Payroll Specialist
Vancouver
US Team /
Finance /
Hybrid
Location: Hybrid (Remote and Vancouver Office)
Type: Full-time
Compensation: 60,000-80,000 CAD dependent on experience.
About the Role
Hi, I’m Anna, CFO at Zen Educate. We’re looking for a Payroll Specialist based in Vancouver who brings strong financial and payroll experience in both the US and Canada.
As we rapidly grow across the UK and US, finance is playing an increasingly strategic role. We need someone who thrives on ownership, is great at building efficient systems, and can confidently navigate the financial requirements of a business growing at pace.
About Zen
Zen Educate is a technology company that matches schools with temporary educator staff. Our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over $9bn a year on temporary educators, with over $2bn per year of that spent on fees that take money out of the education system. By leveraging the latest technology, we purpose built a platform that helps schools to pay less while educators earn more.
We want students to have access to the best education possible, and we go the extra mile to find, onboard, match, and coach incredible educators that deeply care about their students. We wake up every day on a mission to care more. We care more about our schools. And we care more about our educators. This is your chance to make a difference and join a high growth tech startup on the ground floor. We are a collaborative company, and the career growth opportunities are endless if you are someone willing to dive in, be entrepreneurial, and do whatever is needed to get the job done. We are passionate about learning and development, and will invest in both your personal and professional growth.
We have recently raised our Series B funding of $37mil, the largest round in European EdTech this year. This is an exciting opportunity to make a difference and be part of a high growth start-up that is expanding rapidly in the UK and US markets!
What We’re Looking For
We want someone who has great attention to detail who is passionate about delivering the best experience to our educators. Some traits that define success in this role:
- You’re hands-on and love getting into the detail
- You’ve worked across jurisdictions, ideally including US payroll and tax
- You seek to improve and automate, not just maintain
- You communicate clearly and confidently with stakeholders at all levels.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Own payroll for our educators in the US and our internal team in US and Canada. We pay c. 1500 educators each week.
- Ensuring compliance; all payroll deductions, filings, and reporting are compliant with both US and Canadian labor laws and tax regulations
- Respond to educator inquiries regarding payroll-related issues, including pay discrepancies, deductions, and tax withholdings
- The face of finance to the Schools we support in the US. Dealing with invoice queries.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support our educators
- Improve and streamline processes, from payroll to invoicing
Tools & Systems
We use Xero as our accounting system. Familiarity with it is helpful but not required — adaptability and a tech-friendly mindset are more important.
A love of Excel is essential!
Growth & Career Path
We value impact over titles. The US business is growing fast and as the second permanent hire in the finance team in the US you will have plenty of opportunity to grow. We’ll support your development with honest feedback, flexibility, and clear progression criteria.
Our Culture
- Our finance team is distributed across the UK, Europe and North America. Even though we are not all physically together we are a tight knit team and work closely and collaboratively.
- We’re still building. You’ll help shape systems, not just maintain them.
- Diversity and inclusion matter—and we’re still learning how to do better. If you’d be the first of something on our team, we want to support you.
What the Team Say
“One of the most rewarding parts of working in finance at Zen is how embedded we are in the business. It's not just about numbers, it's about partnering with teams to make the right decisions. Zen's growth means we are constantly tackling new challenges which keeps work fresh and interesting! We are also a really close team who support each other in our day to day.”
“I genuinely enjoy my role at Zen — it challenges me, inspires growth, and allows me to make a meaningful impact to our schools, whilst working with a friendly and supportive team”
“What genuinely resonates with me about working at Zen is the powerful combination of great people (especially in the finance team) and the profound impact our business has. We're addressing critical issues. Zen has grown rapidly, both organically and inorganically, this provides many opportunities to dive into something new and is a great pathway for personal and professional development”
Hiring Process
We move fast. Here’s what to expect:
1. Initial chat – A quick screen to align expectations and answer questions.
2. Secondary chat - with Annie, our Head of Finance in the US.
3. Interview with Annie, our Head of Finance in the US and one other team member plus technical task (in person in our Vancouver office) – A session to walk through your career to date, past challenges and how you’d approach real Zen scenarios.
4. Final values-based conversation – With a member of leadership to discuss mindset, alignment, and growth goals.
Ready to Apply
If you’re a payroll professional in Canada with experience in US finance, and you’re excited to be part of a finance team supporting real-world outcomes in education—we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now or reach out with questions.
$60,000 - $80,000 a year
