Payroll Dayforce System Implementation Lead

Title: Payroll Dayforce System Implementation Lead
Job Type: Contract
Contract Length: 15 months
Pay Range: $90 - $100/hour
Start Date: ASAP
Location: Remote (Part-time hours; occasional travel to San Francisco may be required)

About the Opportunity:

Our client, a leader in their industry, is looking for a skilled Payroll Dayforce System Implementation Lead to join their team for a 15-month engagement. This project involves leading the payroll team’s participation in a global payroll transformation initiative, consolidating the vendor landscape, and implementing Dayforce as a single, unified global payroll system. This is a high-impact role that requires a self-motivated professional who can hit the ground running, lead cross-functional teams, and deliver results quickly.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables:

This role is focused on the successful completion of specific tasks and deliverables. Your responsibilities will include:

• System Implementation Leadership: Lead the transition of US, Canada, and Australian entities onto the new Dayforce payroll system, including planning, requirements gathering, data validation, and go-live.
• Testing & Quality Assurance: Assist with User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and parallel testing for the US and Canada regions to ensure accuracy.
• Integration Strategy: Partner with technical and IT teams to support the build and implementation of approximately 15 global integrations from third-party systems into the global payroll platform.
• Compliance & Process Management: Review global processes to ensure local regulations and compliance requirements are identified, documented, and appropriately integrated.
• Data Migration: Manage the migration and validation of data from legacy payroll systems to the new global platform.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with HR, Finance, Benefits, Technical, IT teams, and external vendors to ensure data accuracy and operational success.

Required Skills & Experience:

We are looking for someone with a proven track record of successful contract engagements. The ideal candidate will have:

• 12+ years of payroll experience, including at least 6+ years in a managerial capacity in a fast-paced, high-volume, multinational environment.
• Deep expertise in payroll transformation or system implementation projects (experience with Dayforce, UKG, ADP, or Workday is highly desired).
• Extensive knowledge of stock-based payroll (RSUs, options, ESPP) and local compliance requirements for the US, Canada, and Australia.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and manage your own time effectively to meet project goals in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills, with a high attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills to provide clear and concise status updates.
• Professional payroll (e.g., CPP) or project management certification is a plus.

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