Principal Team Leader, HR & Payroll Systems

This role is responsible for leading large, complex projects and/or systems as well as the teams who support them.  To do this, the person who fills this role will determine team strategy in accordance with company and department vision, establish clear goals for the team, select and coach staff, and represent the work across cross-functional boundaries.  This role must gain and represent broader business perspective into their work, while proactively staying connected with those holding varied perspectives.  They make the case for, and ensure successful implementation of, strategic business changes by casting vision, navigating broad stakeholder groups, prioritizing work, and developing leaders within the context of significant department or enterprise initiatives. The individual in this role will have business-owner responsibility for:

• Leading an intact HR/Payroll system responsible for the payment of over 450k recipients each year, representing: 
  
  • Monthly system releases
  • Compliance obligations
  • Complex requirements
  • Product management leadership via direct and cross-functional teams
• Leading HRIS system transformation as part of a 5-year + transformation strategy, including: 
  
  • Sourcing and/or building a portfolio of technology solutions and services to meet the HR and Payroll needs of a Restaurant portfolio
  • Making strategic decisions about the roadmap for these systems
  • Prioritizing and executing work based on agile practices
  • Leading teams of vendors, staff, and external workers through phases of the system lifecycle

Our Flexible Future model offers a healthy mix of working in person and virtually, strengthening key elements of the Chick-fil-A culture by fostering collaboration and community.

• Lead projects or systems of significant scope and/or complexity, such as a business and/or technology transformation initiative affecting a significant number of staff or Operators
• Lead teams who use in-depth knowledge, advanced problem-solving skills, and an awareness of the organization's priorities to translate strategic direction into tactical plans and implementation activities 
• Leverage payroll industry expertise to recommend system strategy (e.g., in-house/outsourced, roadmap, infrastructure) and business leadership of payroll system
• Set up team assignments and structure to achieve team vision
• Implement and execute strategies within large cross-functional team to drive effectiveness or solve complex business issues
• Adapt departmental plans and priorities to address resource and operational challenges
• Responsible for vendor management, including selection, negotiation of terms, accountability to key terms and representation of broad business needs in ongoing relationship
• Serve as skilled relationship builder with direct business partners
• Independently and proactively communicate with, seek input from, and navigate complex tradeoff and prioritization challenges with key stakeholders who may hold divergent perspectives and opinions                  
• Serve as point of escalation for advanced vendor or system issues 
• Communicate high-stakes messages involving complexity using various channels (videos, presentations, written and visual materials)
• Responsible for people leadership (including selection, training and coaching) within team
• Accountable to establish, recommend changes to, and adhere to budget

• Bachelor's degree
• 6+ years of experience
• Strong interpersonal skills, attention to detail, analytical & problem-solving skills, and project management experience 
• Demonstrates preparation, timeliness, and consistency in all forms of communication
• Self-starter who sees needs and proactively completes tasks to meet the needs, exhibits a personal desire for excellence, eagerness to learn, and requires minimal supervision
• Ability to adapt to evolving business needs and priorities
• Experience leading others in project teams, cross-functional teams, or people leadership
• Relevant experience in project management, business process change initiatives and/or systems implementations

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Data & Analytics, Engineering, or Technology
• 9+ years of experience
• Product Management Certification
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale initiatives, particularly large-scale technology implementations
• Relevant experience in payroll, talent and/or workforce management systems
• Familiarity with and understanding of the labor environment within the restaurant and/or retail industry