Senior Director, Global Payroll

Long Description

The Senior Director, Global Payroll provides strategic leadership, governance, and transformation oversight for IGT’s global payroll operations supporting 6,000+ employees across the United States, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) , APAC and Latin America. This senior leadership role is responsible for establishing the global payroll strategy, driving operational excellence, ensuring multi-country compliance, and delivering a scalable, best-in-class payroll experience across all company and subsidiary entities.

Reporting as a senior leader within the organization, this role oversees a geographically distributed global payroll organization of 13 professionals and serves as the enterprise authority for payroll operations, controls, compliance, vendor governance, and payroll technology strategy. The role partners closely with Executive Leadership, HR, Finance, Legal, Tax, IT, Internal Audit, and external vendors to ensure payroll operations align with IGT’s global business objectives, compliance standards, and employee experience expectations.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in complex multi-country payroll environments, significant executive leadership experience, and a proven track record leading enterprise payroll transformation initiatives, including large-scale payroll platform implementations and migrations such as UKG/Kronos to ADP GlobalView (SAP) and ADP Celergo

Location: Las Vegas (on-site) 

Responsibilities

Global Payroll Strategy & Operational Leadership
•    Provide enterprise-wide strategic leadership for global payroll operations across the US, EMEA, APAC and Latin America.
•    Develop and execute a long-term global payroll strategy focused on operational excellence, compliance, automation, scalability, and employee experience.
•    Lead a global payroll organization of 13 professionals across multiple regions and time zones, fostering accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
•    Establish globally consistent payroll governance, standards, policies, controls, and service delivery models across all regions and subsidiary entities.
•    Ensure timely and accurate payroll processing globally utilizing ADP GlobalView (SAP), ADP Celergo, and associated payroll and time management platforms.
•    Oversee complex global payroll operations including gross-to-net processing, expatriate payroll considerations, statutory deductions, garnishments, tax services, and multi-entity payroll administration.
•    Drive operational prioritization and resource allocation across competing regional payroll cycles and business demands.

Executive Leadership, Governance & Risk Management

•    Serve as the enterprise payroll subject matter expert and strategic advisor to executive leadership regarding payroll risk, compliance, controls, and transformation initiatives.
•    Ensure compliance with all applicable payroll regulations and statutory requirements across global jurisdictions, including:
-   US federal and multi-state regulations
-   UK HMRC requirements
 -  EMEA country-specific regulations
-   APAC statutory obligations
-   Latin American labor and payroll laws
•    Establish and maintain a robust global SOX control environment, ensuring audit readiness and compliance across all payroll operations.
•    Partner with Internal Audit, Legal, Tax, and Finance leadership to proactively identify and mitigate operational, financial, regulatory, and reputational payroll risks.
•    Ensure global payroll practices comply with GDPR and applicable international data privacy and security regulations.
•    Lead governance and escalation management related to regulatory changes, payroll compliance matters, and operational risks globally.

Payroll Transformation & Technology Leadership
•    Lead enterprise payroll transformation initiatives including platform consolidations, process standardization, automation, and digital modernization efforts.
•    Direct end-to-end global payroll system implementations and migrations, including:
-    Implementation strategy
-   Vendor selection and governance
-   Data migration
-   Parallel testing
-  Cutover and stabilization
•    Serve as executive sponsor for payroll technology initiatives involving ADP GlobalView (SAP), ADP Celergo, ADP Workforce Manager Time, HRIS, and Finance integrations.
•    Partner with HRIS, IT, Finance, and external consultants to optimize integrations and data governance across payroll ecosystems.
•    Prioritize and manage competing payroll demands across regions, time zones, and business cycles — maintaining accuracy and deadlines without exception. 
•    Champion continuous improvement initiatives that enhance payroll accuracy, scalability, reporting capabilities, operational efficiency, and employee experience globally.
•    Identify, escalate, and mitigate payroll compliance risks arising from country-specific regulatory changes across EMEA, APAC, Latin America. 
•    Protect confidential employee data globally in accordance with applicable privacy regulations, including GDPR (EMEA/UK) and equivalent frameworks — non-negotiable

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Provide oversight of outsourced payroll managed-services arrangements with regional and global payroll vendors across the US, EMEA, APAC and Latin America — including SLA oversight, performance reviews, and escalation management.
• Build strategic partnerships with ADP and in-country service providers to maximize platform capabilities and resolve regional escalations.
• .Establish and manage strategic relationships with ADP and regional payroll partners, including service delivery governance, SLA management, and executive escalations.

• Collaborate with senior leaders across HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, IT, and Operations to support enterprise initiatives, organizational changes, M&A activity, and workforce expansion.
• Serve as the senior payroll representative with government agencies, regulatory bodies, external auditors, and executive leadership.
• Deliver executive-level payroll reporting, analytics, dashboards, and strategic insights to support enterprise decision-making.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing global payroll leadership team and broader payroll organization.
• Establish organizational goals, succession planning, performance management, and capability development strategies across all regions.
• Drive a culture of accountability, operational excellence, inclusion, continuous learning, and customer service.

• Recruit, hire, train, evaluate, coach, and develop direct-report payroll staff across all geographies; recommend or initiate promotions, transfers, and disciplinary actions.
• Set clear performance objectives and conduct regular reviews, accommodating cross-regional time zones and cultural dynamics.

• Promote strong cross-functional collaboration and alignment across global business stakeholders and regional payroll teams.
• Ensure payroll teams maintain exceptional responsiveness and service standards for employees and leaders globally

Model IGT's values of integrity, inclusion, and responsibility; champion a culture of continuous learning and accountability worldwide

Experience & Skills

• Extensive executive-level experience leading complex global payroll operations across multiple regions including the US, EMEA, APAC, Latin America, and the UK.
• Deep expertise with ADP GlobalView (SAP), ADP Celergo, and enterprise payroll operating models in large multinational environments.
• Proven success leading large-scale payroll transformations, platform implementations, and migrations from legacy payroll systems (e.g., UKG/Kronos to ADP).
• Strong strategic leadership capabilities with the ability to influence executive stakeholders and lead global teams within matrixed organizations.
• Advanced knowledge of global payroll compliance, statutory regulations, tax requirements, SOX controls, and audit practices.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex vendor ecosystems and outsourced payroll service delivery models globally.
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align payroll strategy to enterprise priorities and operational goals.
• Experience leading organizational change, process transformation, and operational standardization initiatives globally.
• Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously while maintaining operational excellence and compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Accounting, Finance, or related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive payroll experience, including 5-8 years of significant experience leading global payroll organizations in multinational companies.
• 5 + years of leadership experience managing large, geographically distributed payroll teams and operations.
• Required experience with ADP GlobalView (SAP) and ADP Celergo in complex global environments.

• Required: end-to-end payroll system implementation experience, including platform migrations (e.g., UKG/Kronos to ADP or equivalent).
• Demonstrated knowledge of payroll regulatory requirements across the US, EMEA, APAC, Latin America, and the UK.

• 3–5 years of experience managing geographically distributed teams; experience leading enterprise payroll system implementations and platform migrations.
• Strong understanding of global payroll compliance requirements and international labor regulations.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) and/or international payroll certifications strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting publicly traded companies and SOX-compliant environments strongly preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, reporting tools, HRIS systems, and payroll analytics platforms.