Director, People (Payroll)

WelbeHealth•Remote, CA, USA, CA

6d•$159,939 - $211,120

About The Position

The Director, Payroll is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational management, and continuous improvement of payroll operations across WelbeHealth. This role oversees end-to-end payroll administration for a growing multi-entity, multi-state organization and ensures payroll processes, systems, controls, and compliance programs scale effectively with organizational growth. The Payroll Director serves as a key cross-functional leader and partner to HR, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Benefits, and external vendors to ensure accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll operations. This role will lead payroll process modernization initiatives, support enterprise systems and operational transformation efforts, and establish scalable infrastructure to support continued organizational expansion. The Payroll Director is a member of the People leadership team and fosters collaborative relationships across the organization and with external stakeholders to promote WelbeHealth values, culture, and mission. The Director will work closely with all levels of team members within the People Team, across central and within markets. This includes executives, market leaders and WelbeHealth leaders and team members. Key stakeholders include: Legal, Compliance, Quality, Analytics, Finance and all aspects of WelbeHealth leadership. This role reports to the VP, People Operations & Rewards and is responsible for approximately 1-5 team members. This role is different because the Director, People (Payroll) at WelbeHealth: Leads the strategic evolution of payroll for a rapidly growing, multi-state organization, building scalable processes, controls, and infrastructure that support an increasingly complex workforce while ensuring accuracy, compliance, and an exceptional team member experience. Plays a critical leadership role in payroll transformation and modernization, leveraging deep payroll expertise and Workday implementation experience to streamline operations, automate manual processes, strengthen compliance, and prepare the organization for continued growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or related field required; CPP Certification is strongly preferred
Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive payroll experience, including leadership responsibility within complex, multi-state organizations
Minimum of three (3) years leading payroll teams in a manager, senior manager, or director level capacity
Demonstrated experience leading or playing a significant leadership role in a Workday implementation and must have strong knowledge of Workday HCM and related modules such as payroll, benefits, time tracking, absence, recruiting, talent and performance, learning, and engagement tools
Experience in the healthcare industry is strongly preferred, with appreciation for compliance, workforce complexity, and operational realities in a regulated care environment
Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations and wage and hour compliance requirements, including California labor laws; Experience supporting payroll operations within a high-growth, multi-entity environment
Experience leading payroll process transformation, systems implementations, integrations, or operational modernization initiatives; Strong experience with payroll systems configuration, testing, process mapping, and vendor management

Nice To Haves

CPP Certification is strongly preferred
Experience in the healthcare industry is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Lead all payroll operations for a multi-entity, multi-state organization, ensuring accurate and timely processing of payroll, taxes, deductions, garnishments, off-cycle payments, and related activities
Develop and execute payroll strategy, policies, controls, and scalable operational processes to support organizational growth and evolving business complexity
Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations, wage and hour laws, and reporting requirements, including complex multi-state compliance obligations
Serve as the organizational subject matter expert for payroll operations, compliance, audits, and payroll systems
Lead payroll-related systems initiatives, including implementation support, process redesign, integrations, testing, vendor management, and operational optimization
Partner cross-functionally with HR technology, Finance, Accounting, Benefits, Legal, and external service providers to ensure alignment of payroll operations and enterprise processes
Oversee payroll audits, reconciliations, quarter-end and year-end processes, including W-2 review and approval; Establish and maintain payroll controls, reporting, documentation, and governance practices to minimize organizational risk and ensure audit readiness