Christine Graham, PLP
Brampton,ON
Summary
Known for a leadership approach grounded in accountability, coaching, mentorship, and operational excellence. Strong advocate for employee engagement and workforce development within payroll environments, recognizing the operational pressures and high-accountability nature of payroll leadership. Focused on building resilient, high-performing teams through coaching, structure, operational clarity, and professional development. Believes payroll leadership extends beyond processing and compliance — it is a critical component of employee experience, organizational trust, and enterprise operational integrity.
Overview
32
32
years of professional experience
Work History
Payroll Manager
Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
Toronto, Canada
01.2023 - Current
- Lead enterprise payroll operations within one of Canada’s largest public-sector organizations, overseeing payroll operations supporting approximately 45,000 employees within a highly unionized and operationally complex environment.
- Provide leadership across payroll operations, workforce governance, compliance management, process improvement, operational stabilization, and employee development initiatives.
- Lead and support a payroll organization consisting of 30+ employees with multiple levels of leadership oversight, including managers, specialists, and operational staff.
- Serve as the senior payroll authority responsible for strategic recommendations, operational governance, hiring support, escalation management, and payroll risk mitigation.
- Partner closely with Finance, HR, IT, Deloitte, and executive leadership teams to ensure audit readiness, payroll integrity, compliance accuracy, and operational continuity.
- Participate in ERP-related discussions, operational planning sessions, implementation alignment activities, and enterprise technology transformation conversations impacting payroll operations and workforce governance.
- Contributed to ERP vendor evaluation and selection discussions as part of broader enterprise operational and technology considerations.
- Provide leadership support during highly sensitive payroll matters, escalations, reconciliations, overpayment matters, audit reviews, and workforce-related payroll concerns.
- Lead operational cleanup initiatives, workflow redesign, and payroll process stabilization efforts within a large-scale unionized environment.
- Coach and mentor payroll professionals through structured career development, operational guidance, leadership coaching, and succession planning.
- Successfully supported career progression and internal growth of employees from administrative and specialist positions into more advanced payroll and leadership opportunities.
- Led the implementation of ServiceNow to modernize payroll, pension, and benefits service delivery operations.
- Prior to implementation, operational support was managed primarily through email, telephone, and voicemail processes.
- Partnered closely with IT leadership to implement structured workflow management, KPI measurement, service-level monitoring, and operational visibility.
- Coordinated training and organizational adoption efforts across more than 60 payroll, pension, and benefits employees.
- Secured operational alignment, stakeholder engagement, and union buy-in to support successful implementation and adoption.
- Accelerated implementation timelines to support the processing requirements associated with Bill 124 retroactive payments.
- Support payroll audit readiness initiatives and compliance governance involving CRA requirements, payroll reconciliations, pension administration, and payroll accounting controls.
- Work closely with Finance teams regarding payroll-to-GL integration, reconciliation oversight, and payroll accounting workflows.
- Participate in operational discussions involving payroll compliance exposures, process controls, audit defensibility, and workforce governance.
Payroll Transformation Leadership Role
Life Cycle Engineering
Toronto, Canada
01.2022 - 01.2023
- Led payroll operations and payroll transformation activities within a complex operational environment involving payroll system modernization and enterprise process alignment.
- Participated in the implementation and transition from ADP to Workday payroll systems.
- Supported implementation governance, operational transition planning, payroll process alignment, testing activities, and end-user operational readiness.
- Provided leadership coaching, operational guidance, and team support during organizational transition activities.
- Managed payroll operational oversight within a transformation-focused environment.
- Supported payroll governance, compliance validation, reconciliation oversight, and process stabilization efforts.
- Worked closely with operational stakeholders regarding payroll integrity, process continuity, and implementation readiness.
- Managed complex payroll elements including commissions, RSUs, and payroll governance review processes.
Global Payroll Leadership Role
OANDA Corporation
Toronto, Canada
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Supported payroll operations and global payroll governance initiatives within a complex multinational environment.
- Participated in global payroll operational management and payroll governance initiatives.
- Supported enterprise payroll vendor evaluation and RFP activities involving global payroll operations.
- Worked closely with leadership teams regarding payroll transformation considerations and operational requirements.
- Supported payroll governance, compliance oversight, reconciliation activities, and operational continuity.
- Managed payroll complexity involving commissions, cross-border payroll considerations, and multi-jurisdiction operations.
Payroll Operations & Vendor Selection Support
OANDA
11.2019 - 12.2021
- Supported payroll governance and oversight across complex operational environments.
- Participated in RFP and vendor selection processes for global payroll technology evaluations.
- Collaborated with leadership teams to assess operational requirements for payroll vendor evaluations.
- Contributed to enterprise payroll vendor evaluation initiatives within a global context.
North American Payroll Leadership Role
FTI Consulting
Toronto, Canada
01.2017 - 01.2020
- Led payroll operations supporting Canadian and U.S. payroll environments within a complex professional services organization.
- Supported North American payroll operations, payroll governance, and operational leadership activities.
- Managed payroll accounting processes, payroll balancing, reconciliations, and operational controls.
- Worked closely with Finance, HR, and operational leadership teams regarding payroll governance and compliance.
- Participated in organizational payroll process improvements and operational stabilization initiatives.
- Supported complex payroll structures involving commissions, executive compensation considerations, and multi-jurisdiction payroll requirements.
Global Payroll Expansion & Transformation Leadership
Canada Goose
Toronto, Canada
01.2013 - 01.2017
- Supported payroll expansion initiatives during a significant period of international organizational growth.
- Supported global payroll implementation and operational expansion initiatives involving Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and California operations.
- Participated in workforce expansion activities involving payroll integration, operational readiness, and compliance alignment.
- Supported time and attendance implementation initiatives and payroll operational enhancements across multiple jurisdictions.
- Collaborated with Finance, Tax, HR, and operational stakeholders regarding payroll governance, process alignment, and operational scalability.
- Supported payroll operations across Canada and the United States within a rapidly scaling global organization.
Dayforce Operational Support
Ceridian
05.2008 - 06.2010
- Supported payroll operations and implementation-related activities involving enterprise payroll processing and operational alignment.
- Supported payroll operational workflows and Dayforce implementation-related activities.
- Worked closely with operational stakeholders regarding payroll accuracy, governance, and process continuity.
- Participated in payroll transformation and operational support initiatives.
Client Services & Implementation Specialist
ADP Canada
03.1994 - 04.1999
- Developed foundational expertise in payroll operations, payroll implementation support, client services, payroll compliance, and enterprise payroll governance.
- Supported payroll implementations and operational transitions for enterprise clients.
- Developed deep expertise in Canadian and U.S. payroll processing, compliance, taxation, and payroll operations.
- Partnered with clients regarding payroll configuration, issue resolution, payroll governance, and operational continuity.
- Built foundational expertise in large-scale payroll operations, payroll controls, client advisory support, and transformation readiness.
Education
Change Management
Cornell University
03-2025
Some College (No Degree) - Human Resources Management
Sheridan College
Mississauga, ON12-2022
Payroll Management
Sheridian College
Mississauga, ON01-2013
Skills
- RSUs administration
- Variable pay environments
- Labour, Risk, Compliance
- Audit and Analytics
- Managing over 2 Bii Budget
- HR, Finance, Operations
- 401(k), Pension, Benefits management
- Cross-border payroll governance
- Payroll accounting expertise
- Coaching / Mentorship
Affiliations
- National Payroll Institute (NPI)
- Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA)
- Ontario Payroll Advisory Council
Additional Expertise
- Payroll Complexity Exposure
- RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) and PSUs (Performance Stock Units) administration and governance exposure within complex corporate compensation structures.
- Extensive experience supporting complex commission-based compensation structures and variable pay environments.
References
Available upon request.
Leadership Philosophy
Known for a leadership approach grounded in accountability, coaching, mentorship, and operational excellence.
Professional Development
- Payroll Leadership Professional (PLP)
- John Maxwell Leadership & Coaching Training
- ECornell – Change Management Studies
- Graduate Studies in Theology (In Progress)
Timeline
Payroll Manager
Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
01.2023 - Current
Payroll Transformation Leadership Role
Life Cycle Engineering
01.2022 - 01.2023
Global Payroll Leadership Role
OANDA Corporation
01.2020 - 01.2022
Payroll Operations & Vendor Selection Support
OANDA
11.2019 - 12.2021
North American Payroll Leadership Role
FTI Consulting
01.2017 - 01.2020
Global Payroll Expansion & Transformation Leadership
Canada Goose
01.2013 - 01.2017
Dayforce Operational Support
Ceridian
05.2008 - 06.2010
Client Services & Implementation Specialist
ADP Canada
03.1994 - 04.1999
Change Management
Cornell University
Some College (No Degree) - Human Resources Management
Sheridan College
Payroll Management
Sheridian College