Head of Payroll, North America

Overview

Location:

This position can be located in the White Plains, NY or Maple Grove, MN area with Hybrid work, 3 days in office and 2 days remote.
About Us: How many companies can say they’ve been in business for over 179 years?!

Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles ever-changing environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements. ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change. We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology.

We are a global company with over 46,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!
What’s the role? The Head of Payroll is a strategic and passionate leader responsible for driving and elevating payroll operations to service over 3,500 colleagues across North America. This role will be required to develop and lead a high-performing team focused on delivering accurate, compliant, and timely payroll and related topics across the US and Canada.

More than transactional, this position requires a strategic , people leader who thrives in complexity, champions process standardization through Workday, and prioritizes both employee experience, financial integrity and is unafraid to contribute as a hands-on operator . The ideal candidate brings deep payroll expertise, strong regulatory and financial acumen, project management capabilities and a commitment to service, excellence, and resilience.

Sound Interesting?

• Strategic Leadership and Governance
• Further develop and execute a long-term payroll strategy for North America, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and alignment with organizational objectives.
• Drive transformation initiatives to streamline processes, improve internal controls, and ensure best-in-class service delivery.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on payroll-related risks, performance, and compliance posture.
• Drive harmonization and automation of payroll processes across key areas, including 401(k) reconciliation, Workday earning code definition incl. mapping to GL, and other critical workflows.
• Lead and manage payroll-related projects, including system upgrades, integrations/migrations, vendor transitions, and process improvement initiatives.
• Partner with HR, Finance and HR Digital Solutions teams to align payroll operations with broader organizational strategies and to optimize end-to-end processes.

• Payroll Operational Excellence
• Oversee the accurate processing of multi-state U.S. and Canadian payroll, special payments, garnishments, tax with holdings, and benefit deductions.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and local payroll tax laws and regulations, including multi-state payroll tax registrations and updates.
• Ensure absolute accuracy, timeliness, and compliance in payroll operations.
• Maintain a hands-on approach and operational depth to ensure continuity and quality across all touchpoints.
• Oversee payroll-related implications for expats and mobile employees.
• Monitor regulatory changes and ensure proactive compliance.
• Manage relationships with external payroll vendors, ensuring performance against SLAs, cost efficiency, and compliance standards.
• Establish and monitor payroll KPIs, providing regular reporting and insight to Finance and HR leadership.
• Ensure payroll processes follow robust internal controls and support all internal and external audits, including payroll reconciliations, workers compensation and documentation of key procedures.
• Understand complex and integrated system/technology landscape (e.g., Workday) downstream systems, integrations and reporting
• Manage year-end payroll activities, including tax reporting (e.g., W-2, T4) and reconciliation processes.

• Develop, coach, and inspire a team of payroll professionals to deliver with excellence, integrity, and purpose.
• Cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Identify and build future leadership within the team; foster cross-functional learning and upskilling.
• Establish clear performance metrics, SLAs, and KPIs for the payroll team to ensure high-quality service delivery.

• Build strong, trusting relationships with Finance, HR (including HR Digital Solutions), Legal and onsite leadership.
• Represent payroll in M&A due diligence, onboarding, and integration efforts.
• Collaborate with HR Digital Solutions teams to maintain and optimize Workday Time & Payroll systems.
• Act as the internal and external face of payroll, ensuring transparency and proactive communication

• Implement and maintain robust governance framework and controls to ensure compliance with organizational policies, payroll tax laws, and…