Payroll Project Lead

Lead end-to-end payroll migration projects, taking accountability for delivery quality, timeline and client outcomes from design through to go-live.
Lead global payroll audits, providing structured assessment and advisory outputs that drive clear, actionable recommendations for clients.
Advise clients on vendor selection, migration strategy and transition planning for moves to global payroll platforms such as CloudPay, ADP, Papaya and Deel.
Own the overall project status, driving governance, managing risks and issues, tracking decisions and maintaining clear and timely communication with all stakeholders.
Prepare, review and oversee data migration workbooks, current-state and future-state process documentation, and all key project deliverables.
Translate complex technical and vendor requirements into clear, actionable guidance for clients at all levels of seniority.
Lead payroll and HR system integration workstreams, setting direction for technical teams and ensuring integration requirements are correctly translated and delivered.
Chair technical design discussions with vendors and client IT teams, driving decisions and ensuring clarity and accountability on all sides.
Own the client relationship as the primary point of contact throughout each engagement, ensuring clients feel informed, supported and confident in the direction of the project.
Manage senior stakeholder relationships, building trust, navigating challenge and representing Harbor's values in every interaction.
Lead on governance, compliance and general ledger (GL) requirements as part of migration and transformation engagements, ensuring outputs meet both client and regulatory expectations.

Requirements

• Strong payroll technical expertise across UK and/or multi-jurisdictional payroll, with the ability to advise confidently on compliance, process design and vendor capability.
• Proven experience leading payroll migrations, global payroll audits or significant payroll transformation programmes.
• Excellent client relationship management skills, with the confidence and gravitas to lead senior stakeholder conversations and manage expectations effectively.
• Strong project leadership capability - able to hold accountability for overall project health, manage competing priorities and drive delivery across complex, multi-workstream programmes.
• Deep understanding of global payroll vendors (such as CloudPay, ADP, Papaya, Deel) and the ability to provide informed, independent advisory to clients on vendor selection and implementation approach.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates strong payroll technical expertise and project leadership in managing end-to-end payroll migration projects, ensuring compliance and effective client relationship management throughout the process.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Payroll Technical Expertise
• Project Leadership
• Client Relationship Management
• Global Payroll Vendor Advisory
• Governance and Compliance

ATS Optimization Keywords Hard Skills

• Payroll Migration
• Global Payroll Audits
• Process Design
• Data Migration
• Technical Integration

Soft Skills

• Stakeholder Management
• Communication
• Trust Building
• Problem Solving

Industry Keywords

• Multi-Jurisdictional Payroll
• Compliance
• General Ledger (GL)
• Vendor Selection
• Transformation Engagements

Tools & Technologies

• CloudPay
• ADP
• Papaya
• Deel