HR & Payroll Specialist - São Paulo (Contract)

First Help Financial (FHF) is a fast-growing and culturally diverse company in the U.S. We provide auto loans to the underserved and care for our customers and partners with exceptional service. Through flexible financing options and tri-lingual support, we offer consumers an easier way to finance their first car. We lend to and support our portfolio which has consistently grown 30%+ each year over the last nine years.

Here you will find hard-working colleagues who come from over 20 countries. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism but also enjoy our work. Our culture and benefits are geared towards making you successful in life and comfortable at work.

About the Opportunity: First Help Financial, voted and certified as a “Great Place to Work” by our workforce for five years in a row, is adding an experienced HR & Payroll Specialist to our People Operations department to accommodate our remarkable growth!

Your Title: HR & Payroll Specialist.

Your Location: Hybrid/Brazil HQ address - Nações Unidas 12901 - São Paulo - SP (required to go to the office once a week)

Reports To: Senior Manager, People Operations; supports the Lead, Human Resources and the Lead, Payroll & Benefits.

Schedule: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST.

The HR & Payroll Specialist supports day-to-day People Operations across our remote-first, multi-country workforce, covering core HR, compliance, and payroll and benefits administration.

What you will do:

People Operations & HRIS

• Serve as a point of contact for employee and manager HR questions via email and Teams, resolving routine matters and routing complex ones appropriately.
• Administer Rippling as our HRIS, processing promotions, transfers, title, manager, and status changes and maintaining org charts and reporting structures.
• Administer HR vendor platforms, including Nectar, Navan, DoorDash, Uber for Business, and LinkedIn Learning.
• Run monthly audits across Rippling and other platforms to keep employee data accurate and current.
• Maintain employee records and documentation in Rippling, complete verifications of employment, and generate HR reports as needed.

Onboarding, Offboarding & Compliance

• Process Form I-9 and E-Verify for new hires, including resolving tentative nonconfirmations, and coordinate new-hire orientation.
• Support offboarding for FHF and partner populations, including equipment returns, access removal, and vendor platform updates.
• Track work authorization and visa renewals and coordinate with outside immigration counsel.
• Administer policy acknowledgments and labor law notices, and support unemployment claims and accommodation requests.

Payroll & Benefits

• Process U.S. payroll in Rippling for hourly, salaried, and 1099 workers, including timecard review, deductions, overtime, bonuses, and commissions.
• Partner with global payroll vendors to ensure accurate, timely pay and statutory compliance across international locations.
• Administer benefit enrollments, terminations, life-event changes, and open enrollment in Rippling.
• Support 401(k) updates and reconciliations, leave administration including FMLA, and annual reporting (ACA, 1095, 5500, W-2).

Employee Relations & Engagement

• Assist with employee relations intake, case documentation, and policy guidance for managers.
• Support semi-annual performance review cycles in Rippling, including setup, communications, and completion tracking.
• Coordinate training, engagement programs, recognition, and company events, and publish HR communications on Teams.

What you bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of HR experience, including hands-on payroll and benefits administration.
• Experience supporting a multi-country workforce or a U.S.-based employer.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Portuguese; Spanish is a plus.
• U.S. payroll, benefits, or I-9/E-Verify experience strongly preferred.
• Rippling experience is a huge plus; experience with a comparable HRIS or payroll platform will be considered.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills with close attention to detail.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with integrity and professionalism.
• Ability to work aligned to U.S. Eastern business hours.

FHF Benefits:

• Great Perks – We offer generous salaries, social activities, monthly lunches, and a robust employee recognition and talent development program to enhance your career with us.
• Culture - We are believers in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. While we work hard and care deeply about our customers and partners, we want you to have room for your family, friends, and yourself.
• Growth - Company growth provides unprecedented career growth. FHF’s extraordinary year over year growth in revenue and new markets provides opportunity for you to establish and develop your career growth. We engage each employee to build a career plan that benefits everyone, and we have a proven record of investing in you.

Diversity and Inclusion

FHF is committed to building a culture that respects and embraces all walks of life, inclusive of all genders, race, culture, age, sexual orientation, and other identities. We will make accommodations when interviewing anyone with special needs.