Senior Director, Payroll

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership
• Design and execute the overall payroll strategy for the newly independent company, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and scalability.
• Build and lead the payroll team, including hiring, structure, responsibilities, and performance management.
• Serve as a key leader in the organization’s separation activities, leading payroll carve-out planning, execution, and stabilization.
• Operational Ownership
• Oversee end-to-end payroll operations for all U.S. employees in a multi-state environment, ensuring timely and accurate processing.
• Direct management of an outsourced payroll processing model; establish strong SLAs, KPIs, and governance routines with external partners.
• Partner closely with Accounting on critical areas including payroll-related accruals, GL reconciliations, journal entries, and compliance with SOX controls.
• Technology & Integration
• Lead the payroll workstream in the implementation of Dayforce, including system configuration, testing, integration, and go-live.
• Partner with HR, IT, Finance, and external consultants to ensure successful HCM deployment and stable post-implementation operations.
• Drive automation and process optimization through system capabilities and thoughtful design.
• Compliance & Controls
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local wage and hour laws, tax requirements, and reporting obligations.
• Develop and maintain internal controls required for a public company environment; partner closely with Internal Audit and external auditors.
• Manage relationships with regulatory agencies, tax authorities, and jurisdictional entities as needed.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with HR/Total Rewards, Accounting, Benefits, Legal, and external advisors to support business needs and corporate initiatives.
• Provide payroll insights for financial planning, forecasting, and analysis.
• Act as an escalation point for complex payroll matters, employee issues, or executive inquiries.

Minimum Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience. Typically requires 13+ years of professional experience and 6+ years of diversified leadership, planning, communication, organization, and people motivation skills (or equivalent experience).
• Prior experience leading payroll for a public company or an organization with strong SOX requirements.
• Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
• Experience leading or significantly contributing to an HCM or payroll system implementation, ideally Dayforce.
• Proven success managing outsourced payroll service models.
• Strong technical acumen, including payroll accounting, systems integration, and internal controls.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Key Qualifications

• 13+ years of progressive payroll leadership experience in a large, complex, multi-state organization.
• Prior experience leading payroll for a public company or an organization with strong SOX requirements.
• Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
• Experience leading or significantly contributing to an HCM or payroll system implementation, ideally Dayforce.
• Proven success managing outsourced payroll service models.
• Strong technical acumen, including payroll accounting, systems integration, and internal controls.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.