Director Global Payroll

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Meaningful Work From Day One

Join our team as the Director, Global Payroll, leading a global payroll organization across multiple regions and countries. This key leadership role drives strategy, governance, and vendor management while ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payroll operations. Collaborating with HR operations, compensation, production timekeeping, and mobility teams, the position develops and executes a global payroll strategy focused on innovation, efficiency, and excellence. Leading a team of skilled payroll professionals, the role fosters a culture of trust, teamwork, and continuous improvement, leveraging technology and automation to optimize processes and deliver exceptional results.  

What You Can Expect

Global Strategy & Governance

• Develop and lead a global payroll strategy, focusing on process innovation, integrations, and automation.

• Oversee regional payroll leads across the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and APAC to ensure global consistency, standard operating procedures (SOPs), local compliance, and internal financial controls.

• Act as a senior advisor for complex payroll and tax issues, collaborating with HR, Legal, and Mobility teams.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead a global team of approximately 22 payroll professionals, fostering a culture of trust, teamwork, confidentiality, and employee growth.

• Build strong relationships with payroll stakeholders (HR, HRIT, timekeepers, mobility) to streamline payroll execution and improve efficiency.

• Provide technical and functional payroll expertise in process design and improvements.

Vendor Management

• Manage relationships with global payroll aggregators (e.g., TMF, Deel/ActivPayroll) and in-country providers.

• Lead contract negotiations, ensure compliance with service-level agreements (SLAs), and conduct regular vendor performance reviews.

• Ensure contracts are current, regularly rebid, and include appropriate data handling agreements.

Process Improvement & Optimization

• Drive payroll process optimization, leveraging Workday as the primary source of record to reduce manual data manipulation.

• Identify opportunities for cost savings and implement digital workforce automation to optimize unit costs.

• Ensure ownership and governance of process documentation, including payroll knowledge bases, service catalogs, process maps, job aids, SOPs, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with all payroll-related taxes globally, including year-end payments such as bonuses, garnishments, special withholdings, tax filings, and W-2s.

• Maintain sound internal controls, conduct prompt remediation, and ensure compliance with legal requirements, SOX, and company policies.

• Safeguard sensitive information by ensuring encryption, access control, and confidentiality practices for payroll vendor records and systems.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Industry Engagement

• Provide payroll leadership support during route-to-market initiatives, acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.

• Liaise with the mobility function to ensure proper payroll and tax treatment for cross-country employees.

• Actively participate in professional organizations and leverage external networks for benchmarking and insights to improve quality, delivery, cost, and speed.

Metrics & Analytics

• Deliver metrics, data analytics, and scorecards to monitor site performance. Apply advanced analytics to identify and recover overpayments and duplicate payments.

What You Bring To The Table

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, and a minimum of 8 years of experience in global payroll operations, finance, or accounting, including leadership experience managing teams. 

• Proven experience leading global payroll or financial governance, compliance, and vendor management preferably in a multinational environment including negotiating contracts and managing SLAs with external providers.

• Advanced knowledge of global payroll systems and related financial processes (e.g., Workday or similar HRIS platforms), including timekeeping, benefits, tax compliance, and SOX/internal controls.

• Demonstrated expertise in process improvement, automation, and digital transformation within payroll or financial operations, with a strong focus on leveraging data analytics and metrics to drive decision‑making.

• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships across HR, Legal, Finance, and other key functions while fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and professional development.

What Makes You Unique

• Experience executing payroll in a global company, including strong Workday process expertise, with a focus on multistate payroll, tax processes, and working with expatriates.

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation preferred.

• Experience with Workday Payroll Processing, ADP SmartCompliance, and Dayforce.

Working Arrangement

In-office at the Brown-Forman Louisville, Kentucky Corporate Headquarters Monday to Thursday, with flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

Who We Are

We believe great people build great brands. And we know there is Nothing Better in the Market than a career at Brown-Forman. Being a part of Brown-Forman means you will grow both personally and professionally. You will have the opportunity to solve problems, seize opportunities, and generate bold ideas. You will belong to a place where teamwork matters and where you are encouraged to bring your best self to work.

What We Offer

Total Rewards at Brown-Forman is designed to engage our people to ensure sustainable and profitable growth for generations to come. As a premium spirits company, we offer equitable pay structures for individual and company performance alongside a premium employee experience. We offer a range of premium benefits that reflect our company values and meet the needs of our diverse workforce.#LI

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