WHAT DOES A GLOBAL MOBILITY SPECIALIST DO?

Published: Apr 18, 2025 –The Global Mobility Specialist oversees end-to-end global mobility processes, ensures policy compliance, and drives continuous improvement initiatives. This position provides expert guidance on complex mobility and immigration matters while managing expatriate relocations, local vendors, and cross-border coordination. This role supports financial activities such as salary recharge and tax processes in partnership with HR and external providers.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Global Mobility Specialist

1. Global Mobility Specialist Duties

  • Consulting: Consults with transferees prior to, during, and after assignments to assure a successful transition.
  • Point of Contact: Serve as the main point of contact for mobile employees and external relocation vendors.
  • Cost Projections: Prepare cost projections for international assignments and permanent relocations.
  • Payroll Administration: Assist with ongoing assignments and payroll administration.
  • Process Improvement: Identify and recommend ways to enhance processes and procedures.
  • Continuous Improvement: Lead and participate in continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Documentation Management: Maintain process documentation.
  • Tax Equalization: Coordinate tax equalization settlements, payments, and collections.
  • Immigration Management: Handle all immigration, Visa, and work authorization issues for transfers in the region.
  • Reporting: Prepare reports to support the administration of the mobility program.
  • Issue Management: Proactively manage issues, escalations, and exceptions to help support a positive employee experience while monitoring compliance, cost, and policy adherence.
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensure compliance of global mobility practices is in line with legislative and regulatory requirements.
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with Legal, Payroll, HR, and Corporate Tax to ensure compliance.
  • Expense Auditing: Audit relocation-related expenses to ensure payments are appropriately made to employees and reported to payroll or tax provider for compliance purposes.
  • Immigration Tracking: Work with the immigration provider to track and report on the international business travel program.

2. Global Mobility Specialist Details

  • Visa Support: Provide ongoing support to Deliveroo new hires and internal transfers through the UK visa application process.
  • Query Management: Manage queries, ensure that paperwork is accurate and that employees are compliant before they start work.
  • Relocation Management: Manage the employee relocation process, acting as the main point-of-contact for assignees, partners across the business, and external vendors to ensure a smooth experience.
  • Procurement Management: Take ownership of procurement and invoicing tasks for the mobility and immigration processes.
  • Mobility Reporting: Manage certain aspects of mobility reporting, ensuring data accuracy and ongoing compliance.
  • Process Improvement: Review processes and implement changes - always challenging the status quo to provide a world-class people function.
  • Policy Education: Educate internal stakeholders on mobility policies and processes.
  • Vendor Collaboration: Work closely with third-party vendors, such as tax, immigration, and relocation providers.
  • Relocation Delivery: Secure the operational delivery of ongoing relocation cases.
  • Project Management: Work on projects including Right to Work Check, Corporate Housing, and automation of mobility.
  • H1B Program: Manage the full cycle H1B Cap program.
  • Green Card Expertise: Serve as a subject matter expert in the area of the Green Card program from end to end.
  • Immigration Support: Provide immigration information and support to stakeholders, candidates, and active employees.

3. Global Mobility Specialist Responsibilities

  • Operational Leadership: Drive and lead different operational mobility cases and projects.
  • Stakeholder Support: Providing support to managers and key stakeholders.
  • Policy Development: Develop global mobility policies and program guidelines ensuring industry competitiveness and compliance with legal, tax, and local employment regulations.
  • Process Improvement: Continuously assess, develop, and improve global mobility processes, tools, and policies to ensure an optimal experience for employees and managers.
  • Vendor Management: Work with vendor performance and procurement projects.
  • Data Coordination: Work with Payroll, Finance, Tax, Legal, and HR to ensure correct data entry and expense management, including the coordination of relevant cross-charges.
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensure compliance with country and local laws including tax, legal, and immigration statutory requirements.
  • Immigration Analysis: Analyze and evaluate immigration situations and escalate red flag issues to stakeholders and/or immigration law firms.
  • Subject Matter Expertise: Serve as subject matter expert and assist with management of internal and external immigration regulatory and compliance processes, policies, and protocols as they relate to NIV and IV program and work authorization workstreams and projects.
  • Workflow Improvement: Create and/or clean up current process workflows for program improvement.
  • Communication Management: Develop and manage communications to assist in the complexities of immigration for internal stakeholders and Talent team.
  • Benchmarking: Utilize outside sources for participation and/or creation of needed benchmarking as it relates to immigration.
  • Employee Support: Answer day-to-day questions from foreign national employees, managers, and Talent team.

4. Global Mobility Specialist Job Summary

  • Assignment Management: Handling global assignment lifecycle across EU, APAC, and US regions.
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensuring overall compliance for business travels, considering all legal aspects of employment, tax, and social security.
  • Administration Process: Managing end-to-end administration process for international assignments and business trips.
  • Project Guidance: Providing guidance and supporting businesses in project set-ups in new locations, considering travel, tax, immigration, and social security advice.
  • Visa Handling: Handling applications for visas, work permits, and immigration compliance globally.
  • Insurance Verification: Checking and ensuring proper insurance coverage for all assignments.
  • Data Coordination: Data gathering and coordination of monthly shadow payroll, annual tax return, and tax equalization process.
  • Primary Contact: Acting as the primary contact for project partners, HRs, and employees throughout the assignment process.
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Working closely with Finance, HR, and Payroll teams to ensure the smooth functioning of processes.
  • Policy Creation: Creating and implementing travel-related policies, processes, and guidelines.
  • Stakeholder Liaison: Liaising with Authorities, Tax Offices, Migration Services, Embassies, Ministries of Employment.
  • Visa Support: Supporting employees in visa applications and mobility queries.
  • System Maintenance: Data input and maintenance into the various systems, issuing assignment letters and general correspondence, preparing appropriate forms and statements.
  • Training Sessions: Conducting Global Mobility training sessions.

5. Global Mobility Specialist Accountabilities

  • Process Management: Oversee and drive the global mobility processes and continuous improvement.
  • Policy Maintenance: Maintain the global mobility policy and system.
  • Expertise Provision: Provide specialist expertise to resolve complex issues or queries in a timely manner to both assignees and the business.
  • Process Support: Provide support to HRBP/HRG and the stakeholders to ensure process standards and policies are being consistently implemented.
  • Policy Communication: Conduct the policy communication sessions and provide guidance to HR colleagues and assignees.
  • Relocation Handling: Handle all incoming/outgoing expatriate’s relocation.
  • Policy Advice: Partner with HRBP to advise policy interpretation, mobility process, and immigration matters.
  • Case Management: Deal with ad hoc queries, day-to-day case management, deliver solutions to meet customer’s expectation/business needs.
  • Vendor Management: Manage local vendor (relocation agent, language school, and housing company).
  • Coordination: Coordinate with other affiliates for relocation-related activities.
  • Salary Recharge: Handle expat's monthly salary recharge between affiliates, prepare onshore reportable benefits/payments, and year-end Finance activity.
  • Tax Support: Work closely with the tax vendor to support expat’s tax queries, TEQ process, and tax filing.
Relevant Information
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