Director Payroll Support

Job Summary (List Format) Director, Payroll Applications & Technology

- Accountable for the strategy, reliability, and modernization of payroll application ecosystems for North America.
- Develops and executes multi-year technology roadmaps for payroll and workforce management systems (e.g., Infor WFM, UKG Payroll).
- Sets technology strategy and investment priorities to ensure reliability, modernization, and improved user experience.
- Oversees technical health, solution standards, and secure integrations with systems such as Workday, SAP Finance, and banking/tax platforms.
- Provides senior technical leadership for complex production issues, incident management, and root cause analysis.
- Leads teams in diagnosing, resolving, and preventing production issues using data-driven, evidence-based methods.
- Ensures sustainable solutions replace temporary workarounds and maintains high standards during payroll cycles, releases, and cutovers.
- Leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing payroll technology team, fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Implements training, coaching, and succession planning to build durable internal capabilities.
- Utilizes effective sourcing strategies to address capacity and capability gaps, balancing internal and external resources.
- Drives successful payroll technology projects and operational initiatives using Agile and best-fit delivery practices.
- Partners with cross-functional stakeholders (Payroll Operations, HR IT, Finance, Security, Audit, etc.) to ensure alignment and effective delivery.
- Communicates executive-ready updates on service health, risks, incidents, delivery, and priorities.
- Manages technology budgets, vendor contracts, service levels, and performance, ensuring outcomes are met.
- Maintains compliance with payroll regulations, tax laws, collective bargaining agreements, SOX, data privacy, and audit controls.
- Ensures thorough technical documentation, testing evidence, change controls, and audit-ready records are maintained.

Minimum and Preferred Qualifications Summary:

- 10+ years' experience in payroll, HRIS, or workforce management technology roles, with leadership in production environments.
- Hands-on experience with payroll/workforce platforms, integrations, troubleshooting, and complex incident resolution.
- Deep understanding of U.S. and Canadian payroll, including regulatory and union/non-union requirements.
- Proven leadership of technical teams and vendor management with clear accountability.
- Strong budget management and stakeholder communication skills.
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (or equivalent experience).
- Preferred: Experience with Infor WFM, UKG Payroll, Workday, SAP Finance, Cognos, Power BI, SQL, advanced Excel, and Agile/ITIL/project management certifications.
- Experience with automation, analytics, AI tools, and delivering large-scale payroll technology projects.