Director of Payroll
R1 • Remote • Full Time • $111,079–$147,768 / year
Posted on Wed, Sep 30, 2026
We are seeking a strategic and transformational Director of Payroll to lead enterprise payroll operations for a large, complex workforce. This role is responsible for payroll strategy, governance, compliance, technology, vendor management, and operational excellence while ensuring an exceptional employee experience.
As a trusted advisor to senior leadership, you will partner across HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and HR Technology to drive modernization, mitigate risk, strengthen controls, and deliver a scalable payroll function that supports long-term business growth.
Here’s what you will experience working as a Director of Payroll:
- Establish and execute the enterprise payroll strategy, operating model, governance framework, and multi-year transformation roadmap supporting organizational growth and workforce objectives.
- Serve as the executive leader accountable for accurate, compliant, resilient, and scalable payroll delivery across a large, complex, multi-state workforce.
- Provide strategic oversight of payroll governance, regulatory compliance, tax operations, SOX controls, audits, enterprise risk management, and financial stewardship.
- Lead the modernization of payroll capabilities through technology innovation, automation, data governance, process standardization, and optimization of the Workday ecosystem.
- Build and develop a high-performing payroll organization, leading through managers and senior professionals while strengthening leadership capability and succession readiness.
- Direct strategic vendor partnerships and governance programs to optimize service delivery, compliance outcomes, operational performance, and business value.
- Advise executive stakeholders on payroll-related risks, workforce impacts, compliance matters, transformation priorities, and investment decisions.
- Lead payroll strategy and integration efforts for enterprise initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, organizational restructuring, geographic expansion, shared services evolution, and business transformation.
- CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) certification preferred.
Required Skills:
- Bachelor's - Equivalent experience will be considered in lieu of a degree
- 12+ years of progressive payroll leadership experience, including significant accountability for complex, high-volume, multi-state payroll operations within a large enterprise environment.
- 5+ years of experience leading managers, senior managers, and high-performing teams, with a demonstrated ability to build organizational capability, develop future leaders, and drive results through leaders.
- Strong experience with Workday Payroll and Timekeeping
- Proven experience developing and executing enterprise payroll strategies, operating models, governance frameworks, and transformation roadmaps.
- Deep expertise in payroll regulations, tax compliance, wage-and-hour laws, SOX controls, audits, and enterprise risk management.
- Demonstrated success leading large-scale payroll transformation, system implementations, automation initiatives, or shared services evolution.
- Experience supporting mergers and acquisitions, organizational restructuring, workforce transformation, or geographic expansion.
- Executive-level communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to advise senior leaders on complex business, compliance, and workforce matters.
- Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, drive organizational change, and balance strategic priorities with operational excellence.
The healthcare system is always evolving — and it’s up to us to use our shared expertise to find new solutions that can keep up. On our growing team you’ll find the opportunity to constantly learn, collaborate across groups and explore new paths for your career.
Our associates are given the chance to contribute, think boldly and create meaningful work that makes a difference in the communities we serve around the world. We go beyond expectations in everything we do. Not only does that drive customer success and improve patient care, but that same enthusiasm is applied to giving back to the community and taking care of our team — including offering a competitive benefits package.
R1 RCM Inc. (“the Company”) is dedicated to the fundamentals of equal employment opportunity. The Company’s employment practices , including those regarding recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, discipline, and termination shall not be based on any person’s age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Furthermore, the Company is dedicated to providing a workplace free from harassment based on any of the foregoing protected categories.
If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the job application process, please contact us at 312-496-7709 for assistance.
CA PRIVACY NOTICE: California resident job applicants can learn more about their privacy rights California Consent
To learn more, visit: R1RCM.com
Visit us on Facebook
More live payroll_director roles
- Senior Director, Global Payroll at Lam Research (Remote)
- Director of Payroll at R1 (Remote)
- Sr. Global Payroll Director at Aristocrat Technologies — London, United Kingdom
- Director, Global Payroll & HR Systems at Moove — Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- Senior Director, Payroll Projects & Payroll Time at Labcorp — Burlington, NC, United States
- Business Office Director- AP/AR Payroll required at Oakmont Management — Redding, California, United States
- Business Office Director (AP/AR Payroll Required) at Oakmont Management — Redding, California, US
- Business Office Director - AP/AR Payroll Required at Oakmont Management — Redding, California, United States
- Business Office Director – AP/AR Payroll required at Oakmont Management — Redding, California, US
- Director of Payroll at Columbia Hospitality — Seattle, Washington, United States
- Director of Human Resources and Payroll at City of Charleston — Illinois, United States
- Vice President, Payroll Administration at Future Standard — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Payroll Director at Health & Human Services — Wake County, NC
- Head Of Latin America & Caribbean Payroll, Vice President at State Street — Mexico City, Mexico
- Senior Director, Global Payroll at IFF — Hazlet, NJ, US
- Assistant Director of the Payroll Examination, Bureau of Controller at City of New York — Long Island City, New York, United States
- Director, Global Payroll at Alteryx (Remote)
- Director of Payroll Services at Shaw Industries — Dalton, Georgia, United States
- Business Office Director- AP/AR Payroll required at Ivy Living — Centennial, CO, United States
- Director, Payroll at LanceSoft — White Plains, New York, United States
- Business Office Director - AR/AP Payroll Required at Ivy Living — Burbank, CA, United States
- Director of Payroll at Spring Independent School District — Houston, Texas, United States
- Global Head of Payroll at Via — New York, New York, United States
- Head of Payroll & Compensation & Benefits at Benelux — Moerdijk, Netherlands
- Principal SAP HCM & SF Payroll Consultant at Infosys — Fort Worth, Texas, United States
- Director, Payroll at NYPA — White Plains, New York, United States
- Associate Director, Payroll, Europe at Revolution Medicines — Basel, Switzerland
- Director of Payroll at RWJBarnabas Health — Oceanport, New Jersey, United States
What the data says about this job
- Advertised pay for Payroll Director: a median of $152,000 across 201 priced postings. This posting advertises $111,079 to $147,768, 15% below that median. Explore the market
Measured from employers' own postings and public filings. How we measure