Director of Payroll

Milwaukee County • Milwaukee, WI

4d

About The Position

Milwaukee County is searching for authentic people who are out to change the game and bring their whole selves to work every day.
Miwaukee County is seeking a strategic, county-wide payroll leader to serve as Director of Payroll. This senior leadership role is responsible for overseeing payroll operations for a large, complex, and diverse public-sector workforce while establishing strong governance, documented procedures, and risk management practices that ensure accuracy, compliance, and continuity.
Reporting to the Milwaukee County Comptroller, the Director provides vision and leadership for payroll strategy, workforce system optimization, and operational excellence, with a strong emphasis on communication, transparency, and stakeholder trust.
As a strategic leader, the Director will move beyond day-to-day payroll execution to focus on long-term planning, risk mitigation, and sustainability. This role owns payroll governance and serves as the County’s authority on payroll policy, internal controls, and the Dayforce payroll and workforce management system.
The Director works closely with executive leadership, Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Labor Relations, unions, and external auditors, requiring exceptional communication skills and the ability to explain complex payroll and system issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Public Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related field required
• 5+ years of senior payroll leadership experience required
• 5+ years of supervisory or management experience required
• Proven strategic payroll leader with experience operating at an enterprise level
• Demonstrated strength in risk management, internal controls, and compliance governance
• Track record of building and maintaining well-documented procedures that support consistency and business continuity
• Exceptionally strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence and build trust across diverse stakeholders
• Experience leading payroll systems or enterprise HRIS platforms (Dayforce, Workday, Infor, or similar)
• Confident leader in complex, regulated, and unionized environments

Nice To Haves

• Public-sector and/or unionized workforce experience
• Experience applying collective bargaining agreements and civil service rules

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and executive oversight of end-to-end payroll operations
• Ensure payroll accuracy, timeliness, and compliance while proactively identifying and mitigating operational and compliance risks
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve documented payroll procedures, internal controls, and governance standards
• Lead payroll staff through clear expectations, coaching, and professional development
• Serve as executive owner of the Dayforce Payroll and workforce management system, including configuration, upgrades, testing, and long-term governance
• Drive process improvement, automation, and standardization to reduce risk and increase efficiency
• Communicate payroll policies, system changes, and impacts clearly to departments, leadership, and employee groups
• Represent payroll in audits, regulatory reviews, and cross-functional leadership forums

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager