Manager, US Payroll Operations

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery... the stuff dreams are made of.
Who We Are...
When we say, "the stuff dreams are made of," we're not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD's vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what's next...
From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.
Your New Role...
Warner Bros. Discovery seeks a Payroll Manager for the Global Business Services People and Culture Shared Services Payroll Department who will be instrumental in managing and overseeing successful day to day payroll service delivery. This individual should be experienced in payroll administration of US employees, high volume, multi-state payroll with knowledge of payroll regulatory compliance across all states in which employees reside, including US and expatriate employees, and experience with payroll processing for multiple legal entities. This position will be responsible for ensuring the required pay inputs, processing tasks, and outputs are processed timely to produce paychecks for employees. This position will lead the Payroll team to complete and settle payroll timely and according to policy and regulatory standards. In addition, this individual will identify, troubleshoot, and assist with resolution to errors that may occur. Lastly, this individual will interact with management, vendors, and related business units to manage the proper response to inquiries and audits.
Your Role Accountabilities...

• Manage the day to day operations of the U.S. payroll function servicing over 20,000 employees and 50 legal entities.
• Lead a team of payroll professionals in payroll related activities based on the defined payroll processing schedule for each pay group, ensuring timely close of payroll and coverage for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and holiday processing requirements.
• Adhere to daily, weekly, bi-weekly and annual deadlines for payroll processing and reporting requirements (e.g., tax deposit and tax filings, ACH deadlines).
• Oversee payroll activities in Workbrain Online Time and Attendance (OTA), Workday Time Tracking, and Workday Payroll systems.
• Ensure that pay inputs are accurately manually entered or loaded using Workday Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB), and audits are completed to check employees are paid correctly.
• Resolve issues related to calculation of pay for union employees according to collective bargaining agreements, all employees according to company policy and legislative requirements, and resolve questions on taxes, garnishments, imputed income, pension, or benefit deductions, etc.
• Perform data analysis by running reports, and using Excel functionality (vlookups, index match, pivot tables).
• Provide exceptional customer service by ensuring service level agreements (SLAs) are met
• Provide resolution to escalated operational or policy issues.
• Support internal audits of various payroll areas and preparing materials for external and internal auditors.
• Troubleshoot any issues that must be cleared to close payroll on time.
• Assisting Payroll Reconciliation and Pension Teams
• Trace payroll transactions to the SAP financial system general ledger(s).
• Provide status reports to key stakeholders and participate in meetings as appropriate
• Ensure appropriate documentation for operational process and procedures are in place and adhered to as part of operations (e.g., processing schedule, checklist, DTPs). Administer employee trainings on payroll policies and usage of payroll related systems.
• Participate in testing of payroll system or process changes and enhancements.
• Partner with key players and decision-makers for payroll processing including key constituents who deliver payroll input (like HR, Finance, residuals group, T&E).
• Support other projects and activities, as defined by senior leadership and/or enterprise activities, as directed and required

Qualifications & Experience...

• Experience: Minimum 10 years of experience in payroll operations, managing sensitive and confidential information is required. Experience working with US Payroll is mandatory.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or a related field. CPP or FPC certification preferred.
• Language Requirements: Must be bilingual. Spanish / English speaking.
• Technical Skills: Minimum 6 years of experience with Workday HR/payroll or other SaaS payroll tools required (SAP or PeopleSoft) with payroll integration and mass data loads (EIB) preferred. Advanced knowledge of Microsoft is required, particularly with MS Excel.
• Leadership Presence: Demonstrates ability to coach and develop team analysts and create a strong employee culture. Experience in Team Management is mandatory.
• Process Management: Understanding of US federal and state regulations related to salaries, wages, taxes, benefits, and other payroll related matters required. Skilled in process management, improvements, and re-engineering.
• Organizational Skills: Excellent planning, time management, prioritization, and follow-up skills. Has strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Communication & Influence: Exceptional communication and customer service skills,.
• Union Requirements: Understanding of Motion Picture collective bargaining agreements and union pension health and welfare preferred.
• Global Perspective: International experience is required, along with the willingness and ability to travel occasionally to the US and within Latin America.

How We Get Things Done...
This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.
Championing Inclusion at WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and the world around us. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, union status, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.
If you're a qualified candidate and you require adjustments or accommodations to search for a job opening or apply for a position, please contact us at [email protected].