Willow Rivers
Bentonville,AR
Summary
Dynamic Global HRIS Payroll Project Manager with a proven track record at Walmart, excelling in project management and compliance. Spearheaded payroll operations for over 200,000 employees, enhancing accuracy and efficiency. Adept in SAP HCM and data analysis, fostering cross-functional collaboration to drive successful project outcomes.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Global HRIS Payroll Project Manager
Walmart
Bentonville, Arkansas
09.2021 - 07.2025
- Facilitate medium- to large-scale projects.
- Managed payroll operations and system projects impacting 200,000+ employees across multiple U.S. regions, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency in payroll delivery.
- Review project requirements; translate requirements into technical solutions; gather requested information.
- Conduct unit testing; communicate status and issues to team members and stakeholders.
- Collaborate with project team and cross functional teams, troubleshooting open issues and bug-fixes; ensuring on time delivery and hand-offs; interacting with project managers to provide input on project plan; and providing leadership to the project team.
- Leads the work of engineers, including offshore associates, for assigned Engineering projects by proving pertinent documents, direction, and examples; identifying short- and long-term solutions and timeline; reviewing and providing feedback for proposed solutions.
- Troubleshoots business and production issues by gathering information and engaging support teams to assist in the resolution of issues.
- Formulating an action plan; performing actions as designated in the plan, interpreting the results to determine further action; performs root cause analysis to prevent future occurrence of issue.
- Leads discovery phase of medium to large projects to produce high level design by partnering with the product management, project management, business and user experience teams; and obtaining cross-function approvals.
- Coordinated cross-functional teams to ensure timely project delivery.
- Facilitated meetings to gather requirements and update stakeholders on progress.
Global Payroll Architect
ERP Consultants (Freelance)
Houston, Texas
01.2018 - 12.2021
- Process Canada payroll activities from start to finish.
- Participate in SAP SIT testing.
- Provide functional support of SAP HCM, including the payroll and Time Admin solution.
- Interface with key stakeholders, interpret business requirements and implement.
- Help the customer conceptualize the integration of the business system with the corresponding business processes.
- Develop queries and functional specifications for interfaces as needed.
- Identify gaps between business needs and standard SAP HCM and Time Admin application functionality; design and document and implement solutions that fill the gaps.
- Identify business processes and associated information requirements for applications.
- Validate configurations and ensure system quality through testing plans and scripts.
- Support all end users, which could include after-hours activity and occasionally require on-call as Tier-1 support.
- Maintain SAP security, users and permissions, security groups, rights management.
- Assist in designing and maintaining interfaces to the system.
- Crosstrain Payroll managers on SAP training and job duties (Utilizing, SAP CATS, ADP GlobalView, SuccessFactors Employee Central, Ultimate).
- Provide solutions on HCM module – OM, PA & Payroll.
- Support 5k+ employees.
- Assisted in drawing payroll information from company database to do payroll research projects.
- Provide ad hoc training and knowledge to business super-users as required in running and maintain activities, such as remedial training, issue resolution, etc.
- Perform QA on training materials, manage pilot testing to ensure smooth Go-Live process, report and monitor effectiveness of all training conducted.
- Create functional specifications for payroll related changes and improvement projects/enhancements requested by the COE.
- Primary HR Functional Lead on projects and enhancements and works with HR.
- Assist in execution of payroll/project life cycle, including as-is and to be analysis, scope definition, process improvement and testing.
- Assist with problem solving and issue resolution – including escalation and prioritizations.
- Test and document payroll system changes.
- Ensure successful rollout and ongoing support of projects/enhancements.
- Provides frequent status update on projects/enhancements and escalates issues/risks as necessary.
- Collaborated with clients to gather requirements and define project scope.
HCM Payroll Business Lead
Apple
Austin, Texas
10.2016 - 12.2017
- Gather business requirements and documentation.
- Support 10k+ employees.
- Supporting global payroll team during time enhancement project.
- Lead Business Analyst SAP HCM Lead responsible for reviewing requirements, QA functional testing, data migration, data analysis, writing SOW’s and documentation.
- Performed UAT testing and Payroll G2 Extract verification and reconciliations.
- Consistently assess current customized solutions to identify and recommend ADPGV standard solutions.
- Prepares and maintains accurate records and reports of payroll transactions.
- Work successfully with 3rd party vendors to support business activities and function as the liaison with the SAP Technical team to troubleshoot, correct or enhance vendor interfaces.
- Ensured solution quality and serve as the primary point of contact for ADP Payroll GV solution design between the project team, third party vendors, IT and the PMO process within the functional business area.
- Detect critical deficiencies in the ADP GV HR/Comp Services architectures and recommend improvements.
- Led cross-functional teams to enhance product development processes.
HCM Payroll Functional Consultant
Spencer Thomas Group
Houston, Texas
09.2015 - 11.2016
- Monitor and maintain all functionality of HRIS Systems.
- Primary liaison with HRIS vendors contacts to ensure system effectiveness including upgrades and changes as they occur.
- ADP GlobalView Lead is responsible for requirements gathering, functional testing, data migration, data analysis, writing SOW’s and documentation.
- Ensure HR/Payroll team activities are performed in a manner that meets ADP GlobalView and/or DuPont’s requirements while adhering to ADP GlobalView best business processes.
- Reviewed and defined methodologies/processes while ensuring Payroll Specialists follow GlobalView best practices in accordance with DuPont's business requirements.
- Implements, maintains, and reviews payroll processing systems to ensure timely and accurate processing of payroll transactions including salaries, benefits, garnishments, taxes, and other deductions.
- Ensured Payroll Specialists are applying consistent methodologies and meeting Client's Global view SLA.
- Defined Interface SAP/Global testscripts for payroll third party vendors.
- Monitored day-to-day operations to ensure Payroll Specialists perform in accordance with the defined roles and processes.
- Data mapping from SAP to GlobalView.
- Data reconciliation between SAP, GlobalView, payroll vendor and SAP Success Factors.
- Collaborated with clients to gather functional requirements for system enhancements.
Payroll Time Management Business Lead
HESS
Houston, Texas
08.2014 - 07.2015
- Navigating Success Factors, add new hires, changes, transfers, and workflow, create, and maintain positions and Employee Central Reporting (ad-hoc).
- Collaborated in gathering all the functional requirements to enhance and correct existing errors.
- Work closely with the incident/change management team.
- Led to review and approve curricula, courses and lessons and reviews and provides input to proposed training schedule.
- Review and write business process design documents for HR and CATS workflow.
- Review functional designs for conversion, interfaces, and enhancements.
- Training material preparation and delivery.
- Prepare write-ups to communicate changes which impacted HR/CATS activities leading up to production.
- Participate in various functional testing activities.
- Data clean-up and validation with business units and HR before cut over.
- Review and validation of data and stabilization post go-live.
- Month end support and training post go-live.
- Facilitate CATS training sessions.
- Data mapping from SAP to SuccessFactors (Implementation project).
- Data reconciliation between SAP and SuccessFactors.
- Developed comprehensive business plans to drive operational efficiency and growth.
HRIS Consultant/SAP Payroll/ADP Globalview
Worley Parson, Air Liquide
Houston, Texas
11.2012 - 07.2014
- Track system updated and coordinated implementation to ensure continuity of operation to support business need.
- Maintained payroll calendar.
- Implementation and support of payroll functions of SAP ECC 6.0.
- Process and system design, configuration, integration testing, user training and post go-live support.
- Ensures accurate and timely processing of payroll updates including new hires, terminations, and changes to pay rates.
- SAP configuration and functional support for bi-weekly payroll processing.
- Troubleshoot and resolve incident change management tickets.
- Create, review, and approve supporting documentation of end-user requests for reports, changes in functionality, enhancements, reorganizations, and changes in master data.
- Perform configuration and schema builds in accordance with highest SAP build and documentation standards.
- Daily support of the production payroll environment for all US based employees including error review, and emergency technical support.
- Collaborated with other payroll teams to resolve complex issues.
- Accurately and thoroughly document change requirements.
- Ensure that assigned work is completed in a timely fashion and coordinated across functional areas when required.
- Analyzed client requirements to provide tailored consulting solutions.
SAP HCM Payroll Functional Lead
Atwood Oceanics
Houston, Texas
02.2012 - 11.2012
- Design Org structure as per customer requirement.
- Oversee and supervise the organizations payroll functions, ensuring payroll team processes payroll on time, accurately, and in compliance with government regulations.
- Lead SAP HCM functional analyst in the implementation, testing and training of all HCM Modules.
- Ensured SAP systems & automated processes are accurately & meeting the needs of the HR, Shared Services & Payroll departments.
- Redesigned Enterprise, Personnel & Organizational structure globally to leverage SAP best practice & make the foundation for global ESS/MSS rollout.
- Work successfully with 3rd party vendors to support business activities and the liaison with the SAP Technical team to troubleshoot, correct or enhance vendor interfaces.
- SAP HCM Lead responsible for requirements gathering, functional testing, data migration, data analysis, writing SOW’s and documentation.
- Assessed, approved, and implemented system upgrades/patches as necessary.
- Compose HR documentation for SAP/PY throughout global HR areas of responsibility.
- Developed training material/procedures & trained end-users in the proper use of ERP systems.
- Led functional teams to enhance operational efficiency and workflow processes.
Solution Architect Team Lead
Accenture
Kansas City, Kansas
03.2011 - 02.2012
- Analyzed and make required changes to stabilize the current HCM Payroll System.
- Supported the programming, management & maintenance services required to implement & support new installations or maintain & improve existing SAP system for clients.
- SAP Architect Lead responsible for requirements gathering, functional testing, data migration, data analysis, writing SOW’s and documentation.
- Managed SAP transports, support packs & UAT testing.
- Responsible for planning, analyzing & defining software design strategies & solutions.
- Planned, defined & supported the delivery of future functional & technical capabilities for SAP & group of applications.
- Supervised On/Offshore Business Analyst (staff of ten).
- Coached other team members to develop stronger functional & technical skills for the applications they support.
- Collaborated with Project Managers, other Architects, Developers & Testers to define the intended business & technical capabilities that the team needs to deliver as part of a project.
- Resolve issues related to current system design and settings (resolve help desk tickets, configuration, issues), proposed and document solutions, perform configuration and testing because of stabilization efforts.
- Prepares and maintains accurate records and reports of payroll transactions.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to align technology with business goals.
Education
BBA - Human Resource Management
American Intercontinental University
01.2009
AS - Business
Houston Community College
01.2008
Skills
- Project Management
- Payroll Administration
- SAP HCM
- Quality assurance
- Data analysis
- Compliance management
Personal Information
Timeline
Global HRIS Payroll Project Manager
Walmart
09.2021 - 07.2025
Global Payroll Architect
ERP Consultants (Freelance)
01.2018 - 12.2021
HCM Payroll Business Lead
Apple
10.2016 - 12.2017
HCM Payroll Functional Consultant
Spencer Thomas Group
09.2015 - 11.2016
Payroll Time Management Business Lead
HESS
08.2014 - 07.2015
HRIS Consultant/SAP Payroll/ADP Globalview
Worley Parson, Air Liquide
11.2012 - 07.2014
SAP HCM Payroll Functional Lead
Atwood Oceanics
02.2012 - 11.2012
Solution Architect Team Lead
Accenture
03.2011 - 02.2012
BBA - Human Resource Management
American Intercontinental University
AS - Business
Houston Community College