Director, Global Payroll Ops

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $165k - $185k

Position Summary

Under the direction of the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Finance, the Director of Global Payroll Operations drives the implementation of optimal payroll solutions across all levels and locations of the organization by maintaining and building the payroll functions to support the budget planning, expense revenue cycle, and effort planning and reporting functions. This will require assessment of the current systems, relationships and tools, development of a multi-year plan to align to best practices across industry and execution of that plan to achieve a vision of integrated payroll and effort planning globally. The Director of Global Payroll Operations will also directly manage internal systems for domestic and international level of effort (LOE) planning, salary allocation, effort management and certification, and PI expense attestation. The position will also directly manage all requirements associated with PEPFAR Human Resources for Health Reporting requirements. The Director of Global Payroll Operations will work with a team of staff who are stakeholders in the Payroll and Effort process at ICAP and will be supported by the ICAP Finance functional team for Strategic Initiatives.

Responsibilities

Payroll Landscape Assessment (20%)

• Catalogue existing payroll operations across countries, identifying vendors, payroll models, resources, and integrations.
• Analyze strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in current payroll processes.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand local payroll practices and deliver quick wins.
• Design a comprehensive global payroll strategy that aligns with regulatory requirements.
• Conduct feasibility studies for diverse payroll solutions and create a robust business case with cost-benefit analyses and risk assessments.
• Periodic assessment and recalibration as needed.

Implementation Leadership (20%)

• Develop a Strategic Plan and implementation strategy for all payroll and effort management processes at ICAP.
• Lead the selection and implementation of the best-fit payroll solution tailored to regional needs.
• Manage the end-to-end implementation process, collaborating with HR, IT, Finance, and external partners.
• Develop and execute a Change Management plan for all impacted stakeholders.

Payroll Management (40%)

• Oversee the global payroll process, ensuring timely and accurate payroll execution across multiple countries.
• Identifies opportunities for process improvement and lead the design and implementation of enhancements.
• Ensure accuracy of complex payroll calculations and oversee payroll reconciliation and variance reporting.
• Collaborate with internal teams to automate processes and improve scalability, accuracy, and data integrity.
• Ensure that country office payroll preparers and approvers are fully trained in payroll processes, development and analysis of reports.

Compliance and Effort Reporting (10%)

• Ensure compliance with all fiscal and labor laws and regulations in each country that ICAP operates.
• Prepare and submit required reports including but not limited to payroll, employer and employee tax declarations to the relevant government authorities.
• Conduct regular audits to ensure accuracy and compliance in payroll procedures.
• Partners to routinely monitor Payroll calculations for global affiliates to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
• Oversee Domestic and international effort reporting.
• For international effort reporting-develop the next iteration of how ICAP manages field office effort and manages changes and certifies on a quarterly or annual basis.
• Make quarterly adjustments to ensure compliance with planned allocations.
• Communicate changes with budget team for COB updates

Stakeholder Collaboration (10%)

• Work closely with local and global HR, Finance, local counsel, and other stakeholders to align payroll processes with organizational objectives.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for vendor management and payroll-related inquiries
• Suggest and implement appropriate corrective action in collaboration with both HQ and local Senior Management to address payroll issues as well as options for future controls.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, Human Resources, or a related field or the equivalent in education, training, and/or experience
• 5+ years in global payroll management required
• 5+ years in a management or leadership role in a global or multi-country organization preferred
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with multi-country payrolls and payroll systems.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills; strong leadership abilities; attention to detail; adaptability to changing priorities.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to listen to and also influence stakeholders at all levels.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree preferred
• 8+ years in global payroll management required
• 5+ years in a management or leadership role in a global or multi-country organization preferred
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or similar; Project Management qualifications preferred

Other Requirements

• Up to 20% international travel annually, an average 1 week in duration

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.