Senior Business Systems Lead, Payroll & Time (Dayforce)

• Serve as the internal functional owner for the Dayforce payroll and time migration, driving requirements and directing the systems integrator partner.
• Translate payroll policy, collective bargaining terms, and statutory requirements — as defined by Payroll Operations and Legal — into actionable technical specifications.
• Validate vendor configurations against country-specific rules, with joint sign-off alongside Payroll Operations, before go-live.
• Act as the primary functional escalation point, facilitating trade-off decisions between Payroll Ops, Legal, and vendor teams — owning the technical trade-off while deferring to Payroll Ops/Legal on compliance interpretation.
• Partner with Program Management to identify and mitigate risks across migration waves.

Drive Migration Waves End-to-End

• Scope requirements with cross-functional stakeholders ahead of each phased migration wave across the 12–15 country initial program.
• Lead parallel testing and payroll validation cycles to verify system logic against live pay rules prior to cutover.
• Manage cutover and hypercare support, serving as the technical escalation point until system stabilization.
• Own integration architecture between Dayforce and upstream/downstream systems — including Workday, Oracle ERP, and middleware platforms (Boomi preferred) — ensuring resilient, well-governed data flows.
• Align migration schedules with Workday and Oracle ERP initiatives to prevent deployment conflicts.

Own Steady-State Configuration and Continuous Improvement

• Assume direct functional ownership of Dayforce payroll and time configuration post-implementation, as the platform's long-term product/service owner.
• Establish and run governance frameworks and formal vendor management practices — contract oversight, SLA management, escalation processes — that outlast the initial implementation.
• Maintain system documentation and runbooks to keep governance transparent and auditable.
• Evaluate new vendor releases, system updates, and regulatory changes — partnering with Payroll Ops and Legal on interpretation — to proactively plan platform updates.
• Ensure system configuration is built and maintained to the wage-and-hour, statutory pay, and data privacy requirements defined by Payroll Operations and Legal.
• Streamline operations by automating manual payroll and time-tracking workarounds.
• Support future expansion into scheduling configuration and provide system evidence for internal and external payroll audits.
• 6+ years of functional payroll and time tracking systems experience, with strong hands-on configuration expertise in Ceridian Dayforce.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks and formal vendor management practices (contract oversight, SLA management, escalation processes) as a product or service owner — not solely as a project-based implementer.
• Hands-on experience with middleware/integration architecture connecting payroll and time systems to upstream HCM and downstream ERP/finance systems; Boomi experience strongly preferred.
• Proven track record as an internal functional owner managing system integrator delivery and holding vendors formally accountable.
• Deep domain expertise in core payroll: earnings, deductions, tax setup, accruals, overtime, and multi-country/multi-state compliance.
• Strong payroll literacy with a demonstrated ability to translate between payroll/operations terminology and technical/systems language — for both practitioner and executive audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business policy, legal, and collective bargaining agreements into system requirements.
• Strong root-cause troubleshooting skills across complex payroll and time tracking scenarios.
• Experience leading system strategy across multi-country, multi-phase transformation programs.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, capable of bridging technical detail with business and executive audiences.
• Experience leading global payroll transformations or M&A integrations with third-party implementation partners — international/cross-border experience strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with in-country payroll providers (e.g., TMF, IRIS, Paylocity) used during transitional phases.
• Hands-on experience with Dayforce time tracking and scheduling modules.
• Understanding of Workday HCM and enterprise HRIS/ERP integration patterns.
• Knowledge of payroll compliance across the specific countries in scope for this program.
• Exposure to HR integration and automation platforms (e.g., Workato).
• Prior experience operating in high-growth technology environments or navigating active M&A integrations.