Director, U.S. HR Operations

Galderma•Boston, MA

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Galderma is seeking a U.S. HR Operations Lead to manage the operational aspects of its U.S. HR department. This role is crucial for ensuring HR processes, systems, and policies are efficient, compliant, and aligned with strategic goals. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in HR operations, leadership skills, and a deep understanding of employment laws, best practices, and payroll fundamentals. The role involves streamlining HR processes, managing HR systems, and ensuring a seamless employee experience, working closely with HR leaders and cross-functional teams to drive operational excellence and support growth. This position requires a proactive, detail-oriented professional who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution. Responsibilities include developing, maintaining, and optimizing end-to-end HR cycle processes at the country level, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and alignment with business objectives. This encompasses employee lifecycle management, payroll, and process standardization to enhance employee experience and operational effectiveness. The role also oversees HR and payroll administration, ensuring alignment with U.S. regulatory requirements, managing third-party payroll vendors (Ceridian, ADP), and partnering cross-functionally to support Workday implementation and integration with payroll providers, ensuring tax compliance, mitigated risk, and high-quality payroll operations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field required.
Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in HR operations, payroll management, and shared services roles, preferably in a publicly listed company and critical experience in smaller startup-like dynamic environments.
Proven experience leading HR Operations in a scaling or evolving environment, with the ability to build and standardize processes, clarify ownership, and drive accountability across cross-functional teams.
Strong knowledge of payroll processes, including balanced knowledge of federal, state, and local tax compliance requirements, including IRS regulations related to payroll tax treatment, reporting, and audit compliance.
Experience with managing internal teams as well as outsourced managed services teams.
Proficiency in process improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma or Lean, with a track record of driving operational efficiencies.
Demonstrated expertise in HR systems and implementations.
Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Strong experience in transformation / change management in a multi country / cultural environment, including process re-engineering and end-to-end processes simplification.
Experience leading and developing high-performing teams in a matrixed environment.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with attention to detail and accuracy.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
Fluency in English.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.
Proficiency in French is ideal.
Spanish highly desirable.
Any other language is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the HR Operations and Payroll team, driving a collaborative, high-performance culture.
Oversee core HR processes (onboarding, offboarding, data management) with a focus on accuracy, consistency, and scalability.
Standardize and document HR workflows, partnering cross-functionally to improve service delivery and employee experience.
Manage U.S. payroll operations, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely processing with strong controls and audit readiness.
Drive payroll process improvements, automation, reporting enhancements, and vendor performance optimization.
Oversee outsourced payroll providers, ensuring SLA adherence, issue resolution, and cost-effective service delivery.
Lead Workday process implementation, optimization, troubleshooting, and data integrity efforts across HR and IT.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations, updating policies as requirements evolve.
Lead strategic HR and payroll projects, including system enhancements and global service model expansion.
Develop and maintain reporting and analytics for payroll, HR metrics, and service performance insights.
Manage Workday end-user support and the HR help desk, ensuring timely issue resolution and employee training.
Strengthen internal controls, reconciliations, and cross-functional audits to ensure financial accuracy and operational compliance.