Payroll Transformation Director

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Bethesda (MD); Hybrid; USD 185,378 - 301,240; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits experience

Job summary

This full‑time HHMI position is based at headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with a hybrid schedule. The Director of Payroll will redesign the payroll process from first principles, own the function end‑to‑end, and partner with People & Culture and Science to ensure precise, on‑time pay.

You will deepen Workday workstreams, implement automation and AI, build robust controls, and communicate tradeoffs to executive leadership while maintaining compliance across multi‑state tax and foreign

Qualifications

• Deep payroll expertise across multi‑state tax, wage and hour, garnishments, and year‑end processes.
• Workday payroll configuration, automation, controls, and reporting capabilities.
• Fluent in current AI tools and practical application to payroll workflows.
• Not bound by status quo; demonstrates modern payroll design and industry awareness.
• Strategic thinking with ownership of payroll as a system, not just tasks.
• Ability to brief and partner with P&C and Science, including senior leadership.
• Evidence of subject‑matter mastery over payroll processes and Workday usage.

Responsibilities

• Redesigns the payroll process from first principles.
• Owns the payroll function end to end, including compliance and controls.
• Makes Workday do the work by deepening configuration and reducing workarounds.
• Uses AI to reduce manual effort and catch errors before payroll runs.
• Builds customer service into the payroll design for fast, accurate pay.
• Partners with People & Culture and Science and briefs executive leadership.
• Leads the payroll team and drives automation and upskilling.

Skills

Payroll expertise

Workday

AI fluency

Change leadership

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Subject matter mastery

Job description

This full‑time HHMI position is based at headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with a hybrid schedule. The Director of Payroll will redesign the payroll process from first principles, own the function end‑to‑end, and partner with People & Culture and Science to ensure precise, on‑time pay.

You will deepen Workday workstreams, implement automation and AI, build robust controls, and communicate tradeoffs to executive leadership while maintaining compliance across multi‑state tax and foreign