Senior Manager Payroll

About the role

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. This role supports a multi-year technology development and implementation project, backfilling leaders and subject matter experts to maintain day-to-day accounting and finance activities. The Payroll Senior Manager will lead global payroll operations, overseeing U.S. payroll processing through Oracle EBS, payroll administration across 10 international countries using third-party providers, and management of the Oracle Time & Labor (OTL) platform for payroll processing and project accounting.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day oversight of teams performing U.S. Payroll, U.S. Payroll Tax, International Payrolls, and Oracle Time & Labor (OTL).
• Assist in determining and implementing the strategic vision for Payroll teams, processes, and related systems, including OTL.
• Build high-performing and resilient teams that achieve results with professionalism, collaboration, and trust.
• Maintain clarity in team roles, responsibilities, and expected results, with key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate outcomes.
• Develop desktop procedures and cross-training for key recurring duties to ensure resiliency and avoid over-reliance on a single resource.
• Lead HDR through payroll challenges, including mobile workforce, technology adoption, internal controls, and emerging topics.
• Assess and communicate the impact of ERP defects to impacted teams and stakeholders, providing prioritization input to the HDR ERP team.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers.
• Oversee the timely and accurate integration of payroll processes for globally acquired firms.
• Lead staff professional development, including technical and regulatory requirements for payroll, payroll tax, and wage & hour laws.
• Provide candid and constructive feedback to staff and peers.
• Maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders in HR, Compensation & Benefits, Accounting, ERP Team, Treasury, and Tax.
• Manage key third-party vendor relationships and performance, including international payroll providers and ADP.
• Maintain documented quality control checks and segregation of duties for payroll processing, including payroll handled by third-party systems.

Requirements

• 10+ years of accounting and/or business experience, preferably in Payroll.
• Previous experience managing payroll within a global organization, preferably in a professional services environment.
• At least 5 years of proven supervisory experience demonstrating team leadership, communication, and customer service.
• Strong business and management skills: organization, time management, critical thinking, risk mitigation, decision-making, and relationship building.
• Leadership skills: emotional intelligence, effective communication, coaching, problem-solving, conflict resolution, delegation, talent management, and team-building.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence, motivate, and clearly convey ideas.
• Ability to make decisions aligned with the organization’s vision, direction, and long-term strategy.
• High initiative with the ability to work extended hours, meet tight deadlines, and maintain high-quality standards under pressure.
• Ability to research root causes of problems and collaborate on lasting process improvements.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.

Qualifications

• Required: A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience.
• Preferred:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Business.
  • Experience with a global ERP system.
  • Experience performing system implementations and enhancements.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
  • Local candidates preferred.
  • Experience with time, labor, and project costing is a plus.

Benefits

As employee-owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected, and empowered. Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) foster a sense of belonging and provide a supportive environment for engagement and contribution. Each group has an executive sponsorship and is open to all employees.

Schedule

Full-time.

Location

United States-Nebraska-Omaha.