Jennifer Kozelek
Global Payroll Executive
Lexington,SC
Summary
Accomplished Fortune 500 Executive Payroll and Shared Services Director with over 20 years of experience leading global payroll operations for large organizations across diverse industries. Expertise in managing payroll teams, optimizing systems, and driving cost-saving initiatives while supporting up to 25,000 employees in North America, Puerto Rico, Canada, and 15 European countries. Demonstrated ability to partner with C-suite leaders (CEO, CFO, CHRO, VPs, Directors) to deliver results in system implementation, compliance, and process improvement. Adept at payroll system consolidation, cost control, and driving operational excellence across payroll, accounts payable, and travel & expense functions. Focused on continuous process improvement, driving efficiencies, and maintaining SOX compliance.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
1996
1996
years of post-secondary education
4
4
Certifications
Work History
Executive Director, Global Payroll and EU HRSS
Claire’s Stores
Lexington, SC
03.2025 - Current
- Lead a global payroll team of 28 (5 in North America, 23 in Europe), managing payroll for 15,000+ employees across North America, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Canada, and 15 European countries.
- Spearhead the reorganization of European HR Shared Services to enhance HR administration efficiency and optimize payroll operations.
- Drive Workday system enhancements, including Right to Work compliance tracking and workflow automation for contracts and payroll data processing.
- Successfully implemented ADP GlobalView for the UK, and manage project implementations for France and nine other European countries, with full global implementation on track for April 2026.
- Lead vendor selection and contract negotiations for European payroll providers, focusing on compatibility with the Workday ecosystem and enhanced customer service.
- Collaborate with internal audit teams to ensure SOX compliance, providing detailed backup during testing cycles for payroll-related controls.
- Oversee year-end processing, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance for all employee documents, including tax filings across multiple countries.
Director II, Global Payroll
Claire’s Stores
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
10.2021 - 03.2025
- Managed global payroll operations for 15,000+ retail employees across multiple regions with a team of 17, focusing on both North America and Europe.
- Delivered change management during payroll system implementations, developing the team and ensuring operational efficiency.
- Led the selection of new managed payroll providers for the European market, conducting vendor reviews and providing a business case to the executive team.
- Successfully managed SOX compliance for payroll functions, supporting internal audits and addressing compliance gaps.
- Supported Workday payroll system maintenance and continuous process improvements to ensure accuracy and efficiency in payroll processing and reporting.
Director of Payroll and Shared Services
ATI Physical Therapy
Boilingbrook, IL
11.2017 - 10.2021
- Oversaw payroll operations for over 800 clinics and 25 states, managing a team of 4 and collaborating with multiple departments, including finance, HR, and benefits.
- Led the automation of Accounts Payable (AP) processes, transitioning from a manual system to an electronic invoicing and workflow system that reduced invoice processing times from 21-30 days to 3-14 days.
- Managed outsourced travel and expense processing, improving the approval cycle from two weeks to 48 hours.
- Spearheaded the Purchase Order system implementation, including the development of new workflows and team training.
- Led year-end W2 processing for 9,500 employees, ensuring full compliance with vendor deadlines and addressing system design challenges during the implementation of DayForce.
- Created a disaster recovery plan for payroll to ensure business continuity during natural or cyber disruptions.
Payroll Director
KapStone Paper & Packaging
Glenview, IL
10.2016 - 11.2017
- Managed payroll for 6,200 employees and led a team of 5, overseeing payroll functions for finance, HR, benefits, and plant management.
- Consolidated two payroll teams (across two locations) to eliminate redundancy, resulting in a $100K+ cost savings.
- Led the identification of inefficiencies in non-exempt overtime payments, generating a $500K policy change to improve cost control.
- Reduced the number of service requests by over 90% within a year, improving the efficiency of payroll service delivery.
Associate Director HR, Payroll and Time and Labor
Kraft Heinz Foods Company
Glenview, Illinois
02.2016 - 09.2016
- Managed payroll for 25,000 employees, harmonizing payroll processes across US and Canadian union and non-union employees.
- Developed and implemented IRS-compliant procedures for Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) to avoid tax penalties.
- Led a cross-functional team to harmonize payroll systems, transitioning to Ceridian DayForce while ensuring seamless integration with SAP and ADP.
- Oversaw the compliance of Golden Parachute calculations and IRS tax reporting.
Payroll Manager
Kraft Heinz Foods Company
Willowbrook, Illinois
10.2009 - 10.2012
- Managed a team of 5, supporting payroll for approximately 25,000 union and non-union employees across US and Canada, collaborating with finance, HR, benefits, and plant management.
- Identified and addressed over 50 SAP system configuration issues, collaborating with the vendor to implement corrective actions, ensuring improved payroll accuracy and efficiency.
- Led the year-end project for W-2 form production, successfully meeting the January 2013 deadline, despite the complexity of the Mondelez International spin-off in Q4 2012.
- Spearheaded a cross-functional project with Finance and external vendors to streamline account mapping, payroll accruals, tax filings, reporting, and key account reconciliations.
Senior Payroll Manager
MedImmune, LLC
Gaithersburg, Maryland
10.2009 - 10.2012
- Acted as the primary point of contact for special payroll projects, including year-end, acquisitions, divestitures, and reorganizations, ensuring all tasks were completed on schedule.
- Managed Expat payroll processing, including shadow payroll, collaborating with third-party vendors to ensure timely and accurate execution.
- Collaborated with MedImmune's Change Control and Communication Teams to align payroll processes with corporate change initiatives, ensuring smooth implementation and acceptance of changes.
- Coordinated daily payroll activities, ensuring compliance and accuracy for a complex payroll structure, including payroll earnings, tax deductions, benefit calculations, and testing for payroll system enhancements.
Payroll Director, Payroll System Administrator, HR Generalist, HR Assistant
NCO Financial Systems, f/k/a Outsourcing Solutions Inc. (OSI)
New Berlin, Wisconsin
03.1995 - 09.2009
Education
Associate of Science - Police Science
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI12.1995
Skills
Payroll Systems: ADP GlobalView, ADP Celergo, ADP Vantage, DayForce
Certification
Payroll & HR Configuration Training:
Awards
Recognized for implementing a company-wide AP automation project that cut invoice processing time by 80%., Successfully led multi-country payroll system implementations under budget and ahead of schedule.
Accomplishments
- Supervised team of 20+ staff members.
- Collaborated with team of 15 in the development of Workday for Claire's.
- Achieved one payroll platform for Europe by introducing ADP GlobalView and Celergo which allowed for one Europe payroll dashboard for processing data.
Timeline
Executive Director, Global Payroll and EU HRSS
Claire’s Stores
03.2025 - Current
Director II, Global Payroll
Claire’s Stores
10.2021 - 03.2025
Director of Payroll and Shared Services
ATI Physical Therapy
11.2017 - 10.2021
Payroll Director
KapStone Paper & Packaging
10.2016 - 11.2017
Associate Director HR, Payroll and Time and Labor
Kraft Heinz Foods Company
02.2016 - 09.2016
Payroll Manager
Kraft Heinz Foods Company
10.2009 - 10.2012
Senior Payroll Manager
MedImmune, LLC
10.2009 - 10.2012
Payroll Director, Payroll System Administrator, HR Generalist, HR Assistant
NCO Financial Systems, f/k/a Outsourcing Solutions Inc. (OSI)
03.1995 - 09.2009
Associate of Science - Police Science
Milwaukee Area Technical College
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