Associate Director of Payroll Operations and Shared Services
Company Description
By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.
Financial Administration (FAD) is dedicated to advancing Harvard University's teaching and research mission by stewarding its resources; providing support, guidance, and consultation; ensuring compliance with university and federal guidelines; mitigating risk; pursuing operational excellence; and promoting the financial health of the University.
More about FAD:
Within and across the University, we aim to be exemplary colleagues, trusted partners, valued advisors, and agents of positive change.
Within our own community, we aspire to:
- Engage with respect, honesty, and integrity
- Cultivate equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging
- Welcome innovation, collaboration, and flexibility
- Enjoy our work, grow professionally, and aim for the extraordinary
Learn more about Financial Administration (harvard.edu) and our eight reporting units.
Job Description
The Associate Director, Payroll Operations and Shared Services reports to the Director of Tax, Payroll, and Policy and leads central payroll processing, payroll operations compliance, and consistent payroll service delivery across central and shared services environments. The role serves as the University's senior payroll operations and compliance subject matter expert, supporting accurate, timely, controlled, and policy-compliant payroll across schools and units.
This position manages the central payroll processing and customer service teams and establishes the standards, controls, escalation paths, training, and performance measures needed to support consistent payroll service delivery across central and emerging shared services environments. As the shared services model evolves, the role is expected to assume expanded direct management and/or functional oversight responsibilities for payroll shared services.
The role partners with Human Resources, school and unit finance leadership, HUIT, Labor Relations, the Office of the General Counsel, Tax Compliance, Internal Audit, and other central finance functions to resolve complex payroll matters, strengthen controls, support compliance, and improve the payroll service experience.
As part of the initial phase of the role, the Associate Director will play a key leadership role in the design and deployment of the Workforce Services Hub technology platform and payroll shared services operating model. This role will provide operational and compliance expertise, help shape service delivery and control frameworks, support stakeholder engagement and change management efforts, and contribute to a successful transition to and stabilization of the new model.
Job Specific Responsibilities:
- Provides leadership, coaching, and payroll subject matter expertise to payroll and shared services stakeholders.
- Establishes payroll procedures, controls, documentation standards, and compliance monitoring practices.
- Partners with HR, HUIT, Labor Relations, school and unit finance teams, Tax Compliance, Financial Policy, OGC, Risk Management, and Internal Audit to resolve payroll issues and implement changes.
- Improves payroll service delivery through workflow design, service metrics, root-cause analysis, automation, workload balancing, and standardization.
- Supports shared services design, implementation, change management, stakeholder communication, training, transition planning, and stabilization.
- Manages payroll-related risk by identifying control gaps, monitoring recurring issues, coordinating remediation, and supporting escalation protocols.
- Partners with HUIT and functional stakeholders on payroll systems, reporting, data integrity, access controls, integrations, and testing.
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:
Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible payroll operations, payroll compliance, finance operations, or shared services experience, including at least five years managing payroll, finance, HR operations, or shared services teams in a complex organization. Demonstrated experience leading payroll operations or payroll-adjacent operational compliance in a multi-unit, multi-stakeholder, or highly decentralized environment. Supervisory experience including managing teams, service delivery expectations, operational controls, escalations, process improvement, and compliance-sensitive workflows.
Additional Qualifications and Skills:
Deep knowledge of payroll operations, payroll tax concepts, wage and hour requirements, controls, reconciliations, year-end processes, and operational compliance. Strong judgment in balancing compliance, customer service, operational practicality, and institutional risk. Ability to design procedures, service standards, metrics, escalation models, quality assurance processes, and internal controls. Experience with PeopleSoft, Oracle, Workday, SAP, or similar payroll, HR, finance, or ERP systems. Experience leading shared services, regional service teams, service desk operations, or distributed operational teams. Experience leading change management, stakeholder engagement, training, and adoption across decentralized units. Experience in higher education, research, healthcare, nonprofit, public sector, or another complex multi-entity environment. Experience supporting payroll operations in unionized or collectively bargained environments. Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex payroll and compliance matters to senior leaders and non-specialist audiences.
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