Sr Lead Product Manager

Role Summary
We are hiring a Senior Product Manager (Japan) with a strong Payroll-first product orientation, responsible for Japan Payroll and payroll-adjacent HCM modules (e.g., Time, statutory reporting, year-end processes, pensions, allowances, and related workflows). You will lead product strategy, solution selection, and delivery execution in an environment where the target solution path is still being consolidated.

ADP currently leverages Bugyo as a key component of our Japan capability. We are actively evaluating future options, which may include: (1) continuing with Bugyo and deepening integration/capability coverage, (2) replacing/transitioning away from Bugyo, or (3) a hybrid model (partially building ADP-owned capabilities while continuing to rely on Bugyo and/or other third-party solutions for selected functions).

A critical success factor is ensuring Japan BoB modules—such as Retirement pension and other pension schemes/processes, Commuting allowance and other earnings/deductions handling, Year-End Adjustment (YEA), and other Japan statutory outputs—are delivered in a way that can seamlessly integrate into ADP Global Payroll, thereby benefiting global payroll customers with a consistent end-to-end experience.

This role is highly cross-functional and cross-border. Reporting lines and key partner teams are global; you must be comfortable operating in a matrix organization and collaborating across time zones. Business fluency in Japanese and English is required.

Key Responsibilities

1) Payroll & Japan HCM Module Product Ownership

• Own the product vision, roadmap, and outcomes for Japan payroll and payroll-adjacent modules (e.g., Time, statutory outputs, reporting).
• Drive clarity and quality across core payroll capabilities: calculations, controls, exceptions, reconciliation, retro/re-run handling, compliance outputs, and year-end readiness.
• Lead productization and delivery of Japan-specific BoB modules, including (but not limited to):
• Retirement pension and other pension schemes/processes
• Commuting allowance and other earnings/deductions items
• Year-End Adjustment (YEA) and related workflows
• Japan statutory reporting/outputs and common market requirements
• Partner with Compliance, Implementation, Service, and Operations to ensure solutions are deliverable, operable, auditable, and scalable.

2) Global Payroll Alignment & Seamless Integration

• Ensure Japan local capabilities are designed as upgrades to the Global Payroll offering—not standalone features—so they can benefit both local and global deployments.
• Define and drive end-to-end integration with ADP Global Payroll, including data models, mapping, transformation rules, and interface design (APIs and/or file-based integrations).
• Drive orchestration and operational readiness: status tracking, error handling, monitoring/observability, security, privacy, access controls, auditability, and logging.
• Align with global product and architecture teams to deliver consistent customer experience and scalable operating models.

3) Solution Discovery & Decision-Making (Build / Buy / Hybrid, incl. Bugyo)

• Lead structured solution evaluation and decision-making for Japan capabilities across build, buy, and hybrid options.
• Drive deep assessment of Bugyo (and alternatives), including functional coverage, configurability, compliance update cadence, integration patterns, implementation/operations dependencies, vendor sustainability, risk, and total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Produce comparable option proposals (cost, timeline, risks, dependencies, operating impacts), secure stakeholder alignment, and drive execution to decision and delivery.
• Establish vendor governance mechanisms: requirements alignment, acceptance criteria, delivery cadence, quality management, SLA expectations, and risk controls.

4) Value Delivery, Financial Acumen & ROI Methodology

• Operate with a strong value delivery mindset: define value hypotheses, outcome metrics, and value realization plans.
• Build and maintain business cases using ROI and TCO methodologies (including payback and sensitivity analysis), partnering closely with Finance and business stakeholders.
• Prioritize roadmap and delivery investments based on measurable value (growth, retention, efficiency gains, risk reduction, compliance assurance).

5) Customer, Market & Stakeholder Leadership

• Engage directly with customers for discovery, requirements workshops, solution validation, and roadmap communication; translate insights into actionable product decisions.
• Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders; produce clear product narratives, documentation, and high-quality presentations for internal and external audiences.
• Lead cross-functional execution with Engineering, UX, Compliance, Operations, Implementation, Support, and Sales/Pre-Sales in a global matrix environment.

Required Qualifications

• Significant product management experience in Payroll and/or HCM, with deep understanding of Japan payroll processes, compliance requirements, and market practices.
• Proven capability to deliver payroll/HCM modules that integrate into broader platforms and operating models (integration, data flows, implementation and support considerations).
• Experience driving solution selection and delivery in ambiguous environments (Build/Buy/Hybrid), including vendor evaluation and ongoing partner management.
• Strong technical aptitude: ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions (APIs/interfaces, data mapping, system behaviors, non-functional requirements).
• Strong value delivery orientation with demonstrated ability to build business cases and apply ROI/TCO frameworks.
• Excellent customer-facing skills (discovery, stakeholder management, presentations) and ability to influence across functions and levels.
• Business fluency in Japanese and English (written and verbal).
• Comfortable working with global stakeholders across time zones in a matrix organization; resilient under pressure.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bugyo experience (product knowledge and/or implementation/integration exposure), or demonstrated ability to rapidly learn Bugyo in depth and apply that knowledge to product decisions.
• Experience with multi-country payroll platforms and global payroll operating models (Global Payroll ecosystem exposure strongly preferred).
• Familiarity with Time & Attendance and payroll-adjacent domains (statutory reporting, year-end processes, payroll-to-finance touchpoints such as GL/reconciliation).
• Strong understanding of enterprise integration patterns, security/privacy requirements, data governance, and operational readiness practices.
• Experience supporting regulated products with frequent compliance changes and audit requirements.