Payroll Director

Director of Payroll

Dallas, TX – hybrid, 2 days onsite/week

Compensation: $200-220K + Bonus

Full relocation assistance available.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Payroll to lead a large-scale, high-volume payroll function supporting more than 40,000 employees across multiple business units and jurisdictions. This leadership role will be responsible for overseeing end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring compliance, driving process excellence, and leading a large payroll organization within a complex enterprise environment.

The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in payroll operations, payroll compliance, workforce management, and system optimization, with demonstrated experience leading large teams in a Fortune 500 or similarly complex organization.

Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification and SAP S/4 HANA experience are required.

• Direct all aspects of end-to-end payroll processing for a workforce exceeding 40,000 employees across multiple states and business entities.
• Ensure timely, accurate, and compliant payroll execution for exempt, non-exempt, union, and salaried employees.
• Establish and monitor payroll controls, policies, procedures, and governance frameworks to mitigate risk and maintain operational excellence.
• Lead payroll calendars, processing schedules, year‑end activities, and special payroll events.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a large, geographically dispersed payroll organization consisting of managers, supervisors, and payroll professionals.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, local, and international payroll regulations, tax laws, wage and hour requirements, and company policies.
• Partner with Legal, Human Resources, Internal Audit, and Finance teams to address regulatory changes and payroll compliance matters.
• Oversee payroll tax reporting, garnishments, audits, SOX compliance requirements, and year‑end processing activities including W‑2 preparation and distribution.
• Serve as the payroll subject‑matter expert for SAP Payroll and related HRIS systems.
• Drive payroll technology enhancements, system implementations, upgrades, integrations, and automation initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve accuracy, reduce manual effort, and enhance the employee experience.
• Develop and maintain payroll metrics, KPIs, dashboards, and reporting capabilities to drive operational effectiveness.
• Ensure proper payroll accounting, reconciliations, accruals, and financial reporting support.
• Partner with Accounting and Finance leadership to maintain accurate payroll‑related balance sheet and income statement reporting.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification.
• 10+ years of progressive payroll leadership experience, including management of large‑scale payroll operations.
• Experience overseeing payroll processing for 40,000+ employees in a complex, multi‑state environment.
• Extensive experience with SAP Payroll and related payroll technologies.
• Experience with in a Fortune 500 or large publicly traded organization.
• Experience supporting shared services or centralized payroll environments.
• Background leading payroll transformation, automation, or ERP implementation initiatives.