Payroll Operations Director — Workday & Compliance

American Accounting Association; Maryville (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

American Accounting Association seeks a Payroll Director to lead the University’s payroll operations, ensuring accurate bi-weekly processing for faculty, staff, and students within Workday HCM. Collaborate across HR, Finance, IT, and audits to maintain system integrity and continuous improvement.

The role requires strong knowledge of payroll laws, exceptional leadership abilities, and the ability to manage confidential information while driving process optimization.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years of payroll experience in higher education or multi-department organization.
• Minimum 1–3 years of supervisory or leadership experience.
• Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax regulations, wage and hour compliance.
• Experience processing payrolls with multiple employee classifications.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with cross-department collaboration.
• Demonstrated ability to manage confidential information with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Lead bi-weekly payroll processing for all employee groups.
• Ensure timely and accurate processing of earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, benefits, and leave accruals.
• Lead payroll reconciliation, payroll accounting entries, and year-end reporting (W-2).
• Develop, implement, and maintain payroll policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Monitor workflows and deadlines to ensure uninterrupted payroll services.
• Serve as Workday Payroll SME; optimize configuration, testing, upgrades, and troubleshooting.
• Provide training on payroll processes and Workday functionality.

Skills

Payroll systems

HRIS

Excel

Leadership

Regulatory compliance

Payroll accounting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field

Tools

Workday

Microsoft Excel

Job description

American Accounting Association seeks a Payroll Director to lead the University’s payroll operations, ensuring accurate bi-weekly processing for faculty, staff, and students within Workday HCM. Collaborate across HR, Finance, IT, and audits to maintain system integrity and continuous improvement.

The role requires strong knowledge of payroll laws, exceptional leadership abilities, and the ability to manage confidential information while driving process optimization.