The HR Director, Center of Excellence is responsible for leading the organization's HR operations strategy and total rewards programs to ensure an exceptional employee experience, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and competitive talent practices. This role provides strategic leadership across HR center of excellence, payroll and shared services, benefits and retirement programs, HR systems and people analytics, talent acquisition, compensation, and continuous improvement efforts that support organizational growth and business objectives. This is a remote opportunity.
The Director partners closely with executive leadership, Finance, Legal, and business leaders to develop and execute people strategies that attract, retain, and engage top talent while optimizing HR service delivery and operational effectiveness.
Key Responsibilities
HR Center of Excellence
- Lead the development and execution of an HR center of excellence strategy that aligns with organizational goals.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to streamline HR processes, improve service delivery, and enhance the employee experience.
- Oversee HR systems, technology platforms, data integrity, and process governance.
- Establish and monitor HR service-level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and operational metrics.
- Lead HR compliance efforts, ensuring adherence to federal, state, and local employment regulations.
- Develop standardized policies, procedures, and workflows to improve efficiency and consistency.
- Manage HR audits and risk assessments and recommend corrective actions when necessary.
- Champion change management and organizational effectiveness initiatives.
- Build scalable HR infrastructure, processes, and service-delivery models capable of supporting organizational growth, acquisitions, integrations, and an evolving multi-site workforce.
Payroll & Shared Services Leadership
- Provide strategic leadership and governance for enterprise payroll and shared services operations, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll administration across multiple jurisdictions.
- Lead the continued centralization, standardization, and optimization of payroll processes, controls, audit practices, and service delivery.
- Partner with Finance, HR, and business leaders on payroll strategy, workforce changes, integrations, acquisitions, and organizational growth.
- Develop payroll team capability and operating depth to support scalable growth while maintaining strong controls and employee service.
Total Rewards Strategy
- Design, implement, and manage a comprehensive total rewards strategy, including compensation, benefits, wellness, and recognition programs.
- Ensure compensation structures remain competitive through market benchmarking and salary analysis.
- Lead annual compensation planning processes, including merit increases, incentive plans, bonus programs, and equity programs where applicable.
- Partner with Finance to manage compensation and benefits budgets.
- Evaluate and administer employee benefits programs, including health, retirement, wellness, leave, and other benefit offerings.
- Recommend enhancements to total rewards programs that improve employee engagement and retention.
- Ensure compliance with compensation and benefits regulations and reporting requirements.
- Provide strategic oversight of the organization's retirement and 401(k) program, including administration, compliance, audits, vendor partnerships, governance, and employee experience, consistent with responsibilities assigned under the plan documents.
Talent Acquisition Leadership
- Provide leadership and oversight of enterprise Talent Acquisition, including scalable recruiting processes, candidate experience, recruiting metrics, and partnership with site and corporate leaders.
- Guide workforce planning and talent acquisition priorities for salaried and exempt hiring across the organization, including corporate, site, and international needs as assigned.
- Drive consistency, efficiency, and continuous improvement across recruiting practices, technology, and reporting.
Data Analytics & Reporting
- Develop HR and total rewards dashboards to support data-driven decision making.
- Analyze workforce metrics, compensation trends, benefits utilization, turnover, and employee engagement data.
- Present findings and recommendations to executive leadership.
- Leverage analytics to identify opportunities for process improvement and workforce optimization.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing, cross-functional team spanning HR operations, total rewards, payroll/shared services, HRIS/analytics, and talent acquisition.
- Partner with senior leaders to align people strategies with organizational priorities.
- Collaborate with HR Business Partners, Finance, Legal, and business leaders to ensure aligned and integrated people practices.
- Serve as a trusted advisor on compensation strategy, organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, and HR best practices.
- Manage vendor relationships and negotiate contracts with benefits providers and HR technology partners.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field.
- 10+ years of progressively responsible HR experience.
- 5+ years of leadership experience overseeing HR operations, compensation, benefits, talent acquisition, payroll, or total rewards functions.
- Strong knowledge of compensation design, benefits administration, HR compliance, and employment laws.
- Experience leading HR technology implementations and process transformation initiatives.
- Demonstrated success in developing and executing enterprise-wide HR programs.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management abilities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in human resources, Business Administration, or related field.
- SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CCP, CBP, or related professional certification.
- Experience with HRIS platforms such as Workday, SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, or UKG.
- Experience in organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
- Lean Six Sigma or process improvement certification.
Key Competencies
- Strategic Thinking
- HR Operations Management
- Compensation & Benefits Expertise
- Process Improvement
- Data Analytics & Reporting
- Change Management
- Business Acumen
- Executive Presence
- Stakeholder Influence
- Team Leadership
- Compliance & Risk Management
- Continuous Improvement Mindset
Success Measures
Within the first 12 months, the Director will:
- Improve HR operational efficiency through process optimization and automation.
- Enhance employee satisfaction with compensation, benefits, payroll, and HR services.
- Establish meaningful HR and total rewards metrics and reporting dashboards.
- Ensure compliance across all HR operational and rewards programs.
- Strengthen the organization's ability to attract and retain high-performing talent through a competitive total rewards strategy.
- Advance the scalability and effectiveness of centralized payroll/shared services while maintaining strong compliance, controls, and service delivery.
- Strengthen enterprise talent acquisition processes and metrics to support timely, high-quality hiring as the organization grows.
Required Skills
Required Experience