Director, U.S. Payroll Operations

Fresenius Medical Care•Waltham, MA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position directs the activities of multiple tightly integrated teams within the U.S. Payroll department responsible for paying over 60,000 employees. The position is responsible for directing the following teams and activities: (1) processing team which provides daily support to all our employees in preparation for each payroll cycle; (2) systems operations team which is responsible for all payroll job scheduling and execution, table maintenance, system testing, and systems development, process improvement and system optimization; and (3) tax team which takes ownership for all payroll tax related matters including filings, payments and audits. Direct a staff responsible for the core processing activities required to prepare for each payroll cycle. This includes employee file maintenance, reviewing audit reports, providing daily support to the field for both PeopleSoft and Kronos, processing special payment requests, and handling daily off-cycle (manual) check requests. Responsible for coordinating all expatriate and inpatriate activity. Direct a staff responsible for the planning, scheduling, coordination, and execution of all payroll system processes in both the Workday HR/Payroll and Kronos applications. Direct a staff responsible for the processing, filing, and funding of payroll taxes in collaboration with ADP Direct the execution of all payroll project and enterprise-wide initiatives, including working with the payroll management team to establish appropriate priorities. Work closely with IT to monitor the progress of all Quality Center requests and provide support and guidance to IT. Ensure project documentation and deliverables conform to process standards and meet business and operational requirements. Direct testing activities to ensure systems operate according to specification. Monitor project work plans and timelines. In coordination with IT and other payroll personnel, direct all payroll systems development and implementation, including upgrades, updates, and applying patches. Direct implementation of new technology and oversee new functionality development while providing recommendations on production implementation. Coach, lead, and focus on staff development. Encourage team participation in developing and implementing enhancements to methods and procedures and by sharing ideas with others. Ensure team members are kept informed of best practices and processing efficiencies. Assess training requirements and develop and conduct training sessions to ensure that all team members are consistently and continuously trained in PeopleSoft, Kronos, and other key applications. Ensure existing documentation is accurate and up-to-date. Oversee that appropriate training is conducted for all new team members. Work with GBS HR RUN Lead to define and develop the department's long-term strategic goals in coordination with the company’s objectives. Establish annual payroll operational goals and objectives and provide continuous feedback on progress. Identify opportunities for process improvement including cost reduction. Promote standardization and best practices across all business segments. Present business case for implementing solutions. Negotiate with outside vendors as needed. Help to resolve payroll issues escalated by team members. Position requires a thorough and detailed understanding of the daily activities of the processing and systems operations teams in order to provide guidance, assistance, and direction. Incumbent must be able to fulfill the job duties of the direct staff, as needed. Ensure appropriate backup coverage by reacting to planned and unplanned absences. Assist in developing, maintaining, and coordinating emergency backup and evacuation plans in order to minimize any critical impact on production activities. Apply quality improvement techniques by utilizing data measurement to identify root cause and implement corrective action in areas where improvement is needed. Conduct statistical reporting to provide feedback to management and field personnel. Oversee HR Employee Service Center (ESC) issues that escalate to a tier-2 payroll level through the case management software. Ensure that payroll personnel are responding to and closing all cases in a timely manner. Identify trends in cases requiring tier-2 payroll support and work with ESC personnel to assess whether certain activity could be handled by tier-1 support. Assist with additional payroll training for ESC team members as needed. Identify opportunities to improve the level of payroll customer service to all employees. Analyze case management data and processes, conduct periodic surveys, form focus groups, and benchmark best practices. Work with business management to ensure that Payroll receives paperwork and time data timely and accurately. Maintain close interaction with key personnel in other areas of the organization. Participate in special projects as needed, including planning for acquisition activity. Initiate quality assurance measures by developing tools to perform periodic database audits to ensure validity of employee data. Assist in responding to all internal and external audit reviews. Ensure that established policies and procedures are followed by the Payroll team members by conducting monthly random reviews. Oversee the maintenance of payroll content on the HR Employee Service Center portal and Company intranet. Assist in defining Payroll’s Standard Operating Policies & Procedures (SOP&Ps), including documenting, implementing, and enforcing those SOP&Ps. Develop, document, implement, and comply with all defined Sarbanes Oxley key and other internal controls. Comply with all departmental objectives, government regulations, and company policies. Other duties as assigned. Additional responsibilities may include focus on one or more departments or locations. See applicable addendum for department or location specific functions.

Requirements

10+ years of Payroll experience, including managing projects in a large organization (5,000 employees or more).
5+ years supervisory experience, preferably supervising at least 3 people.
Strong knowledge of payroll concepts and processes.
Strong understanding and working knowledge of the Workday HR/Payroll application.
Strong working knowledge of the Kronos timekeeping system.
Basic understanding of the general ledger and payroll taxes in a multi-state environment.
Strong knowledge and comfort with systems applications, including advanced functionality with Microsoft Office.
Proven ability to identify problems and take initiative to implement corrective action.
Ability to continuously think of ways to perform job duties more efficiently and effectively.
Exceptional communication, organizational, customer service, interpersonal and analytical skills.
Experience in a high volume and multifaceted environment is required with the ability to meet deadlines.
Strong focus on controls and adherence to all established policies and procedures.
Must be able to work as needed, including all days of the week, in order to be available and provide assistance to all team members.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business Administration is preferred.
Certified Payroll Professional Certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

Directs the activities of multiple tightly integrated teams within the U.S. Payroll department responsible for paying over 60,000 employees.
Directs the processing team which provides daily support to all employees in preparation for each payroll cycle.
Directs the systems operations team responsible for all payroll job scheduling and execution, table maintenance, system testing, systems development, process improvement, and system optimization.
Directs the tax team responsible for all payroll tax related matters including filings, payments, and audits.
Directs a staff responsible for core processing activities including employee file maintenance, reviewing audit reports, providing daily support for PeopleSoft and Kronos, processing special payment requests, and handling daily off-cycle check requests.
Coordinates all expatriate and inpatriate activity.
Directs a staff responsible for the planning, scheduling, coordination, and execution of all payroll system processes in Workday HR/Payroll and Kronos applications.
Directs a staff responsible for the processing, filing, and funding of payroll taxes in collaboration with ADP.
Directs the execution of all payroll project and enterprise-wide initiatives, establishing appropriate priorities with the payroll management team.
Works closely with IT to monitor the progress of all Quality Center requests, providing support and guidance.
Ensures project documentation and deliverables conform to process standards and meet business and operational requirements.
Directs testing activities to ensure systems operate according to specification.
Monitors project work plans and timelines.
In coordination with IT and other payroll personnel, directs all payroll systems development and implementation, including upgrades, updates, and applying patches.
Directs implementation of new technology and oversees new functionality development, providing recommendations on production implementation.
Coaches, leads, and focuses on staff development.
Encourages team participation in developing and implementing enhancements to methods and procedures.
Ensures team members are kept informed of best practices and processing efficiencies.
Assesses training requirements and develops and conducts training sessions for team members on PeopleSoft, Kronos, and other key applications.
Ensures existing documentation is accurate and up-to-date.
Oversees appropriate training for all new team members.
Works with GBS HR RUN Lead to define and develop the department's long-term strategic goals in coordination with company objectives.
Establishes annual payroll operational goals and objectives and provides continuous feedback on progress.
Identifies opportunities for process improvement, including cost reduction.
Promotes standardization and best practices across all business segments.
Presents business cases for implementing solutions.
Negotiates with outside vendors as needed.
Helps to resolve payroll issues escalated by team members.
Ensures appropriate backup coverage by reacting to planned and unplanned absences.
Assists in developing, maintaining, and coordinating emergency backup and evacuation plans.
Applies quality improvement techniques by utilizing data measurement to identify root cause and implement corrective action.
Conducts statistical reporting to provide feedback to management and field personnel.
Oversees HR Employee Service Center (ESC) issues escalated to a tier-2 payroll level through case management software.
Ensures payroll personnel respond to and close all cases in a timely manner.
Identifies trends in cases requiring tier-2 payroll support and works with ESC personnel to assess tier-1 support capabilities.
Assists with additional payroll training for ESC team members as needed.
Identifies opportunities to improve payroll customer service to all employees.
Analyzes case management data and processes, conducts periodic surveys, forms focus groups, and benchmarks best practices.
Works with business management to ensure Payroll receives paperwork and time data timely and accurately.
Maintains close interaction with key personnel in other areas of the organization.
Participates in special projects as needed, including planning for acquisition activity.
Initiates quality assurance measures by developing tools for periodic database audits.
Assists in responding to all internal and external audit reviews.
Ensures established policies and procedures are followed by Payroll team members through monthly random reviews.
Oversees the maintenance of payroll content on the HR Employee Service Center portal and Company intranet.
Assists in defining Payroll’s Standard Operating Policies & Procedures (SOP&Ps), including documenting, implementing, and enforcing them.
Develops, documents, implements, and complies with all defined Sarbanes Oxley key and other internal controls.
Complies with all departmental objectives, government regulations, and company policies.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Focuses on one or more departments or locations as applicable.