Global Payroll M&A Project Partner

Job Description Summary

Location: East Hanover, New Jersey (Hybrid)
#LI-Hybrid

Job Purpose
The Global Payroll M&A Project Partner – US and International Acquired Companies plays a critical role in leading payroll-related activities for company acquisitions, aligned with the Novartis People Services & Solutions (PS&S) M&A lifecycle framework. As Novartis continues to expand its presence through strategic acquisitions this role ensures seamless integration of payroll operations across newly acquired entities.
This position is based in the US within the Global Payroll, Time & Employment Tax value stream and functionally aligned with the People & Organization (P&O) M&A team to ensure strategic coordination.
Working in close collaboration with P&O Standards, Corporate Compliance, Global Rewards, and Novartis Finance and Tax, the role provides expert guidance on payroll governance and compliance requirements for integrated companies. It also supports knowledge sharing with internal and external partners, ensuring transparency and alignment with Novartis pay controls and compliance standards.
A key responsibility of this role is to foster a culture of integrity and compliance across all P&O activities - benefiting associates, partners, and patients alike.

 

Job Description

Major Accountabilities:

As the Global Payroll M&A Project Partner, you will be responsible for leading payroll-related activities during the acquisition and post-acquisition phases (integration or decommissioning) of acquired companies. Your core accountabilities include:

• Governance & Framework Definition;
  Establish and uphold the governance model for payroll integration, including scope, service catalog, SLAs, and RACI matrices, ensuring consistent application throughout the lifecycle of each acquisition.
• Payroll Integration Coordination;
  Collaborate with stakeholders from acquired entities to transition their payroll systems into Novartis platforms. This includes assessing existing structures, milestone payouts, and policies to ensure seamless integration.
• Data Migration Oversight;
  Ensure secure, accurate, and complete transfer of employee payroll data from legacy systems to Novartis systems, maintaining data integrity and confidentiality.
• Non-Integration Payroll Management;
  Manage payroll operations for entities not transitioning to Novartis systems. This includes overseeing quarterly and annual filings (e.g., W-2 issuance, W-2C corrections), and closing state/local withholding and unemployment accounts in affected jurisdictions and countries.
• Vendor Management;
  Lead vendor selection processes (RFPs) for international scope and manage existing US payroll vendors. Define service scope, SLAs, conduct business reviews, and ensure effective service delivery.
• Compliance Assurance;
  Ensure all payroll processes comply with applicable wage, hour, and tax laws, as well as Novartis Data Privacy and Protection standards. Collaborate with local P&O, Employee Relations, and Global Employment Tax teams to maintain regulatory alignment and adherence to Novartis NFCM controls.
• Risk Mitigation & Issue Resolution;
  Investigate compliance issues with internal and external partners, develop corrective strategies, and drive resolution to restore compliant operations, with the stakeholders.
• Project Management;
  Partner with project managers, business owners, service owners, vendors, and operations teams to execute payroll-related projects. Identify risks, propose solutions, and ensure timely delivery of integration milestones.
• Employee Communication;
  Work with local P&O teams to develop and deliver clear communications to employees of acquired companies regarding payroll changes, addressing questions and concerns effectively.
• Training & Enablement;
  Support training efforts for payroll teams in acquired companies, ensuring understanding and adoption of Novartis processes and systems in collaboration with local payroll teams.
• Payroll Data Audit & Oversight;
  Review and validate payroll data from acquired entities for accuracy and completeness. Reconcile discrepancies and ensure data quality.
• Historical Records Transfer;
  Lead the transfer of historical payroll records from acquired companies, ensuring proper documentation and accessibility for compliance and audit purposes.

What you will bring to the role:

• BA or Masters degree required. Discipline in Payroll processing, Human Resources, Business, Administration, or related is preferred.  
• At minimum 10+ years of related experience from highly regulated organization, is required. Experience as a Payroll Global Expert demonstrated at a high level of competence in the field of payroll re