Senior Project Manager Time & Attendance / Payroll Systems

Location: Culver City, CA Hybrid
Engagement: Consulting / Contract
Duration: Approximately 2 months, with opportunity to extend
Pay Rate: Up to $110/hour

Position Overview

A leading global entertainment organization is seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager / Time & Attendance SME to lead a key Time & Attendance transformation initiative within a complex, highly unionized environment.

This is a senior consulting role combining project leadership, payroll and timekeeping expertise, and systems knowledge. The consultant will oversee the end-to-end delivery of Time & Attendance initiatives while ensuring accurate time capture, compliant pay calculations, and effective integration with payroll and HCM systems.

The ideal candidate brings extensive experience with union payroll, complex pay rules, Time & Attendance systems, and large-scale system implementations and can quickly step into a high-impact project with minimal ramp-up time.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale Time & Attendance transformation and implementation initiatives, including project governance, timelines, risks, dependencies, and executive reporting.

• Serve as the functional SME for payroll, timekeeping, and complex union pay rules.

• Interpret and operationalize Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) within Time & Attendance and payroll processes.

• Configure, review, and validate rules related to:

  • Daily and weekly overtime

  • 6th and 7th day premiums

  • Meal penalties

  • Shift differentials and premiums

  • Guarantees and minimum calls

  • Turnaround and rest-period requirements

• Lead requirements-gathering workshops with payroll, HR, technology, and functional stakeholders.

• Translate business and labor requirements into detailed functional requirements, process flows, and system configurations.

• Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for automation.

• Partner with system integrators and internal technical teams on integrations between Time & Attendance, Payroll, and HCM platforms.

• Analyze time and payroll data to ensure accuracy, completeness, and proper system alignment.

• Develop and execute testing strategies, including parallel testing, validation, and reconciliation between time and payroll outputs.

• Support payroll audit readiness, compliance, and overall data integrity.

• Drive Agile project activities, including sprint planning, execution, issue resolution, and stakeholder communication.

• Support change management, training, and user adoption throughout the transformation.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership and maintain alignment across business, payroll, HR, and technology teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience across payroll, Time & Attendance, payroll systems, and/or related implementations.

• Extensive experience working within unionized environments and supporting complex payroll requirements.

• Strong knowledge of CBAs and their impact on timekeeping and payroll calculations.

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale Time & Attendance or payroll system transformations.

• Experience with UKG Pro, Workday, Infor, or comparable Time, Payroll, or HCM platforms.

• Strong project/program management capabilities with experience managing timelines, risks, stakeholders, and deliverables.

• Experience gathering requirements and translating business needs into functional system designs.

• Strong analytical skills with experience in payroll/time data validation, reconciliation, and testing.

• Ability to work effectively with executives, functional SMEs, technical teams, and external system integrators.

Preferred Qualifications

• Entertainment, media, production payroll, or similarly highly unionized industry experience.

• Experience supporting complex union payroll and entertainment-specific pay practices.

• Agile project delivery experience.

• Experience partnering with third-party system integrators.

• Payroll audit, regulatory compliance, and controls experience.

Ideal Candidate

This role is best suited for a seasoned Time & Attendance and Payroll Systems professional who can operate as both a hands-on functional expert and senior project leader. The successful consultant will be comfortable navigating complex union requirements, translating those requirements into system functionality, and driving a critical transformation project from both a business and technology perspective.