Payroll Director

Position Summary

The Payroll Director is responsible for leading the execution and continuous improvement of DTCC's global payroll operations. This role leads and develops a global payroll team accountable for accurate, timely, compliant, and well-controlled payroll delivery across applicable countries, jurisdictions, and payroll cycles. The Director is accountable for operational improvements, process standardization, automation, stronger controls, and effective issue resolution while partnering with Human Resources, Finance, Tax, Legal, Internal Audit, Technology, and external service providers to deliver a reliable employee payroll experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead a global payroll team to execute day-to-day payroll operations, ensuring employees are paid accurately, on time, and in compliance with applicable requirements across countries, jurisdictions, legal entities, and payroll cycles.
• Lead, coach, and develop the global payroll team, setting clear accountabilities, strengthening capabilities, and ensuring effective coverage and execution across payroll operations.
• Drive continuous improvement across payroll processes by simplifying and standardizing workflows, eliminating manual activity, improving data quality, and applying automation and AI-enabled capabilities where appropriate to improve efficiency, accuracy, controls, and the employee experience.
• Own the payroll control environment, including reconciliations, approvals, accounting interfaces, reporting, data integrity, issue remediation, business continuity, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance. Establish and monitor payroll operational and control metrics; identify root causes, resolve issues, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Lead payroll process changes from requirements through implementation and stabilization, partnering with Technology and HR teams and bringing an AI-forward mindset to identify practical opportunities for smarter, more scalable ways of working.
• Manage payroll vendors and service providers, holding them accountable for service quality, controls, timely issue resolution, and delivery of agreed improvements (ADP SmartCompliance, ADP Celergo, ADP WorkForce Manager).
• Partner with Compensation, Benefits, HR Operations, Mobility, Finance, Tax, Legal, and Technology to execute complex payroll requirements, including executive compensation, incentives, deferred compensation, benefits, leaves, mobility, and employee lifecycle events.
• Maintain clear payroll policies, procedures, process documentation, and operating controls to support consistent execution, compliance, and knowledge continuity.
• Serve as the payroll subject matter expert for senior leaders and cross-functional partners, providing practical guidance on payroll operations, risk, regulatory developments, and complex issues.
• Lead payroll responses to internal and external audits and regulatory reviews, ensuring timely, accurate responses and completion of remediation actions.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years of related experience, including significant payroll leadership responsibility.
• Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent experience.
• Extensive payroll leadership experience in a large, complex, highly controlled, or regulated organization, with hands-on accountability for global or multi-jurisdiction payroll delivery.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a global payroll team and strengthening operational capability through change.
• Deep knowledge of payroll operations, payroll tax, wage and hour requirements, accounting and reconciliations, statutory compliance, and payroll controls.
• Proven experience driving payroll process improvement, standardization, automation, and system implementations or integrations, with curiosity and an AI-forward mindset to evaluate and adopt emerging capabilities that improve payroll operations.
• Strong understanding of payroll implications across compensation, incentives, deferred compensation, benefits, mobility, leaves, and employee lifecycle events.
• Experience managing third-party payroll providers and driving service, control, and operational improvements.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes, assess risk, and implement sustainable solutions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to explain complex payroll matters to employees, senior leaders, auditors, regulators, and cross-functional partners.
• High degree of integrity and discretion when handling confidential payroll, compensation, tax, and employee information.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or comparable payroll certification is preferred; global payroll certification is a plus.
• Prior experience with Oracle Fusion is not required, but it is preferred.