The Director role aligns with and provides support to the payroll business functions. The Director is the IT team lead and liaison to IT for application and technology-related matters for Payroll user communities. This role owns development and maintenance of systems supporting Payroll activities, including ensuring that any outsourced and/or SaaS arrangements effectively manage SPE’s business. Work side-by-side with Payroll Operations as well as the HR functional/IT teams. This role will cross support with the Participations and Residuals manager.
This leader is expected to:
- understand the various Payroll activities and processes,
- coordinate their up- and down-stream feeder systems with other teams,
- be intimate with the information needed to support business processes,
- gather requirements as needs change from the Business – indeed, to anticipate them,
- propose solutions that meet those requirements efficiently and economically,
- confidently make calculated and informed decisions, drive toward continuously improving processes with the use of technology
Responsibilities:
- Lead development, delivery, and management of Payroll systems across SPE.
- Foster and enhance relationships with various constituencies including GFO leads, Payroll, Participations and Residuals leadership and direct reports and their teams. Manage vendors providing Payroll application and technology support.
- Responsible for applications and technology strategy as relates to Payroll activities and for optimizing processes and applications for a simplified architecture.
- Manage IT Payroll projects and their corresponding budgets – using an Agile methodology where possible – by providing guidance, expertise, and in coordinating staff activities and their participation.
- Lead, mentor and develop the IT staff who support Payroll.
- Provide open and clear communication to stakeholders and executives of progress, plans and issue resolution. Coordinate with appropriate Corporate Communications teams as necessary.
Requirements:
- Master’s degree preferred
- 10+ years of payroll experience
- 10+ years of Media and Entertainment experience
- 5 years of experience with project management
- Desirable to have experience with Hours-to-Gross and Gross-to-Net payroll systems for US and Canada (global a plus), preferred examples including but not limited to: UKG Pro /Ultipro/Kronos/Dimensions/PRO WFM/Infor/Workday and SAP financials.
- Experience with IBM Cognos BI reporting.
- Needs experience managing vendors and SaaS providers.
- Proficiency in Excel, business intelligence/IBM Cognos BI reporting tools, SQL.
- Expertise in collective bargaining agreements, specific to entertainment unions, and how those rules impact the complexity in the payroll systems.
Sony Pictures Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristics.
SPE will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with applicable law.
To request an accommodation for purposes of participating in the hiring process, you may contact us at [email protected].
Sony Pictures Entertainment Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Sony Pictures Entertainment and has not been reviewed or approved by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, vision, mental-health, and wellness programs are broadly available, with recent updates such as CVS/Caremark for prescriptions on Aetna plans. Multiple plan types (including HSA‑eligible options and a California HMO) point to comprehensive coverage breadth.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with immediate company matching and auto-enrollment/auto-increase features supports long-term savings. Additional programs like an Employee Stock Purchase Plan and employer HSA contributions further bolster financial wellbeing.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave described as generous, along with childcare, fertility support, adoption/surrogacy assistance, and backup care, provides broad family coverage. Ancillary supports like Milk Stork and legal assistance reinforce family-related needs.
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What We Do
We are in the business of creativity, making some of the most beloved film and television of all time for every platform in the world. As the most creative and proudly independent studio, our future is boundless. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a division of Sony Group Corporation, a creative entertainment company built on a foundation of technology. Along with our sister companies, we make movies, television, music and games that engage billions of people, connecting creators and audiences around the globe. We are looking for innovators to join us as we forge the future of entertainment! SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries.








