Sr. Payroll Director

We are looking for an experienced Sr. Payroll Director to lead payroll operations for a large, multi-state workforce in Charlotte, North Carolina. This role oversees accurate and timely bi-monthly payroll processing, strengthens compliance practices, and drives improvements across payroll systems and workflows. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in enterprise payroll leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and optimization of HRIS and timekeeping environments.

Responsibilities:

• Direct end-to-end payroll operations for a workforce of about 2,000 FTEs + a large seasonal workforce, ensuring accurate and timely bi-monthly processing across multiple states.
• Establish and maintain payroll controls, audits, and review procedures to support compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Lead the administration and optimization of Workday and partner with internal teams on payroll-related HRIS and ERP functionality.
• Oversee payroll data integrity by coordinating information from timekeeping, HR, benefits, and finance systems.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that simplify payroll workflows, enhance reporting accuracy, and reduce processing issues.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, and other business partners to resolve payroll discrepancies, support planning, and improve service delivery.
• Provide leadership for payroll system enhancements and implementation efforts involving Workday HRIS, Workday Payroll, Workday ERP, and related platforms.
• Monitor tax filings, deductions, garnishments, and year-end payroll activities to ensure complete and compliant payroll administration.
• Extensive experience leading full-cycle payroll operations in a manager or director-level capacity.
• Proven success managing multi-state payroll for employee populations exceeding 2,000 individuals.
• Strong working knowledge of Workday in a high-volume payroll environment.
• Experience overseeing bi-monthly payroll schedules with a high degree of accuracy and accountability.
• Familiarity with Workday HRIS, Workday Payroll, Workday ERP, and integrated timekeeping systems.
• Understanding of payroll taxation, wage and hour compliance, deductions, and related regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to identify process improvement opportunities and implement more efficient payroll practices.
• Experience supporting HRIS or payroll system implementations and cross-functional system integrations.