Americas Payroll Director

Americas Payroll Director

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We are seeking a talented Americas Payroll Director to join our specialized Payroll team within Cummins Services – HR Operations, at Cummins Comercializadora, San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico.

We are seeking an experienced payroll leader to oversee payroll operations across the Americas region and serve as the region’s senior authority on payroll and payroll tax practices. In this role, you will lead an onsite and virtual team of payroll professionals, ensure accurate and timely payroll delivery across multiple countries, and provide informed decisions, advice, consultation, and thought partnership to stakeholders throughout the organization. You will bring deep regional expertise, strong operational judgment, and a commitment to employee service, compliance, and continuous improvement. This role is onsite with flexibility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

In this role, you will make an impact in the following ways:

• Lead a team of payroll professionals providing payroll services to employees in North America, Hispanic America and Brazil, including both onsite and virtual team members.
• Ensure accurate and timely payroll processing, payments, reporting, year-end activities, taxes, and employee benefit disbursements in compliance with federal, state, provincial, local, employment, and tax regulations across multiple countries.
• Align payroll strategies, policies, processes, and service delivery with legislative requirements, business priorities, company policies, and internal controls.
• Maintain complete and accurate payroll process documentation, ensure adherence to SOX and operational controls, and coordinate responses to audit inquiries.
• Direct relationships with payroll service providers and other third-party partners, resolving complex issues and holding vendors accountable for service excellence and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with global payroll colleagues to execute regional payroll services transformation, harmonize processes, and promote standardized operations globally.
• Lead payroll system changes, upgrades, implementations, and government-mandated updates across timekeeping and payroll platforms.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships with HR operations, accounting, business operations, and other stakeholders to achieve company objectives.
• Participate in cross-functional meetings as the payroll subject matter expert and lead projects affecting payroll operations, including providing input and impact analysis for proposed policy and process changes.
• Use case-management tools, including ServiceNow, to provide excellent employee service through multiple channels while meeting agreed service-level agreements.
• Develop operational plans, monitor performance, lead best-practice reviews, and apply emerging payroll trends and technologies to drive performance excellence and continuous improvement.
• Oversee payroll expenditures and applicable budgets while maintaining effective financial and operational stewardship.
• Coach, mentor, and develop payroll managers and team members; assign work based on capacity, skills, and development needs; and provide meaningful performance feedback.

To be successful in this role, you will need the following:

Regional Payroll and Tax Expertise

• Deep expertise in payroll and payroll tax practices across the region, with the judgment to act as the senior payroll authority and trusted thought partner to stakeholders.
• Required local payroll knowledge for the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil; knowledge of Argentina, Chile, and Colombia is a plus.
• Strong understanding of applicable payroll, employment, tax, and legislative requirements across multiple countries.

Payroll Systems and Technology

• Operational knowledge of timekeeping processes using UKG Pro WFM or ADP eTime.
• Experience administering payroll using ADP GlobalView (Processing Services) or SAP and other third-party providers.
• Experience supporting payroll system implementations, changes, upgrades, and government-mandated updates.

People and Cross-Cultural Leadership

• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, mentor, and coach onsite and virtual payroll teams.
• Cross-cultural leadership experience supporting team members across countries, cultures, and working arrangements.
• Ability to assign work based on capacity, capability, and development needs and to provide clear, constructive performance feedback.

Vendor and Service Provider Management

• Strong vendor-management capability and experience holding third-party partners accountable for service excellence, accurate delivery, issue resolution, and continuous improvement.

Compliance, Controls, and Data Integrity

• Experience ensuring SOX and operational controls are followed, and supporting documentation is maintained as processes change.
• Commitment to complete, accurate, and compliant people and payroll data in accordance with company policy and legislative requirements.
• Ability to coordinate responses to internal and external audit inquiries.

Payroll Transformation and Process Excellence

• Experience collaborating with global payroll teams to execute regional transformation activities, harmonize processes, and promote standardized operations globally.
• Ability to optimize workflows, lead best-pactice reviews, and apply new payroll trends and technologies to improve service delivery.

Stakeholder Partnership and Influence

• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to anticipate and balance the needs of employees, business leaders, and other stakeholders while building strong cross-functional relationships.

Project Leadership and Business Judgment

• Ability to represent payroll as the subject matter expert in cross-functional forums and lead projects that affect payroll operations.
• Sound judgment when diagnosing complex issues, evaluating proposed policy or process changes, and providing practical recommendations and impact analysis.

Employee Service and Case Management

• Experience using case-management tools, including ServiceNow, to provide excellent employee service through multiple channels and meet agreed service-level agreements.
• Strong customer focus and commitment to responsive, accurate, and employee-centered solutions.

Analytics and Continuous Improvement

• Ability to interpret and communicate qualitative and quantitative data, validate information, identify meaningful patterns, and translate insights into data-driven business decisions.
• Experience establishing operational plans, monitoring performance, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of payroll processes.

Communication and Language Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish is required; Portuguese proficiency is preferred.

Inclusive Leadership and Self-Awareness

• Values the different perspectives and cultures that strengthen an organization and create an inclusive team environment.
• Uses feedback and reflection to understand personal strengths, identify development opportunities, and improve leadership effectiveness.
  

Education and Experience

• College, university, or equivalent degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience, is required.
• A minimum of 8–10 years of experience managing large-scale payroll operations is required, including at least three years leading payroll services across North America and Latin America.
• Experience operating in a shared-services environment or regional hub model is preferred.
• Demonstrated leading onsite and virtual teams, managing third-party payroll providers, maintaining SOX and operational controls, supporting payroll transformation, and overseeing payroll-system implementations, upgrades, and government-mandated changes.

Compensation

• Please note that the salary range provided is a good faith estimate on the applicable range. The final salary offer will be determined after considering relevant factors, including a candidate’s qualifications and experience, where appropriate.