Position Description: Director, Payroll
Stanford Hospital & Clinics - Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Our highly prestigious client, Stanford Hospital & Clinics (SHC) is known worldwide for advanced patient care, particularly for the treatment of rare, complex disorders in areas such as cardiac care, cancer treatment, neurology, neurosurgery and organ transplants. Stanford Hospital includes 611 licensed beds. The clinics offer care in more than 100 specialties, including cancer, neurology, surgery and organ transplantation.

Patients come to Stanford from all over the Western United States and the world, often for specialized procedures unavailable elsewhere. In recognition of excellent care, the hospital and physicians consistently rank among the top in the nation in surveys by consumers and health care professionals. In July, 2002, Stanford was named to the Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals by U.S.News & World Report.

Founded in 1991, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) is a 256-bed non-profit hospital devoted entirely to the care of babies, children, adolescents and expectant mothers. The state-of-the-art, main facility is located on the Stanford University campus. LPCH is affiliated with the Stanford University Medical Center and many of its doctors also serve as professors at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Management

An overview of top management of the hospital shows an exceptional blend of clinical, operational and business expertise in the field of acute and specialty care and services. Underlying the management team's skill-set is a passionate, deep-seeded and visionary commitment to excellence, innovation and growth. The style of management and the organizational culture of excellence are deeply rooted in teamwork and mutual support.

The level of teamwork and support among the management staff is extraordinarily high and remarkably effective. This group of Managers and Directors, with their collaborative style and complete commitment to the mission, is the heart of the department’s success. It is readily apparent that the management team consistently emphasizes teamwork, individual achievement and making the job fun.

To complement the management team an individual must be able to blend their individual success into that of the entire team and share in the commitment and the satisfaction of taking care of the healthcare needs of the community.

Position Description

The Director of Payroll will assume the leadership role in payroll management and operations. Between SHC and LPCH, there are nearly 8,000 employees. The Director will manage a staff of approximately ten employees to provide accurate and timely payment of payroll to SHC and LPCH employees; ensure accurate and timely processing of employee expense reports, tuition reimbursements and all other employee related reimbursements; ensure proper and timely tax filings; maintain compliance with regulatory entities; ensure proper distribution of salaries and wages to appropriate accounts; design and implement improved payroll processes and policies, including adequate internal controls.

Reporting Relations

The Program Director reports and is evaluated by the Vice President, Controller.

Responsibilities

Principal functional responsibilities include:

• oversee production of employee payroll and, annually, W-2s
  
• manage tracking and remittance of withheld taxes and other deductions;
  
• provide accounting expertise to payroll staff
  
• serve as primary resource on payroll laws and policies for the payroll department, as well as SHC and LPCH departments
  
• ensure that all employee taxable and non-taxable reimbursements are processed correctly in accordance with the payroll regulations
  
• work with HR department to ensure that all pension eligible earnings are calculated and reported correctly
  
• identify and resolve payroll and benefit issues in a timely manner
  
• ensure that time cards are processed accurately and timely
  
• ensure that all payroll time cards and records are maintained and stored in accordance with the regulatory requirements
  
• Provide adequate support to all external and internal audits of payroll files and records
  
• establish payroll policies and procedures and ensure compliance
  
• ensure that W-2s to employees are issued correctly and timely in accordance with the tax regulations
  
• develop and manage Payroll budget.
  
• manage the interface of the Lawson Payroll System with the GL system to ensure payroll transactions are interfaced in a timely and accurate manner
  
• define and design management level and ad-hoc reports from databases
  
• maintain an appropriate level of knowledge of reporting tools
  
• produce accurate payroll reports and managements in a timely manner
  
• work with General Accounting and Treasury Services staff to resolve outstanding payroll checks and payroll reconciliation issues
  
• work with IT department to ensure that all upgrades to the Lawson Payroll system and related tax softwares are done on a timely basis
  
• Ensure that all federal, state and local tax filings are done accurately in accordance with the regulatory requirements

Management responsibilities also include:

• provide leadership to Payroll department employees
  
• develop target goals and performance measures
  
• develop staff skills and abilities, recruit and redeploy staff as appropriate and address personnel issues
  
• will lead special projects, involving other departments such as Human Resources or Accounting, to resolve process, policy or client service issues
  
• be able to understand new laws or policies, changes to benefit offerings or client service requests.
  
• secure executive and departmental support, develop implementation plans and implement solutions
  
• participate in the development and operation of systems related to the Payroll area, demonstrating comprehensive understanding of payroll, HR and accounting systems
  
• responsible for providing excellent customer service to employees and staff on payroll
  
• able to resolve tax, payroll, benefits and accounting issues
  
• able to interpret and communicate Stanford payroll policies, regulatory requirements to Payroll and departmental staff
  
• participate in design and delivery of training to departments regarding payroll policies and procedures
  
• manage the preparation and publication of newsletters, articles, manuals and procedures on payroll issues as needed
  
• able to work with directors within Finance and other departments to ensure an accurate and timely payroll close.
  
• In addition, the Payroll Director actively participates in activities and meetings as a member of the Finance Management Team

Personal Characteristics

The Program Director, Payroll, needs to possess the patience, self-confidence and communication skills necessary to work with the clinical and administrative staff and the Physicians.

First and foremost this individual needs to be a team player, be a superb communicator and have the style of a diplomat, i.e., be able to work in harmony with other operational entities and to negotiate agreements so each party benefits. It is imperative that he/she be skilled in bringing together the staff functions in a spirit of harmony and with a single-minded purpose.

A hands-on leader who can develop a strategic vision of the department and has the expertise to develop values and goals for a diverse group of constituents will be successful. The successful candidate will have a proven record of accomplishment of strong leadership skills to ensure that the improvement process within the department continues, that priorities are established and the goals are met.

The successful candidate will be a person who possesses a strong work ethic, rejects setbacks and values accomplishments highly. An action-oriented personality that deals with specifics within a broad conceptual framework will be most effective in this position. This individual will have an appropriate sense of urgency to react to situations quickly and decisively.

Credentials, Qualifications and Skills

• BS or BA in Accounting or related field, advanced degree or Certified Public Accountant preferred.
  
• Demonstrated knowledge of payroll accounting, internal controls, policies and laws, including the ability to research and interpret new regulations and policies.
  
• Action oriented, with demonstrated leadership, management and problem solving skills, including setting and communicating department priorities and goals, motivating and coaching staff, decision making, measuring performance and implementing change.
  
• Strong understanding of systems and processes. Experience with Lawson Payroll and General Ledger systems preferred.
  
• Experience with design and implementation of HR/Payroll systems desirable.
  
• Ability to apply knowledge and analyze and interpret policies and complex regulations including IRS and California tax laws.
  
• Experience in setting, evaluating and implementing policies and procedures.
  
• Ability to organize, plan and follow-through with projects.
  
• Exceptional communication skills necessary to articulate conclusions and recommendations clearly and persuasively in written and oral form.
  
• Previous experience with a large and complex payroll environment.
  
• Previous management experience including significant payroll and accounting experience.

Compensation

The compensation plan is based on a competitive base salary commensurate with the experience and the demonstrated accomplishments of the successful candidate. It will reflect the opportunity at the hospital. The hospital has an excellent employee benefits package, consisting of medical coverage, a dental plan, life insurance, Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and a 403 b program with employer matching.

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