Overview As Director of Payroll Services, you will lead a strategic, enterprise-wide payroll function responsible for over $1B in annual payroll for about 18,000 associates, spanning US and international operations. You'll shape payroll strategy, governance, and technology-enabled delivery, partnering with HR, Finance, IT, and executive leadership to accelerate transformation. You will drive modernization through Workday, analytics, and automation, balancing risk, compliance, and cost management. This role offers visibility across the organization and an opportunity to elevate associate experience through scalable, compliant processes.
Responsibilities- Set enterprise strategy for payroll, time and attendance, payroll tax & accounting, and related HR processes
- Serve as strategic HR advisor on payroll, labor costs, compliance, associate experience, and operational performance
- Lead payroll transformation and modernization initiatives to improve accuracy, scalability, efficiency, compliance, and employee experience
- Oversee payroll governance, policies, controls, audits, tax reporting, SOX compliance, and international requirements
- Partner with HR and Operations to improve workforce utilization, scheduling, overtime management, productivity, and payroll accuracy
- Lead optimization of Workday, time and attendance, payroll platforms, integrations, analytics, automation, and AI-enabled solutions
- Develop payroll and workforce technology strategies, business cases, and roadmaps with measurable outcomes
- Own payroll vendor strategy, governance, performance management, contracts, and continuous improvement
- Establish KPIs, dashboards, service levels, and workforce analytics for data-informed decisions
- Advise senior leaders on payroll trends, workforce insights, cost opportunities, regulatory risk, transformation priorities
- Build a high-performing organization through talent development and continuous improvement
- Manage the Payroll Services budget, resources, and technology investments
- Build partnerships across HR, Total Rewards, Operations, Finance, IT, Tax, Legal, Audit, and international teams
- Represent Payroll Services in enterprise workforce strategy, HR technology, AI, automation, and transformation initiatives
Key requirements- 10+ years of progressive experience in payroll, HR operations, Total Rewards, or related leadership roles
- Deep expertise in payroll operations, payroll tax and accounting, wage and hour requirements, employment law, audit controls, and SOX compliance
- Knowledge of U.S. multi-state and international payroll models, governance, vendors, and regulatory requirements
- Knowledge of workforce management, time and attendance, HRIS/ERP platforms, Workday, automation, AI, analytics, and emerging HR technologies
- Understanding of financial management, ROI, cost optimization, and performance metrics
- Bachelor's degree preferred
- Executive communication
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Strategic thinking
- Workday
- HRIS/ERP platforms
- Automation and AI-enabled solutions
