Sr Director, Payroll

$156,200 - $260,400/Yr

Cox Automotive - Atlanta, GA

Full-time - Senior

Atlanta, GA

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers

About the position

The Sr. Director, Payroll is responsible for providing global oversight and strategic direction for the Payroll and Payroll Tax and Compliance function at Cox Enterprises. This role involves leading the payroll teams, ensuring compliance with payroll regulations, and driving payroll transformation initiatives to standardize and automate processes. The position requires collaboration with various stakeholders and offers a high level of visibility within the organization.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and direct all aspects of payroll operations, payroll tax compliance, and payroll system management.
• Develop payroll strategy aligned with the company's goals and objectives, ensuring process efficiency and scalability.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a payroll team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (HR, Finance, Legal, IBT) to align payroll processes with organizational needs.
• Partner with external vendors (payroll service providers) to ensure best-in-class payroll operations and compliance.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) on payroll processes, payroll taxes, and regulatory changes affecting payroll.
• Ensure timely and accurate payroll processing for all employees, including hourly, salaried, and commission-based workers across multiple states or countries.
• Ensure the organization's payroll policies and procedures are compliant with federal, state, and local laws.
• Monitor payroll trends and industry standards to recommend and implement improvements or enhancements to payroll processes.
• Oversee the integration and coordination of payroll with HR Technology and financial systems, ensuring data integrity and accurate reporting.
• Manage complex payroll scenarios such as expatriate payrolls, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) payroll transitions, and payroll system implementations or upgrades.
• Ensure compliance with all payroll tax requirements, including withholding, filing, and remittance of payroll taxes (federal, state, and local).
• Monitor changes in tax legislation, ensuring the organization remains compliant and adapting systems as needed.
• Manage all tax-related audits, working closely with external auditors and internal teams.
• Oversee the preparation and filing of all quarterly and annual payroll tax reports (e.g., W-2, 1099, 941, 940, state unemployment taxes).
• Ensure payroll compliance with wage and hour laws (FLSA), overtime rules, garnishments, and other legal requirements.
• Maintain accurate and detailed records for audits and compliance reviews.
• Lead payroll technology initiatives, including the implementation and upgrades of payroll systems and software.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, identifying inefficiencies, reducing errors, and optimizing the end-to-end payroll process.
• Oversee the automation of payroll processes where applicable to reduce manual intervention and increase accuracy.
• Ensure robust data security practices are followed in payroll processing, especially in regard to personally identifiable information (PII).
• Prepare payroll-related reports for senior leadership, including variance analysis, cost forecasts, and regulatory updates.
• Provide regular updates on payroll performance metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Lead efforts to provide analytical insights on payroll costs, compliance issues, and trends impacting the business.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for escalated payroll inquiries from employees and management.
• Partner with HR and finance leadership to develop compensation structures and policies that align with payroll best practices.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure smooth payroll operations and compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Accounting, Finance, or other business-related degree.
• 12+ years of payroll and payroll tax experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with leading a payroll and payroll tax team in an integrated Workday environment.
• Advanced knowledge of Tax and Labor rules and regulations.
• Executive relationship management expertise.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP).
• MBA or Master's Degree is a plus.
• Global payroll management in a shared service and/or matrixed environment is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated capacity to manage an operational function with customer service orientation.
• Strategic mindset with a willingness to be hands on as required.

Benefits

• Flexible vacation policy allowing employees to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties.
• Seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members.
• Additional paid time off for bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, parental leave, and COVID-19 vaccination leave.