Senior Payroll Director, Workday & Compliance

Ace Hardware; Oak Brook (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive opportunities

401(k) retirement savings plan

Comprehensive health coverage

Paid time off

Job summary

Ace Hardware Corporation seeks an experienced Payroll Manager to lead in-house payroll operations in Workday across weekly, biweekly, and semi-monthly cycles for multiple entities. You will set governance and systems strategy while ensuring compliance, accuracy, and timely payroll delivery.

The role requires 10+ years in payroll leadership, strong regulatory knowledge, and a track record of team development and process automation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive payroll leadership experience including 5+ years at manager/director level.
• Deep knowledge of payroll operations, financial controls, taxation and regulatory compliance.
• Strong analytical, communication and judgment skills for translating complex requirements into practical solutions.
• Proven success leading teams, managing change and improving processes through technology and automation.
• Commitment to audit readiness, internal controls, record retention and data privacy.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end in-house payroll operations in Workday across weekly, biweekly and semi-monthly cycles and multiple entities.
• Set payroll governance, processing and systems strategy aligned with financial, compliance and technology objectives.
• Monitor and implement federal, state and local payroll, tax, wage-and-hour requirements.
• Own payroll tax filings, reconciliations and agency issue resolution across jurisdictions.
• Direct integrations among Workday payroll and financial systems; identify automation and process improvements.
• Lead the payroll integration efforts for new acquisitions.
• Develop and coach a high-performing team of 9 with clear priorities and succession planning.
• Support Ace sponsored benefit plans from payroll perspective including deferral calculations and plan communications.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Workday payroll

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Workday

Job description

Ace Hardware Corporation seeks an experienced Payroll Manager to lead in-house payroll operations in Workday across weekly, biweekly, and semi-monthly cycles for multiple entities. You will set governance and systems strategy while ensuring compliance, accuracy, and timely payroll delivery.

The role requires 10+ years in payroll leadership, strong regulatory knowledge, and a track record of team development and process automation.