Partner- Payroll Ops and Processing Projects

Overview

This role serves as a principal payroll functional expert responsible for leading strategic and enterprise payroll projects and transformation initiatives to optimize payroll operations, systems, and controls. The position partners with Payroll, HRIS, HR, Finance, IT, Total Rewards, and Operations leaders to translate organizational priorities into scalable payroll solutions that improve accuracy, compliance, efficiency, stakeholder experience, and operational readiness.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Payroll, HRIS, HR, IT, and business leaders as a payroll subject matter expert on strategic initiatives, ensuring payroll requirements, business rules, handoffs, downstream impacts, and employee experience considerations are incorporated into planning and execution.
• Advance HR and enterprise priorities by aligning payroll requirements, analyzing data and stakeholder feedback, assessing operational impacts, and recommending scalable improvements that drive operational excellence, compliance, and long-term sustainability.
• Evaluate and optimize payroll processes, systems, controls, workflows, integrations, and reporting to improve accuracy, compliance, efficiency, standardization, risk reduction, and stakeholder experience.
• Collaborate with HRIS and technology partners to translate payroll business needs into system requirements, configuration considerations, testing scenarios, and operational procedures.
• Oversee project planning, timeline development, milestone tracking, issue identification, and risk escalation for payroll-related initiatives and HR priorities.
• Establish and lead governance routines, workstream meetings, stakeholder updates, decision documentation, and status reporting to drive accountability and transparency.
• Develop, maintain, and improve payroll process documentation, standard operating procedures, test scripts, job aids, training materials, and control documentation.
• Oversee data readiness, mapping, validation, reconciliation, and quality assurance activities for payroll-related projects, system changes, integrations, and process improvement.
• Define and lead payroll testing strategies, including User Acceptance Testing (UAT), regression testing, calculation validation, and implementation readiness activities to ensure payroll processes and calculations function as intended.
• Lead change management and adoption activities to ensure stakeholders understand payroll process changes, system impacts, roles, responsibilities, and timing.
• Monitor post-implementation outcomes, assist with stabilization activities, identify root causes of issues, and recommend corrective actions or enhancements.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of payroll operations, payroll processing, payroll controls, HRIS dependencies, time and attendance, employee data, and related HR processes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic initiatives, process improvement efforts, system enhancements, and cross-functional projects in a complex organization.
• Ability to translate payroll requirements into practical business processes, system considerations, documentation, testing scenarios, and operational recommendations.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills with the ability to identify root causes, evaluate options, and recommend scalable solutions.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and facilitation skills with the ability to engage payroll, HRIS, HR, Finance, IT, Operations, and leadership stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage confidential payroll and employee data with a high degree of integrity, discretion, and compliance awareness.
• Ability to organize work, manage competing priorities, track deliverables, and lead multiple initiatives with attention to detail and follow-through.
• Experience supporting process standardization, automation, governance, documentation, controls, reporting, or operational readiness activities.
• Ability to influence without direct authority, build trust with cross-functional partners, and guide decision-making through clear analysis and recommendations.
• Comfort working in a changing environment and supporting transformation efforts that improve payroll accuracy, efficiency, compliance, and employee experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Information Systems, or related field required.
• Minimum 8 years of payroll, HR operations, HRIS, or related business process experience required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading payroll transformation, HRIS projects, payroll system enhancements, time and attendance initiatives, or other cross-functional HR/payroll initiatives.
• Experience in a multi-state, multi-entity, high-volume payroll environment.
• Payroll certification or relevant professional certification.

Compensation & Benefits

• Highly competitive salary.
• Comprehensive benefits package, including: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability, Healthcare FSA, Dependent Care FSA, Limited Healthcare FSA, FSAs for Transportation and Parking & HSAs, and HSAs.
• Paid time off, including 9 observed holidays and paid family leave.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) accrues each pay period; depending on position, employees can earn a minimum of 20 days and up to 25 days per calendar year.

Location

• United States

Additional Information

• Job Identification: 1870
• Job Category: N-Exempt Staff General
• Job Schedule: Full time
• Posting Date: 2026-10-23T23:56:47+00:00

E-Verify / Equal Opportunity

Employment eligibility will be confirmed through E-Verify for newly hired employees.

Equal Opportunity Employer.