Job description

Job Title Payroll Officer

Department People & Corporate Services

Reports To Chief People & Corporate Services Officer (CPCSO)

LocationKana Group HQ, Kuwait

Geographic Scope Kuwait and United Arab Emirates

Direct Reports None

Employment Type Full-time

Job Purpose

Own the end-to-end payroll cycle for all Kana Group entities across Kuwait and the UAE, covering approximately 450-500 employees. The role ensures every employee is paid accurately and on time, that all statutory obligations in both jurisdictions are met, and that payroll data reconciles cleanly to Finance each month. It also supplies the payroll and cost inputs that feed the monthly P&C report to the Executive Committee.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Processing

• Run the full monthly payroll cycle for all Kuwait entities (KWD) and UAE entities (AED), from data cut-off through to bank transfer and payslip release.
• Maintain and validate all payroll inputs: new hires, leavers, transfers, salary changes, allowances, overtime, commissions, incentives, unpaid leave, and deductions.
• Process variable pay accurately, including branch and service commission schemes, sales incentives, and performance-linked payments, against approved calculation sheets and sign-offs.
• Calculate and process disciplinary and attendance deductions in line with approved violation cases and the Group disciplinary framework.
• Apply the correct AED/KWD conversion treatment for UAE entities and group-level consolidated reporting.
• Prepare and process final settlements for leavers, including end-of-service benefits, leave encashment, notice pay, and any recoverable balances.
• Maintain a documented payroll calendar with input deadlines, review checkpoints, approval gates, and payment dates for both countries.

Statutory and Regulatory Compliance

• Kuwait: administer PIFSS social insurance contributions for Kuwaiti and GCC nationals, ensure compliance with Kuwait Labour Law No. 6/2010 on wages, overtime, leave, and indemnity, and meet Ministry of Labour and WPS salary-transfer requirements.
• UAE: ensure compliance with Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 and its executive regulations, administer MOHRE Wage Protection System file submissions, and calculate gratuity, leave, and overtime entitlements to UAE standards.
• Track and apply regulatory changes in both jurisdictions, escalating any change with a material cost or compliance impact to the CPCSO and Finance Director.
• Maintain audit-ready payroll documentation, retained in line with statutory record-keeping periods in each jurisdiction.

Provisions, Reconciliation and Reporting

• Calculate and maintain monthly accruals for annual leave provision, end-of-service benefits, and other employee-related liabilities.
• Reconcile the payroll register to the general ledger each month with Finance and resolve variances before close.
• Prepare the monthly payroll movement analysis by business unit, with a clear explanation of drivers behind any month-on-month change.
• Produce payroll and cost inputs for the monthly P&C report to the Executive Committee, and support the annual manpower budget and forecast cycles with cost modelling.
• Support internal and external audit requests with complete supporting documentation.

HRIS and Data Integrity

• Maintain payroll master data in the HRIS and ensure records stay aligned with personal, contractual, and financial data held by P&C.
• Run periodic integrity checks across headcount, salary, bank, and entitlement data, and correct discrepancies at source.
• Preserve a full audit trail on all payroll adjustments: original records are not overwritten, changes are appended and annotated with reason, date, and approver.
• Identify and implement improvements that reduce manual handling and error risk in the payroll cycle.

Employee Support and Confidentiality

• Act as the point of contact for employee payroll queries and resolve them within agreed service standards.
• Explain payslip components, entitlements, deductions, and settlement calculations clearly to employees and line managers.
• Maintain strict confidentiality over all compensation and personal data, and comply with the Group's data protection standards.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field.
• 4–6 years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years running a full payroll cycle independently.
• Demonstrated GCC payroll experience with working knowledge of Kuwait labour law and PIFSS.
• Practical experience with Wage Protection System submissions.
• Advanced Excel: lookups, pivot tables, conditional logic, reconciliation modelling.
• Hands-on experience operating an HRIS or payroll system end to end.
• Strong written and spoken English.

Skills

• Experience running payroll across more than one legal entity or country.
• Working knowledge of UAE labour law and MOHRE requirements.
• Experience with variable pay and commission schemes in retail, hospitality, or healthcare.
• Arabic language capability.
• Professional payroll or accounting certification (CIPP, CIPD, CMA, or equivalent).
• Prior use of KayanHR or a comparable regional HRIS.