Team Lead, People Services

Job Description

As the Team Lead, Total Rewards (APAC), based out of our Manila hub, you will act as the primary operational engine driving employee service excellence across the Asia-Pacific region. Sitting within our People and Places team, your leadership directly impacts how our workforce experiences Zendesk's global benefits, payroll, and reward programs. By guiding a dedicated team of Tier 1 and Tier 2 specialists, handling operational escalations, and executing deep tactical root-cause analyses, you bridge the gap between high-level global strategy and flawless regional execution. Your commitment to operational stewardship ensures a compliance-focused, high-performing, and empathetic support ecosystem for all APAC employees.
 

What you'll be doing

• Oversee the daily workflow and Zendesk ticket queues for the APAC People Services Total Rewards team to ensure SLAs are met and inquiries are resolved accurately.

• Supervise, coach, and mentor Tier 1 and Tier 2 team members, conducting regular 1:1s and quality audits to champion continuous employee performance and development.

• Ensure absolute data integrity across Workday and downstream systems by executing rigorous quality control and "four-eyes" validation checks on all Total Rewards and payroll entries.

• Own regional service quality by conducting technical Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) on negative Employee Satisfaction (CSAT) scores, implementing swift process or coaching corrections.

• Act as the primary operational point of contact for complex payroll, leave, benefits, and off-boarding queries that require deep local statutory or technical validation.

• Govern the internal Knowledge Base (KB), monitoring the accuracy of regional FAQs and macros to drive higher employee self-service and team transactional consistency.

• Partner with regional and global project managers to lead system migrations, process standardizations, and new policy rollouts according to global Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

• Identify operational friction points across the regional employee journey, leveraging AI-driven solutions and technical tools to simplify workflows.

What you bring to the role

• Operational Leadership: Proven ability to organize, prioritize, and focus a shared services team during high-pressure cycles to hit zero-fail operational targets.

• Critical Thinking: A tactical mindset that naturally spots operational patterns in ticket escalations, moving beyond individual fixes to solve systemic process gaps.

• Customer Obsession: A hands-on, service-first commitment to resolving internal inquiries with extreme empathy, accuracy, and speed.

• Technical Savviness: Fluency or high comfort leveraging digital workspaces, AI tools, and system macros to eliminate administrative overhead and enhance delivery metrics.

• Communication & Coaching: Strong ability to explain complex statutory regulations and global corporate policies to employees in a clear, accessible, and supportive manner.

• Stakeholder Stewardship: Highly effective at maintaining professional credibility with local, regional, and global HR partners across multiple time zones.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related discipline (or equivalent practical work experience).

• 4+ years of professional experience within an HR Shared Services, Global Benefits, or Global Payroll function.

• 2+ years of direct experience in a supervisory, team lead, or people manager capacity within a global corporate environment.

• Deep compliance and operational knowledge of Philippine HR processes, including mandatory statutory filings and controls (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and DOLE).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced hands-on experience navigating and managing the Workday ecosystem (specifically Core HR, Benefits, or Payroll modules).

• Strong experience administering or overseeing regional Total Rewards and payroll operations across broader APAC markets beyond the Philippines.

• Direct technical proficiency utilizing Zendesk Support/Suite products as an internal ticketing and knowledge management platform.

• Demonstrated experience handling cross-functional process migrations or system enhancement initiatives across an agile talent market.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.