Payroll Implementation Project Manager - 2 year FTC

Houlihan Lokey; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Houlihan Lokey in Manchester is seeking a proactive Global Payroll Project Manager for a 2-year fixed-term assignment within our Human Capital Group. You will lead end-to-end global payroll implementations across multiple countries, languages, and time zones, coordinating with MSPs, IT, HR, and Finance to deliver data-driven payroll solutions.

This hybrid role requires strong PM skills, hands-on Workday HCM experience, and a proven track record of managing cross‑functional, multi-jurisdictional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of dedicated project management or operational implementation experience, with at least 3 years focused on end-to-end global payroll migrations and vendor management.
• Practical experience with Workday HCM and Global Payroll implementations with managed service partners.
• Experience managing global payroll rollouts across multiple jurisdictions and time zones.
• Proficiency in PM methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid, Lean Six Sigma) and tools like Asana, Jira, SmartSheets.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.
• Detail-oriented, highly organized, and able to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with VP Global Payroll & Strategic Initiatives and MSPs to implement Global Payroll across international entities.
• Develop detailed country-specific project plans, timelines, and resource allocations.
• Manage scope, milestones, and risk with mitigation strategies.
• Oversight of data migration, QA, testing, and parallel payroll cycles.
• Coordinate with Workday Solutions and IT for integrations between Workday HCM and Global Payroll.
• Serve as liaison between HCG teams, IT, and external vendors.
• Lead change management, SOPs, and post-implementation support.

Skills

Project management

Vendor management

Workday HCM

Global payroll

English communication

Attention to detail

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, HRM, MIS, or related field

Tools

Asana

Jira

SmartSheets

Job description

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Business Unit: Human Capital Group

Scope

Houlihan Lokey (HL) is seeking a proactive, highly organized, and detail-oriented Global Payroll Project Manager for a 2-year fixed-term assignment within our Human Capital Group (HCG). This role will be pivotal in driving and supporting the global implementation and rollout of Global Payroll integrated with our Workday HCM platform. The ideal candidate will partner to lead end-to-end global payroll implementations across multiple countries, languages, and time zones. Serving as the primary coordinator and subject matter expert, this role links HCG teams (Payroll, HCG Operations, Benefits, Compensation, Legal, Workday Solutions), HL internal teams (IT, Finance, Internal Audit), and our Managed Services Providers (MSPs: PWC, Papaya, Strada). This is a dynamic, ever-evolving opportunity as the firm continues to upscale its global corporate infrastructure to support business growth. This is a hybrid working position which requires a minimum of 2 days working in one of our offices.

Responsibilities

• Project Planning, Governance & Execution
  • Collaborate with VP Global Payroll & Strategic Initiatives, IT Project Manager, and MSP team including Program Manager, Project Managers, and country implementation teams to execute implementation of Global Payroll system across international entities.
  • Drive development with MSP Project Managers, for each country, detailed project plans, work streams, comprehensive timelines, resource allocations, and deliverables.
  • Manage project scope and milestone tracking; advise on the resource allocations required for the implementation with clear breakdowns.
  • Identify and raise potential project risks to keep project phases on track and within scope, and partner to design robust mitigation strategies.
  • Monitor, track, and regularly report project status, milestones, challenges, and proposed solutions to senior HCG stakeholders and the Global Payroll Leadership team.
  • Manage project escalation processes, making timely, risk-aware decisions in the interest of the business.
• System Integration & Data Migration
  • Coordinate with Workday Solutions and IT system configurations and integrations between Workday HCM and Global Payroll systems.
  • Lead data migration initiatives, assisting teams in planning for, preparing, cleansing, transforming, and validating payroll data prior to migration.
  • Oversee thorough quality assurance, system testing, and parallel payroll cycles to ensure data integrity, operational excellence, and zero-defect payroll runs.
• Stakeholder, Vendor & Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Serve as the main liaison for HCG and foster collaborative working relationships between HCG teams, IT, and external vendors.
  • Manage vendor performance and accountability, ensuring service and solution delivery aligns with contractual obligations and timelines.
  • Navigate and resolve requirements across multiple jurisdictions, aligning local country-specific statutory requirements with centralized global payroll standards.
• Change Management, Training & Post-Implementation Support
  • Support payroll team in development of standard operating procedures (SOPs), system specifications, and requirements to ensure smooth post-implementation transition.
  • Identify opportunities to automate payroll processes, standardize global payroll activities, and reduce manual intervention through system enhancements and process optimization.
  • Lead payroll team cutover planning activities include payroll freeze periods, deployment readiness, contingency planning, rollback procedures, and production transition.
  • Oversee post-go-live hypercare and system support to resolve operational issues and stabilize the system before handing over to business-as-usual (BAU) operations.

Qualifications

• Basic Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Management Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • 5+ years of dedicated project management or operational implementation experience, with at least 3 years focused on end-to-end global payroll migrations, implementations, client transitions, and strong vendor management to meet timelines and project milestones.
  • Practical experience with Workday HCM and Global Payroll implementations with managed service partners via Workday connectors and relays of information from Workday HRIS to vendor payroll platforms.
  • Proven experience managing project rollouts and adhering to payroll project road maps across multiple international jurisdictions and multiple in country entities, languages, and time zones.
  • High proficiency in project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid, Lean Six Sigma) and project tracking tools (e.g., Asana, Jira, SmartSheets).
  • Strong written and verbal English communication skills, with a track record of articulating complex technical timelines and issues to diverse audiences and global country-level stakeholders.
  • Detail-oriented, highly organized, and capable of working independently with active stakeholder project stage gate updates under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• Preferred Qualifications
  • PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2, or related project management professional certification.
  • Professional experience in financial services or a similarly complex, highly regulated global corporate environment.
  • Working knowledge Asana and SmartSheet or equivalent project management/tracking systems.

This position description may not describe all duties, responsibilities, and skills associated with this position. It is intended to portray the major aspects of the job. Other duties or skills may be required.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.