Director, Payroll

Cox; Orlando (FL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Parental leave

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Wellness time off

Bereavement leave

Voting leave

Jury duty leave

Volunteer time off

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking a Director of Payroll & Timekeeping to lead time and pay delivery for North American staff. You will guide a ~10-person team across Workday, Kronos, and cloud-based platforms, shaping policy and ensuring compliance and SLA performance.

You will partner with Total Rewards and other stakeholders to drive automation, cost efficiency, and scalable processes for exempt and non-exempt employees, supporting acquisitions and organizational changes.

Qualifications

• BS/BA in Finance, Accounting, Business, HR, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of relevant experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Comprehensive knowledge of pay, time and service delivery systems; experience with decentralized, manufacturing-type environments; Workday, Kronos, ServiceNow and cloud solutions preferred.
• Payroll certification and knowledge of Canada and US tax requirements, pay rules and regulations, and collectively bargained environments preferred.
• Outstanding leadership, stakeholder engagement, collaboration and executive interaction; strong work ethic in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Vendor management and ability to influence partners and internal clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Cox Automotive time and pay specialty team within the Employee Services Center.
• Ensure timely and accurate execution of time and payroll processing for the North American workforce (weekly/bi-weekly, non-exempt/exempt, part-/full-time, etc.).
• Partner with Total Rewards Center of Excellence and Time and Pay teams to set requirements for pay and time rules and practices.
• Direct policy development to meet objectives and drive process improvement.
• Meet Service Level Agreements for payroll quality, cost, and service delivery metrics.
• Provide thought leadership for solving large-scale issues (acquisitions, restructures, expansions).
• Collaborate with Finance, Employment Tax, Employment Law, Compensation, HRBPs, Compliance across the lifecycle.
• Advance automation and standardization via payroll technologies and continuous quality assurance.

Skills

Leadership

Communication skills

Payroll systems knowledge

Workday

Kronos

ServiceNow

Cloud solutions

Vendor management

Tax knowledge (Canada/US)

Project/change management

Education

BS/BA in Finance/Accounting/Business/HR

Tools

Workday

Kronos

ServiceNow

Cloud solutions

Job description

parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays

United States, Florida, Orlando

Sep 10, 2026

The Director of Payroll & Timekeeping is a key member of the People Solutions Operations Employee Services leadership team with primary responsibility for timekeeping and payroll operations for Cox Automotive's ~27,000 and growing employee base. This leader works with the Senior Director, Employee Services and other HR shared service leaders to deliver a seamless, effective end-to-end experience. This is accomplished by collaboration within Cox Automotive and across the Cox divisions Centers of Excellence to create solutions for time and pay design, compliance, delivery and support. Key activities for this role include acquisition and divestiture integration, cloud-based systems optimization, and management of the weekly, bi-weekly, and cyclical execution and delivery. This leader sets the priorities and focus for a team of ~10 employees (includes 2 people leaders) to clarify, document, train, audit, and control pay activities to adhere to federal, state, and local compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Cox Automotive time and pay specialty team within the Employee Services Center.
• Ensure timely and accurate execution of time and payroll processing for the North American workforce, including weekly / bi-weekly, non-exempt / exempt, part- / full-time, and special audiences (e.g., collectively bargained, sales, mobile, executives)
• Partners with the Cox Automotive Total Rewards Center of Excellence and Cox Enterprise Time and Pay teams to set key requirements for pay and time rules and practices, including program prioritization, systems, investments, process transformation, talent development and change management.
• Directs the recommendation, development, and execution of applicable policies that meet strategic objectives and lead to process improvement.
• Responsible for generating and meeting Service Level Agreements for key payroll quality / cost / service delivery metrics.
• Provides thought leadership for proactive problem-solving and large-scale actions, such as acquisitions, restructures, coverage and program expansion, and other organizational and business shifts
• Partners and aligns with key stakeholders across the entire employee lifecycle process, including Finance, Employment Tax, Employment Law, Compensation, HRBPs, and Compliance
• Accelerates scale through automation and the introduction of advanced payroll technologies, continuous monitoring, and quality assurance as part of overall roadmap to cultivate standardization with limited planned variation for business needs, automation, and overall process excellence

Desired Experience & Specialized Knowledge and skills

• BS/BA degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, HR, or related discipline with advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of relevant experience with at least 5 years' experience in a leadership role.
• Comprehensive knowledge of pay, time and service delivery systems are critical, especially in a decentralized, manufacturing-type environment; experience with Workday, Kronos, ServiceNow and leading-edge cloud solutions strongly preferred.
• Payroll certification and knowledge of Canada and US tax requirements, pay rules and regulations, and collectively bargained environments strongly preferred.
• Outstanding team leadership and management, stakeholder engagement, peer collaboration and executive interaction a must combined with strong work ethic and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, demanding environment.
• Outstanding communication skills, both verbal and written; physical ability and mental acuity to work under tight timeframes.
• Vendor management and ability to lead and influence partners and internal clients at all levels within the organization.
• Other duties as needed or required with some travel (~10%).

USD 134,900.00 - 224,900.00 per year

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $134,900.00 - $224,900.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.

EOE, including disability/vets

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