Payroll Program Manager

Trinity Industries, Inc.; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Trinity Industries in Dallas, TX seeks a Payroll Program Manager to lead complex payroll, time and attendance, and transformation initiatives for US and Canadian operations. This senior individual contributor partners with the Payroll Director and stakeholders to strengthen payroll accuracy, controls, and compliance, while driving automation and continuous improvement.

The role focuses on governance, vendor management, and program delivery, developing capabilities for succession readiness across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, IS, HR, Business, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of progressive payroll, payroll systems, workforce management, or finance-transformation experience with leadership of cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll operations, payroll tax, and wage-and-hour rules; Canadian payroll experience preferred.
• Experience with Oracle Cloud HCM and UKG Workforce Pro strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex payroll and workforce management programs from planning through implementation and stabilization.
• Develop program charters, workplans, milestones, risks, and change-management strategies.
• Coordinate requirements, testing, cutover, and post-implementation optimization for payroll initiatives.
• Provide leadership for strategic initiatives including UKG stabilization and Oracle releases.
• Partner with Finance Transformation, HR Systems, IT, Accounting, and Tax to deliver integrated solutions.

Skills

Program management

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Risk management

Communication

Leadership

Executive presentation

Influence without authority

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance/IS/HR/Business

CPP certification

PMP certification

Tools

Oracle Cloud HCM

UKG Workforce Pro

Job description

Trinity Industries is seeking a Payroll Program Manager for our headquarters office in Dallas, TX.

The Payroll Program Manager is a senior individual contributor responsible for leading complex payroll, time and attendance, workforce management, compliance, vendor, and transformation initiatives supporting U.S. and Canadian payroll operations. The role partners closely with the Payroll Director and cross-functional stakeholders to strengthen payroll accuracy, controls, compliance, scalability, and employee service. It serves as a subject matter expert and program leader for critical implementations, stabilization efforts, issue resolution, system releases, automation, and continuous improvement. The role is also designed to build the broad operational, technical, governance, and leadership capabilities needed to support succession readiness.

Join our team and be a part of Delivering Goods for the Good of All!

What You'll Do:

Payroll Program & Project Leadership

• Lead complex, cross-functional payroll and workforce management programs from planning through implementation, stabilization, value realization, and transition to operations
• Develop program charters, workplans, milestones, dependencies, risk and issue logs, decision records, testing plans, communications, training, and change management strategies
• Coordinate business requirements, solution design, user acceptance testing, cutover, hypercare, and post-implementation optimization for payroll and timekeeping initiatives
• Provide dedicated leadership for strategic initiatives, including UKG stabilization, future UKG capabilities, Oracle releases, payroll tax optimization, vendor transitions, and M&A-related payroll projects
• Partner with Finance Transformation, HR Systems, IT, Accounting, Total Rewards, Tax, Legal, Internal Audit, and other stakeholders to deliver integrated solutions and sustainable business outcomes

Payroll Operations, Compliance & Controls

• Apply deep payroll subject matter expertise to support accurate and timely weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, off-cycle, incentive, and equity-related payroll processing
• Support annual W-2 processing, STI incentive payments, LTI stock vesting events, garnishment administration, payroll tax activities, and employee payroll service processes
• Research and interpret U.S. and Canadian payroll tax, wage and hour, and regulatory changes; assess operational impact and recommend required process or system changes
• Lead or support remediation of complex payroll, tax, control, and system issues, including root cause analysis, corrective action plans, stakeholder communications, and sustainable prevention measures
• Design, implement, and monitor SOX, ICFR, audit-ready controls, reconciliations, validations, metrics, and escalation protocols across payroll and timekeeping processes
• Serve as a key escalation resource for complex payroll issues and ensure risks, decisions, and recommended solutions are clearly communicated to the Payroll Director and appropriate stakeholders
• Serve as a functional subject matter expert for UKG Workforce Pro, Oracle Cloud HCM, payroll interfaces, and related third-party payroll and compliance solutions
• Lead detailed review, impact assessment, testing, adoption, and post-release validation for quarterly Oracle releases and other system changes
• Identify and prioritize automation, agentic AI, and analytics opportunities that improve payroll accuracy, reduce manual effort, strengthen controls, and enhance the employee experience
• Partner with the Payroll Director and Finance Transformation to develop and execute short- and long-term payroll technology and process roadmaps aligned with enterprise strategy
• Develop process documentation, standard work, control narratives, training materials, and knowledge-transfer plans that improve operational resilience and reduce key-person dependency
• Establish and track KPIs, SLAs, dashboards, and benefits-realization measures for payroll projects and ongoing process improvements
• Partner with and help govern key payroll vendors and service providers, including UKG, ADP, Oracle, Alithya, Equifax, and other payroll, tax, garnishment, paycard, and compliance providers
• Analyze third-party vendor options, support requests for information or proposals, evaluate solution capabilities and risks, and develop fact-based recommendations
• Support ongoing assessment and optimization of third-party services such as payroll tax, garnishment, paycard, and other payroll services, supporting any required service transitions
• Maintain effective working relationships and formal communication channels with HR, Total Rewards, Benefits, Finance, Accounting, Tax, Internal Audit, Legal, IT, and business leaders
• Facilitate governance forums, working sessions, status reviews, and executive updates; ensure issues, decisions, ownership, and follow-up actions are clearly documented

Leadership Development

• Build end-to-end understanding of payroll operations, systems, compliance, controls, vendor governance, stakeholder management, and strategic planning through progressive assignments and partnership with the Payroll Director
• Serve as a delegate or backup for designated Payroll Director responsibilities, governance forums, vendor discussions, and cross-functional initiatives, as assigned
• Develop capabilities in strategic planning, executive communication, risk-based decision-making, resource prioritization, financial stewardship, and enterprise leadership
• Mentor payroll team members, lead workstreams and communities of practice, and promote disciplined execution, knowledge sharing, accountability, and a customer-focused service model
• Demonstrate readiness for broader leadership responsibilities through successful program delivery, sound judgment, operational credibility, and sustained partnership across the organization

What You'll Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of progressively responsible payroll, payroll systems, workforce management, finance transformation, or related experience, including leadership of complex cross-functional initiatives
• Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll operations, payroll tax, wage and hour requirements, controls, and compliance; Canadian payroll experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience with payroll and timekeeping systems, system implementations, testing, stabilization, process optimization, and change management
• Experience with Oracle Cloud HCM and UKG Workforce Pro strongly preferred
• Strong program management, analytical, problem-solving, risk management, communication, collaboration, and executive presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and lead work across functions, vendors, and organizational levels
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or comparable certification preferred