Director, North America Payroll Operations

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management, and investment management services. With offices in more than 40 countries, the Firm serves corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Our people are at the core of our success. We are committed to excellence, integrity, collaboration, and innovation, and we offer a culture that supports professional growth, diverse perspectives, and meaningful career development. We are seeking an accomplished Director to provide leadership and operational oversight for key functions within the North America Payroll Operations team. The ideal candidate will bring 5 to 8 years of progressive payroll operations experience supporting complex U.S. and Canadian workforces. This role will play a critical part in advancing the team’s three pillars of success: timely and accurate payroll delivery, a service-oriented employee experience, and continuous modernization of payroll capabilities. The Director will be expected to bring disciplined execution, strong judgment, and the ability to balance day-to-day operational delivery with broader process improvement priorities. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound decision-making, analytical depth, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while connecting individual payroll activities to the broader employee, regulatory, and business impact. What you'll do in the role: * Lead and oversee the Firm’s Payroll Incident Management process, ensuring requests and inquiries are resolved in accordance with defined SLAs while driving effective triage, accountability, and cross-functional follow-through. * Provide oversight of preview payroll register audits and coordinate required corrective actions with the team to address variances before payroll finalization. * Guide the team in preparing required documentation and pay data templates for complex payroll transactions, including employee withholding, check and payment adjustments, tax withholding, and garnishments. * Drive continuous improvement across payroll operations by identifying opportunities to enhance existing solutions, strengthen controls, and improve the preparation, audit, balancing, and reconciliation of pay data. * Develop and leverage trend analyses related to payroll and employee master data audits to identify root causes, reduce recurring issues, and support operational excellence each pay period. * At the direction of the Vice President of Payroll, North America Operations, execute strategic initiatives and advance business enhancements aligned with priorities set by the Head of Payroll, North America. What you'll bring to the role: Success in this role will require a leader who combines operational rigor, analytical judgment, and a strong service mindset to support a critical enterprise function. The Director will work across functional and technical areas, engage senior stakeholders and external partners, and help ensure payroll operations consistently meet the expectations of employees, business leaders, and control partners. The selected candidate will bring deep experience with ADP GlobalView or SAP ECC, including Personnel Administration and Payroll, along with demonstrated leadership in an outsourced payroll environment, preferably with ADP Managed Services. This foundation will enable the Director to contribute quickly, influence outcomes, and strengthen operational performance from day one. Qualifications and Success Factors * 5 to 8 years of experience in North America payroll operations. * Advanced knowledge of wage and hour laws and wage taxability, with depth in California employee requirements and Employment Development Department considerations. * Working knowledge of Canadian payroll requirements, including Records of Employment, Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and provincial tax filing requirements such as Quebec. * Direct experience overseeing or processing the end-to-end payroll lifecycle for a Canadian workforce. * Advanced Excel and data analysis capabilities, with demonstrated proficiency using the full suite of Microsoft Office applications to support decision-making and operational execution. * Executive presence, sound judgment, and a commitment to delivering high-quality service experience for business partners and employees. * Minimum of 3 years of direct supervisory experience managing 3 to 4 direct reports, with demonstrated ability to coach, prioritize, and hold teams accountable. * Self-directed leader with exceptional time management skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in a matrixed environment with minimal supervision. How You’ll Stand Out * Experience leading business process modeling efforts, including the development and documentation of payroll process flows, standard operating procedures, and job aids. * Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to influence, partner, and build credibility across all levels of Morgan Stanley and with external service providers. * Broad HR technology and systems experience, including Workday HCM; ADP applications such as ADP4ME, SmartCompliance, and eTime/Kronos. * Understanding of system integration and data exchange concepts, including source-to-target mapping and related operational dependencies. * Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred. * CPP or FPC designation preferred. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY: At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work. To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices​ into your browser. Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents. Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences. For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.