Director, Payroll
Azenta Life Sciences
Summary
The Director, Payroll, reporting to the Senior Director, Total Rewards & HRIS, provides direct leadership and oversight of the European and U.S. payroll function, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing and related activities. This role owns global payroll governance across U.S. and designated international jurisdictions, including standardized controls, payroll calendars, provider oversight, and escalation of payroll compliance matters.
Job description
Key Responsibilities
Payroll Operations and Compliance
- Oversee bi-weekly U.S. payroll operations across 25+ states for hourly and salaried employee populations, and oversee payroll operations for the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, and additional European jurisdictions through internal teams and external providers.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, local and foreign payroll laws, tax regulations, statutory reporting, filing requirements, and employer remittance obligations.
- Direct governance of external payroll providers and in-country partners, including service delivery, compliance support, issue escalation, controls, and continuous improvement.
- Maintain and enhance payroll processes to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and scalability, including standardized controls, documentation, and review procedures across jurisdictions.
Systems and Process Management
- Identify opportunities to optimize and maximize the Workday payroll system.
- Partner with Information Technology on Workday HRIS/payroll enhancements, integrations, and issue resolution.
- Maintain internal control documentation related to payroll and tax compliance processes, support internal and external audits, and lead remediation of identified process or control gaps.
Financial Reporting and Accounting
- Partner with Corporate Accounting to ensure accurate recording of payroll transactions within the Oracle General Ledger.
- Manage payroll-related accruals, including expatriate compensation, withholding, and tax equalization.
- Partner with Corporate Accounting and Treasury on payroll funding, account reconciliations, month-end close support, and payroll-related balance sheet oversight.
- Ensure accurate posting of payroll-related reimbursements and expenses.
Global Mobility and Special Payroll Matters
- Oversee payroll treatment and coordination for expatriates, tax equalization, shadow payrolls, and other cross-border employee matters, in partnership with Tax, Human Resources, and external advisors.
- Lead annual payroll year-end processes and statutory reporting activities across applicable U.S. and international jurisdictions.
Leadership and Collaboration
- Lead, develop, and mentor payroll staff while establishing clear accountability, service expectations, and backup coverage for critical payroll processes.
- Provide technical payroll and payroll tax guidance to internal stakeholders.
- Collaborate with Human Resources, Finance, IT, and auditors to support audits and payroll-related initiatives.
- Establish payroll performance metrics and lead resolution of escalated payroll, compliance, and provider issues across jurisdictions.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or related discipline
- Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) strongly preferred
- 10+ years of progressive payroll experience, including significant ownership of multi-state U.S. payroll operations and multi-country payrolls in Europe
- Experience supporting hourly and salaried employee populations and coordinating with in-country payroll providers in jurisdictions such as the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and France
- Experience working in a corporate, fast-paced environment
- Experience with payroll controls, audit support, process standardization, and payroll system implementations or major enhancements strongly preferred
- Experience with Workday Payroll preferred
- Experience with large-scale ERP systems required (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards); Oracle experience a plus
- Exposure to stock plan administration (e.g., RSUs, stock options, ESPP) a plus
- Familiarity with expatriate payroll and tax compliance preferred
- Demonstrated ability to oversee outsourced payroll providers and manage compliance across multiple jurisdictions
- Advanced proficiency in spreadsheet software (Excel) preferred
- Strong attention to detail with excellent organizational and time management skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively across cross-functional teams
Benefits
- Base Compensation: $147,000 - $184,000
- Onsite 4 days/week
Company overview
Azenta Life Sciences is a leading global provider of comprehensive life sciences solutions dedicated to enabling impactful breakthroughs and therapies to reach the market faster. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, the company operates worldwide with approximately 3,000 employees across North America, Europe, and Asia. Azenta offers an integrated suite of sample exploration and management solutions that accelerate discovery, development, and delivery processes for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and healthcare institutions. Their core capabilities span genomics services through GENEWIZ, cryogenic storage systems, laboratory automation, and informatics solutions. The company provides reliable cold-chain sample management, automated storage systems, consumables, instruments, and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) to support drug development, clinical research, and advanced cell therapies. Azenta's mission focuses on helping life sciences organizations operate with greater speed and precision while maintaining sample integrity throughout the research continuum.