Director, Global Payroll & Equity

Meet Our Team:

Our Payroll & Equity team sits at the center of Pega’s global employee experience—ensuring every payroll is accurate, compliant, and on time, while running equity operations that scale with growth.

You’ll join a highly collaborative group that partners with Finance, People, Legal, Tax, Treasury, Internal Audit, IT/HRIS, and Mobility to deliver strong governance, clear reporting, and continuous improvement.

Picture Yourself at Pega:

In this role, you will own and elevate payroll and equity operations across a global footprint—supporting more than 5,000 employees across ~20 countries in the Americas, Europe, India, and APAC.

You will shape strategy, strengthen governance and controls (including SOX-relevant activities), and modernize how payroll and equity operate through automation and thoughtful use of AI—driving measurable improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and insight.

What You'll Do at Pega:

• Own end-to-end global payroll operations, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and on-time delivery, including audit readiness, internal controls, reconciliations, and SOX-relevant processes (Pega is a publicly traded company).
• Set and execute global payroll strategy, including policies, procedures, and governance aligned to company standards and local regulatory requirements.
• Manage and optimize relationships with global payroll and equity vendors (including UKG, Deel, Activ Payroll and Morgan Stanley), ensuring service levels, controls, and compliance expectations are consistently met.
• Own systems and transformation: partner with IT and HRIS on implementations, upgrades, integrations, and data governance; continuously improve processes for efficiency and scalability; and advance reporting and analytics through automation and emerging technologies.
• Oversee global equity administration in collaboration with Legal, People, and Finance, including RSUs, PSUs, stock options, and ESPP (as applicable). Manage the relationship with Morgan Stanley/Shareworks and ensure accurate processing, reporting, and employee support.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing team. Serve as the primary point of contact for payroll and equity—providing clear communication, insights, and decision support to Finance and People leadership.
• Act as the payroll and equity subject matter expert for global expansion, M&A activity, and related systems and process change.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field; advanced degree and/or CPP/CEP certification a plus.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership in global payroll and equity administration across multiple countries/regions; technology/SaaS experience preferred.
• Experience supporting cross-border mobility and complex multinational payroll structures.
• A track record of improving payroll and equity outcomes through process redesign, automation, and strong data and controls discipline.
• Strong knowledge of international payroll regulations, employment tax, and equity compensation requirements, including withholding and reporting considerations for equity transactions.
• Executive communicator who builds trusted partnerships across Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Legal, People, Internal Audit, Mobility, and IT/HRIS.
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic environment—prioritizing effectively, managing risk, and bringing a continuous-improvement mindset.

What You've Accomplished:

• Led end-to-end global payroll operations across multiple regions, strengthening accuracy, controls, compliance, and audit readiness.
• Managed third-party vendors and service delivery, including performance management, escalations, and continuous improvement.
• Partnered with Finance, People, Legal, Tax, Treasury, Mobility, and Internal Audit to solve complex payroll and equity challenges while maintaining a strong employee experience.
• Delivered measurable improvements through process redesign, automation, and analytics—improving cycle time, accuracy, and visibility through better reporting.
• Oversaw global equity administration with internal stakeholders and external providers, supporting taxable events, reporting, and payroll tax withholding requirements.
• Contributed to global transformations, including payroll/equity implementations, upgrades, and integrations across HR and payroll ecosystems (e.g., SAP SuccessFactors, UKG, Deel, Activ Payroll, Morgan Stanley/Shareworks, SAP).

Pega Offers You:

• Gartner Analyst acclaimed technology leadership across our categories of products.
• Continuous learning and development opportunities.
• An innovative, inclusive, agile, flexible, and fun work environment.
• Competitive global benefits program inclusive of pay + bonus incentive, employee equity in the company.
• A high-impact leadership seat where you will shape global payroll and equity operations through governance excellence, cross-functional partnership, and modern automation at scale.

Additional Information

Base salary range for this role is 137,700 - 213,700 USD annually. This role may also be eligible for annual bonus OR commission, as well as benefits and other incentives.

The final compensation will be determined during the offer process based on the candidate's education, experience, skills, and qualifications, as well as market conditions and may vary from the posted range. We will share an information on benefits, bonus/commission, and other pay components for this role at the relevant recruitment stage.

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