Head of Payroll
Designer Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage tech companies using design to improve health, sustainability, or prosperity for people. It backs founding teams, particularly those with design backgrounds, across sectors like fintech, healthcare, climate tech, and developer tools.
About Designer Fund
Designer Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in tech companies leveraging design to drive positive outcomes in health, sustainability, and financial prosperity. Its portfolio spans a wide range of sectors including financial infrastructure (Stripe), preventative health (Omada), collaborative tools (Notion), developer tools (Netlify), product management (Linear), payroll and benefits (Gusto), design tools (Framer), and healthcare infrastructure (Commure), among dozens of other companies across fintech, climate tech, healthcare, EdTech, and AI. The firm also runs 'Designer Founders,' a community and platform highlighting designers who have gone on to found and lead companies, reflecting its focus on backing design-driven founders and design-centric startups from early stages through growth and acquisition.
Skills
About the Role
You will take ownership of the entire payroll process for Via's 900+ hourly employees in Germany, working closely with Finance, HR, and Operations colleagues around the world. You'll partner with Via's external payroll provider to steer the monthly payroll run, ensure accuracy and timeliness, and keep processes compliant as German tax and social security regulations evolve. You'll conduct regular audits of payroll data, drive process improvements and internal controls, and make sure benefit deductions and taxes are calculated correctly and reported on time. You'll lead the monthly payroll-related financial reporting process, from journal entries to general ledger reconciliation, and step in to resolve escalated payroll queries the support team can't handle alone.
Requirements
- At least five years of relevant payroll experience in Germany, including handling hourly or shift-based employees
- Familiarity with HRIS systems such as P&I or Loga
- Strong command of Microsoft Excel
- Precise, independent, and reliable working style, including with complex data sets
- Ability to question existing processes and propose concrete efficiency improvements
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and act as a reliable point of contact for internal teams
- Clear and confident written and verbal communication across all levels of the organization
- Fluent English
Responsibilities
- Steer the monthly payroll process for Via Germany in close collaboration with the external payroll partner
- Coordinate with Finance, HR, and Operations teams to ensure accurate and timely payroll
- Monitor changes in German tax and social security law and ensure process compliance
- Conduct regular audits of payroll data
- Develop process improvements and internal controls to increase accuracy and efficiency
- Ensure benefit deductions and taxes are calculated correctly and reported on time
- Lead the monthly payroll financial reporting process including journal entries and general ledger reconciliation
- Support escalated payroll inquiries that the support team cannot resolve independently
Benefits
- Urban Sports Club membership
- 30 vacation days per year
- Weekly team lunches and shared breakfast for Berlin-based employees