Director of Payroll- Fort Lauderdale

The Bold Side, LLC is conducting a search for an accomplished Director of Payroll to lead payroll strategy, operations, compliance, controls, technology, and continuous improvement for a growing organization in the Fort Lauderdale market.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for a payroll professional who combines deep technical expertise with strong business judgment, operational discipline, and the ability to lead people, systems, and processes in a complex environment.

The Director of Payroll will be responsible for ensuring payroll is accurate, timely, compliant, scalable, and supported by strong internal controls. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted partner to Finance, Human Resources, Benefits, Accounting, Legal, and senior leadership.

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the organization's payroll function, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing.
• Lead payroll operations across applicable employee populations, entities, locations, and jurisdictions.
• Provide functional leadership and subject-matter expertise for UKG payroll and workforce management systems
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• Leverage UKG to optimize payroll processing, reporting, workflows, controls, timekeeping, employee data, and system integrations.
• Partner with HRIS, HR, Finance, Accounting, and IT teams on UKG configurations, upgrades, integrations, testing, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and maintain payroll policies, procedures, controls, calendars, and governance standards.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage and hour, payroll tax, withholding, garnishment, and reporting requirements.
• Maintain appropriate processes for payroll tax filings, year-end reporting, W-2s, reconciliations, and other required payroll documentation.
• Partner closely with Finance and Accounting to ensure accurate payroll reconciliations, general ledger activity, accruals, reporting, and month-end/year-end close.
• Collaborate with Human Resources and Benefits regarding compensation changes, bonuses, deductions, benefits, leaves, terminations, and other payroll-impacting transactions.
• Develop and maintain strong internal controls designed to promote payroll accuracy, appropriate authorization, data integrity, and audit readiness.
• Lead payroll audits and support internal and external audit requirements.
• Identify opportunities to automate, standardize, and improve payroll processes while reducing manual work and operational risk.
• Develop payroll dashboards and KPIs measuring accuracy, timeliness, compliance, service levels, and operational effectiveness.
• Manage payroll vendors and external partners as applicable.
• Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable members of the payroll team.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex payroll matters and employee concerns.
• Protect confidential employee, compensation, payroll, banking, tax, and personally identifiable information.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related discipline preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Significant progressive payroll experience, including leadership responsibility within a complex payroll environment.
• Strong hands-on knowledge and experience with UKG payroll systems required.
• Experience utilizing UKG Pro, UKG Ready, UKG Workforce Management, or related UKG functionality highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage UKG for payroll processing, reporting, analytics, timekeeping, integrations, controls, and process optimization.
• Demonstrated knowledge of U.S. payroll practices, payroll taxes, wage and hour requirements, deductions, garnishments, and payroll controls.
• Experience managing high-volume and multi-state payroll strongly preferred.
• Experience with payroll transformation, process improvement, system implementation, integrations, or automation highly desirable.
• Strong reconciliation, analytical, auditing, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across HR, Finance, Accounting, Benefits, Legal, IT, and senior leadership.
• Strong leadership, communication,…