Jade Hume's Career Journey: From Global Payroll Coordinator to Head of Onboarding

Jade Hume joined activpayroll nine years ago as a Global Payroll Coordinator and now leads the Global Onboarding and Technical Solutions function as Head of Onboarding. Her career journey reflects long term development, leadership progression, and the importance of strong relationships, alongside balancing career growth with family life. 

Having achieved her first management role after returning from maternity leave, and her most senior leadership role following her second period of maternity leave, Jade’s story highlights how careers at activpayroll can evolve alongside personal milestones, supported by inclusive leadership and a collaborative culture. 

Jade joined activpayroll following a role in UK house payroll, after taking voluntary redundancy without a clear understanding of what global payroll would involve. Under the leadership of Nicola Stirling, EMEA Payroll Operations Manager, she quickly learned and developed a passion for the global payroll environment. 

“I had no idea what global payroll really entailed, but I quickly learned and loved it” Jade says. 

For her first few years, Jade followed a largely linear progression within Global Ongoing Payroll, supported by opportunities to develop in an area she knew well and felt confident in. In 2021, following investment from Tenzing and subsequent organisational change, she made her first significant lateral move into Payroll Implementation. 

“It was daunting, and I doubted my decision daily for the first couple of months” Jade reflects. “Five years on, it’s the best decision I’ve made.” 

That move became a defining moment in her career, opening the door to leadership opportunities, broader responsibility, and ultimately her current role leading global onboarding and technical solutions. 

The overview below highlights the key milestones of Jade’s career, showing how her responsibilities and impact have grown over time: 

Jade has always been motivated by growth and continuous learning. 

“I always knew I wanted a job I could turn into a real career. I was constantly looking for my next step, regardless of my role at the time. I enjoy being challenged and working in an environment where I am continually learning.” 

One of the biggest challenges she faced was moving into a management role and leading colleagues who had previously been her peers. 

“Those relationships have to evolve. Your priorities change, and that can feel conflicting when you have done the day job yourself,” Jade explains. “It is important to be empathetic, to make people feel heard, and to show the benefits of having someone with hands on experience step into leadership.” 

Strong relationships have been central to Jade’s career development at activpayroll. 

“Even with remote working, I believe the best way to build relationships is to pick up the phone. Too often we rely on emails or messages when inboxes are overflowing,” she says. “A quick call, camera on, asking how someone is doing and genuinely caring about the answer makes a huge difference, both internally and externally.” 

This approach has helped Jade build trust, collaboration, and strong partnerships across teams and regions. 

One of the most important lessons Jade has learned is around balance and prioritisation. 

“You cannot have it all, all of the time. Priorities shift quickly in leadership, projects, and life,” she says. “Sometimes that means redefining deadlines, asking for support, or accepting that someone else needs to step in. Learning when and what to let go of is essential.” 

Partnership is the value Jade sees most clearly reflected in her role. 

“Everything comes back to strong relationships and working together” she explains. “Whether that is supporting an RFP, pulling together global resource for a last minute go live, building relationships across departments, or rolling up your sleeves to support payroll processing when a team is impacted by sickness, partnership makes it possible.” 

She believes that when teams trust and support one another, going the extra mile becomes a natural part of working together. 

One of Jade’s proudest achievements has been building the EMEA Implementation Team from scratch alongside EMEA Implementation Operations Manager Wendy Berry and People & Culture Director Claire Tocher. 

“We recruited and trained an entirely new team, many of whom had never worked in implementation or global payroll before” Jade says. “Watching them develop into experts over the last few years has been incredible. It reinforced for me that short term pain for long term gain really is worth it.” 

Drawing on her own career journey, Jade shares practical advice for anyone thinking about how their career might evolve. 

“Development can feel uncomfortable, but that is often where the biggest growth happens,” she says. “Sometimes progression is linear, but often the most valuable opportunities come from stepping into a different team, role, or way of working.” 

She encourages people to stay curious, build relationships beyond their immediate role, and be open to change. 

“Volunteering for cross functional projects, expanding your network, and making yourself visible all help you grow,” Jade adds. “Building strong relationships really does matter, and it can make a significant difference to your career over time.” 

Jade’s story is just one example of how careers can grow at activpayroll. If you would like to learn more about life at activpayroll and the opportunities available, visit our Careers page to explore our current roles and discover how you could build your own career journey with us