Director of Payroll

SkyWater Search Partners; Rogers (MN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SkyWater Search Partners is helping a well-established organization hire a Director of Payroll in Minnesota. This leadership role oversees a high-volume, multi-state payroll operation with strategic influence across HR, Finance and Operations.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of payroll leadership experience in complex environments, strong technical payroll knowledge, and a hands-on operating style to drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive payroll leadership in a large/complex organization.
• Strong multi-state payroll knowledge and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for end-to-end payroll across a large, dispersed population.
• Ensure accurate, timely payroll processing and compliance across states.
• Develop and mentor payroll staff while establishing clear ownership and accountability.
• Implement controls, reconciliations and audit readiness for payroll.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Multi-state payroll

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Hands-on operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Business/HR or related field

CPP certification (preferred)

Tools

Excel

Job description

Job Tag:

Posted: August 26,2026

We are partnering with a well-established organization to identify an experienced Director of Payroll to lead a complex, high-volume payroll function.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for someone who combines strategic payroll leadership with strong technical expertise and a hands-on operating style.

The Director will be responsible for ensuring accurate and timely payroll execution, strengthening processes and controls, developing the payroll team, and driving continued improvement across the function.

The ideal candidate has led payroll in a large, complex organization and is comfortable operating in an environment with multiple states, multiple employee populations, and sophisticated payroll requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight for the organization's end-to-end payroll function.
• Ensure accurate, timely and compliant payroll processing across a large, geographically dispersed employee population.
• Lead, develop and support payroll leadership and staff while establishing clear expectations around ownership, accuracy, responsiveness and execution.
• Oversee complex payroll matters involving wages, deductions, taxes, benefits, garnishments, variable compensation and other payroll-related transactions.
• Maintain strong payroll controls, reconciliations, approval processes and audit readiness.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state and local payroll and wage requirements.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex payroll issues and ensure issues are resolved accurately and efficiently.
• Partner closely with HR, Finance, Accounting, Operations, IT and other business leaders on payroll-related matters.
• Establish meaningful payroll metrics and reporting to identify trends, risks, recurring issues and opportunities for improvement.
• Strengthen payroll processes, documentation, controls and cross-training to create a scalable and sustainable operating model.
• Provide leadership around payroll and timekeeping systems, integrations, testing, configuration and process enhancements.
• Identify root causes of recurring payroll issues and implement sustainable solutions rather than relying on short-term fixes.
• Support organizational growth and change through continued enhancement of payroll processes, systems and team capabilities.

Desired Skills And Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Human Resources or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive payroll experience with significant payroll leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading payroll for a large, complex and geographically dispersed employee population.
• Strong multi-state payroll knowledge required.
• Experience working with complex hourly payroll environments strongly preferred.
• Exposure to union payroll and other complex wage requirements is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of payroll compliance, controls, reconciliations, taxation and audit requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate payroll data, exceptions and reconciliations and work directly in the details when necessary.
• Experience improving payroll processes, controls, systems and team performance.
• Strong systems aptitude and advanced Excel capabilities.
• CPP certification is a plus. We are seeking a payroll leader who is hands-on, decisive and highly accountable. This person should be comfortable setting strategy while remaining close enough to the operation to identify issues early, understand their root causes and ensure they are resolved. The successful candidate will bring a strong combination of technical payroll expertise, people leadership, operational discipline and continuous-improvement mindset.