Familiarity with reward frameworks, compensation cycles and benefits administration.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across departments
• Analytical mindset with attention to detail and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Capable of efficiently handling multiple tasks and working effectively in a team environment
• Strong self-motivation and ability to work independently when required
• Fluent in English and Italian; additional European languages (Spanish) are an advantage.

Desirable but Not Essential

• Experience in the toy industry or retail sector
• Knowledge of Spanish or any other European language
• Familiarity with Italian/Spanish retail landscape and logistics operations
• Experience with ADP
• Knowledge of Spanish Employment Law