Senior Business Product Owner – Payroll & Timekeeping
Function: People & Culture Technology & Enablement
Reports to: Director, Business Solutions
Level: Senior Individual Contributor (10+ years experience)
Primary Platforms: UKG, Oracle Payroll, Third-Party Payroll Interfaces
Role Summary
The Senior Business Product Owner serves as the functional authority and business owner for payroll and timekeeping technology, with a primary focus on UKG. This role bridges People & Culture, Global Services, and IT to ensure platforms are fully leveraged, well-governed, and continuously improved.
The individual owns the functional roadmap and requirements for UKG and related systems, driving optimization in a newly implemented environment with limited documentation.
This is not an IT role—it is a senior business-facing position requiring strong technical fluency, deep payroll expertise, and the ability to collaborate closely with IT while maintaining a business-first mindset.
Key Responsibilities
1. Business Product Ownership
- Own payroll and timekeeping technology with end-to-end functional accountability
- Define and maintain the functional vision and roadmap
- Act as the primary decision-maker for requirements, design, and prioritization
- Ensure solutions support accuracy, compliance, scalability, and employee experience
2. UKG Functional Expertise
- Provide deep expertise in UKG capabilities and best practices
- Identify gaps between current usage and out-of-the-box functionality
- Drive enhancements and optimization opportunities
- Move the organization beyond a lift-and-shift approach
3. Requirements & Solution Design
- Develop clear, detailed, and actionable business requirements
- Translate business needs into functional specifications
- Review designs, integrations, and configurations
- Identify risks, gaps, and unintended impacts proactively
4. IT Partnership & Governance
- Partner with IT while maintaining business ownership
- Provide functional context where documentation is limited
- Ensure solutions are sustainable and aligned with business outcomes
- Reduce dependency on vendor-led decision-making
5. Stabilization, Documentation & Maturity
- Establish and improve system documentation and standards
- Clarify configurations, decisions, and optimization opportunities
- Support audit readiness and operational stability
6. Collaboration & Leadership
- Partner with payroll, timekeeping, shared services, and enablement teams
- Contribute to broader People & Culture technology strategy
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in payroll/timekeeping technology (functional/business side)
- Hands-on experience with UKG (Kronos / Workforce Central / UKG Pro / UKG Dimensions)
- Experience as a Business Product Owner or Functional Lead
- Strong requirement gathering and documentation skills
- Deep understanding of payroll and timekeeping processes
- Ability to work effectively with IT while maintaining a business-first approach
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with global or multi-country payroll environments
- Knowledge of integrations between UKG, HRIS, and finance systems
- Experience in shared services or large enterprise environments
What Success Looks Like
- UKG is well-documented, optimized, and effectively utilized
- Business requirements are clear and actionable
- Reduced defects and rework in payroll/timekeeping
- Strong collaboration between business and IT
- Payroll and timekeeping technology acts as a strategic enabler