Senior Director, People Experience Operations (HR Connect & Payroll)

Job description

About AbbVie AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. Position Summary The Senior Director, People Experience Operations is a pivotal leadership role within AbbVie's People Experience organization, responsible for delivering seamless, high-quality HR services that support employees and the business globally. This leader oversees two critical operational pillars: HR Connect — AbbVie's global HR contact center responsible for managing and resolving employee inquiries end-to-end — and Payroll — encompassing both in-house and vendor-managed payroll operations across global markets. This is a role for a rare combination of strategic visionary and operational excellence leader. The Senior Director will drive continuous improvement, modernize service delivery models, and champion the use of AI and emerging technologies to create a more efficient, proactive, and employee-centric People Experience. The ideal candidate brings deep HR operations expertise, a passion for innovation, and the leadership presence to inspire high-performing global teams while influencing cross-functional stakeholders at the most senior levels. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Vision Define and execute a forward-looking strategy for HR Connect and Payroll operations that aligns with and advances the broader People Experience vision and AbbVie's enterprise priorities. Serve as a thought leader on HR service delivery transformation, benchmarking against industry best practices and identifying opportunities to evolve AbbVie's operating model. Partner closely with HR Business Partners, Total Rewards, Finance, IT, and external vendors to ensure integrated, cohesive service delivery. Represent the People Experience Operations function in senior leadership forums, influencing strategic decisions and resource investments. HR Connect — Global HR Contact Center Provide executive oversight of AbbVie's global HR contact center, ensuring timely, accurate, and empathetic resolution of employee inquiries across all geographies and channels. Set and monitor service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and quality standards; drive accountability to continuously improve the employee experience. Champion a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge management within HR Connect, ensuring agents are equipped with up-to-date information and tools to resolve inquiries effectively. Lead the evolution of HR Connect's service model — including tiered service delivery, self-service expansion, and AI-powered virtual assistance — to increase resolution rates and reduce handle time. Payroll Operations Oversee global payroll operations, including in-house processed payroll and vendor-managed payroll programs across multiple countries and legal entities. Ensure payroll accuracy, compliance, and timeliness across all markets, partnering with Finance, Tax, Legal, and regional HR teams to meet regulatory requirements. Manage payroll vendor relationships, including contract governance, performance management, and strategic roadmap alignment. Lead efforts to standardize, simplify, and automate payroll processes, reducing manual effort and error risk while improving the employee pay experience. HR Technology Operations Oversee global HR Technology operations, including Workday, ServiceNow and other HR platforms that are used internally or with employees Develop streamlined capabilities to effectively receive and process stakeholder requests for system improvements, creating criteria for prioritization, and managing capacity to execute Coordinate with the HR Technology Strategy lead to ideate and provide practical insights into the HR Technology roadmap, reducing our broader technology footprint while optimizing the use of existing tools and their impact AI, Innovation & Technology Actively identify and champion opportunities to leverage AI, automation, and digital tools to drive operational efficiencies across HR Connect and Payroll functions. Partner with HR Technology and IT teams to evaluate, implement, and scale AI-enabled solutions — including intelligent virtual agents, predictive analytics, and automated workflow tools. Build an innovation mindset within the team, encouraging experimentation and data-driven decision making to continuously raise the bar on performance and employee experience. Stay ahead of emerging HR technology trends and advise senior HR leadership on the implications and opportunities for People Experience operations. Team Leadership & Talent Development Lead, develop, and inspire a diverse, geographically distributed team of HR operations professionals, fostering a high-performance, inclusive culture. Set clear expectations, provide meaningful coaching and feedback, and build talent pipelines to ensure organizational resilience and growth. Create an environment where team members feel empowered, engaged, and aligned to a shared mission of delivering an exceptional employee experience. Operational Excellence & Governance Establish robust governance frameworks, operational metrics, and reporting cadences to ensure visibility, accountability, and continuous performance improvement across all areas of responsibility. Manage operating budgets effectively, identifying efficiencies and ensuring responsible stewardship of resources. Develop and maintain business continuity plans for HR Connect and Payroll operations to ensure service resilience in all scenarios. Required Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field. 15+ years of progressive HR operations experience, with significant leadership responsibility in HR shared services, contact center operations, or payroll. Demonstrated success leading large-scale, global HR operations functions with accountability for service delivery, compliance, and employee experience outcomes. Proven ability to design and implement operational improvement programs, including process reengineering and technology-enabled transformation. Experience managing in-house and vendor-processed payroll in a multi-country environment. Strong understanding of HR technology platforms (e.g., Workday) and HR service delivery models. Proven experience leveraging AI and automation tools to drive HR operational efficiencies. Executive presence with the ability to communicate, influence, and build relationships at all levels of the organization. Demonstrated ability to lead, engage, and develop distributed, diverse teams. Preferred Advanced degree (MBA or Master's in HR or related field). Experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech, or life sciences industry. Familiarity with global payroll compliance requirements across major markets (US, EU, APAC). Prior experience implementing or scaling AI-powered contact center or HR service delivery tools. Competencies Strategic Thinking & Business Acumen Operational Excellence & Execution Innovation & Change Leadership Data-Driven Decision Making Executive Communication & Influence People Leadership & Talent Development Global Mindset & Cultural Agility Why People Experience at AbbVie The People Experience team is at the heart of how AbbVie attracts, develops, and retains the world-class talent needed to deliver on its mission. As Senior Director, People Experience Operations, you will play a defining role in shaping the infrastructure and service delivery backbone that enables the entire PE organization to perform