Manager Payroll

Job Title: Manager, Payroll

Description:: In this role, you will lead end-to-end U.S. payroll operations within a global, complex environment—ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient delivery while continuously elevating the employee experience. You’ll partner across HR, Finance, Tax, and Technology to drive operational excellence and modernize payroll through data, automation, and scalable processes.

The Role

As Manager, Payroll, you will oversee the delivery of U.S. payroll services across multiple pay groups and jurisdictions, leading a distributed team and ensuring a seamless, compliant payroll experience for employees.

This is a role for someone who is energized by both operational excellence and transformation—you’ll balance running a high-performing payroll function while identifying opportunities to improve, automate, and scale.

In your first six months, you’ll build strong stakeholder partnerships, stabilize and optimize service delivery, and identify key improvement opportunities that enhance accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience.

What sets this role apart is the opportunity to help shape the future of payroll operations—leveraging data, technology, and process innovation to build a more modern, resilient, and employee-centric payroll function.

What You’ll Own

• End-to-end payroll delivery : Ensure payroll is executed accurately, compliantly, and on time across complex U.S. payroll operations



• Service performance and experience : Monitor quality and efficiency while continuously improving the employee and stakeholder experience



• Team leadership and capability : Lead, coach, and develop a geographically distributed payroll team, building resilience and shared accountability



• Stakeholder partnership : Serve as a trusted partner to HR, Finance, Tax, Treasury, and Technology, driving alignment and issue resolution



• Risk and compliance : Identify operational risks, strengthen controls, and support audit and regulatory requirements



• Continuous improvement and transformation : Drive standardization, automation, and data-driven enhancements to improve scalability and performance

About You

You bring deep payroll expertise and a passion for delivering high-quality, compliant payroll services in a complex environment.

You likely have:

• 5 - 8 years of leadership experience (organizational, technological, people and vendor management skills)



• 5 years of strong and continuous experience managing U.S. payroll operations, including multi-state and large enterprise environments.



• Tax and time and attendance background also needed.



• A track record of leading service delivery, operations, or shared services teams



• Deep knowledge of payroll regulations and operational controls



• Experience working with outsourced providers and enterprise payroll systems

Beyond your experience, you are someone who:

• Takes ownership and drives accountability for outcomes



• Builds strong, collaborative relationships across functions



• Uses data and insights to solve problems and improve performance



• Thrives in environments that balance operational execution with continuous improvement and change



• Leads and develops teams with a focus on growth, resilience, and performance

What You’ll Get

• The opportunity to lead a critical function that directly impacts employee experience at scale



• Exposure to a complex, global operating environment with diverse stakeholders



• The chance to shape and modernize payroll operations through automation and innovation



• Opportunities to grow your leadership capability while driving meaningful operational improvements



• A role that connects operational excellence with long-term transformation and business impact

Ready to make an Impact?

Apply now and help shape the future of payroll operations.

Who we are:

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.

Job: Operations

Job Family: ENTERPRISE

Organization: Corporate Human Resources

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Remote

Req ID: 24737