Director, Us Payroll Operations

**_Every great story has a new beginning, and yours starts here._****_ Welcome to Warner Bros. Discoverythe stuff dreams are made of._****Who We Are **When we say, “the stuff dreams are made of,” we’re not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD’s vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the _storytellers_ bringing our characters to life, the_ creators_ bringing them to your living rooms and the _dreamers_ creating what’s nextFrom brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.**Your New Role**Warner Bros. Discovery seeks a Director, US Payroll Operations for the Global Business Services People and Culture Shared Services Payroll Department who will oversee the payroll processing of over 20,000 US employees. The Director is the owner of payroll processes and procedures ensuring best practice operations, implementation of changes for continuous improvement in accuracy and efficiency, and compliance with applicable laws, collective bargaining agreements, and company policies. A strong sense of curiosity, patience, and flexibility is essential. The Director should be committed to coaching and mentoring payroll team members. A genuine empathy for our employee population, our partners in HR, Legal, Benefits, Technology, and our team members is required.**Your Role Accountabilities**- Lead the day to day operations of the US multi-state payroll function servicing over 20,000 employees and 50 legal entities, with oversight of hours to gross calculations, taxes, garnishments, benefit deductions, union pension health and welfare contributions, payroll accounting, paycheck printing, and disbursement.- Develop, implement, and maintain policies and procedures to ensure accurate and timely processing of payroll in accordance with company policies, legislative compliance requirements, and collective bargaining agreements.- Drive process standardization, automation, and continuous process improvement to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.- Support testing of HR and payroll system changes and enhancements.- Coach and mentor staff to ensure each person excels individually and as a team with a focus on customer service and operational excellence.- Act as point of escalation and work to identify, track, document, and resolve issues and risks proactively with timely further escalation of unresolved items to senior management.- Assist key stakeholders by providing information needed for the timely processing of general ledger activities, account reconciliation, treasury, tax, and other financial processes as needed.- Ensure compliance with internal controls and support internal and external audits including audits with federal and state tax authorities.- Develop high quality deliverables and presentations catered to the audience and with close attention to detail.- Design and assemble project plans and execute deliverables per agreed upon milestones.- Partner with HR, Legal, Benefits, and Technology to implement and run any special initiatives and programs (e.g. bonus processing, acquisitions, changes in vendors, etc.)- Develop relationships and oversee services of outside payroll related vendors for taxes and garnishments, and non-US payroll processing services.- Maintain confidentiality of payroll and employee information.- Support other projects and activities, as defined by senior leadership and/or enterprise activities, as directed and required.**Qualifications & Experience**- ** Experience**: Minimum 12 years of experience in payroll operations, with 8+ years leading a team, and managing sensitive and confidential information is required. Experience in a shared service, large multi-business unit organization is a plus.- ** Education**: Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or a related field or equivalent combination of work experience required. CPP, FPC, CPA or similar certification a plus.- ** Leadership**: Demonstrated strategic leadership in multinational operations. Proven ability to lead, engage, and build positive team cultures.- ** Language Requirements**:Must be bilingual. Spanish / English speaking.- ** Technical Skills**: Minimum 6 years of experience with Workday HR/payroll or other SaaS payroll tools required (SAP or PeopleSoft) with payroll integration and mass data loads (EIB) preferred. Advanced knowledge of Microsoft required, particularly with MS Excel.- ** Relationship Management**: Strong relationship skills. Experienced in building and maintaining effective collaborations. Recognized for reliability, integrity, and trustworthiness.- ** Process Management**: Advanced understanding of US federal and state regulations related to salaries,