Manager, Payroll Tax Operations

About the Role

Manager, Payroll Tax Operations leads a high-performing PTO team responsible for end-to-end payroll tax issue resolution across Notices, Corrections, Amendments, and Pay & File. This role requires a hands-on payroll tax expert who can mentor a team, drive performance, quality, and timely customer outcomes in a high-volume environment. What You'll Do

• Translate the vision and values of PTO into team strategy and a 1+ year operating plan aligned to department goals.

• Own delivery and quality outcomes for your assigned team, ensuring SLA compliance across all active cases and eliminating backlogs to reduce customer burden.

• Lead a team of Tax Processors through regular Monthly Check-Ins, structured SBIC feedback, performance coaching, and career development conversations.

• Serve as the final internal escalation point for the most complex IRS and state agency notices, penalty assessments, cross-jurisdictional discrepancies, and multi-quarter audit inquiries arriving with a resolution strategy, not just a problem.

• Drive utilization of lean management practices including Daily Huddles, WIP reviews, and performance board management to surface and solve problems in real time.

• Partner with team to monitor team WIP daily; identify aging cases, holds, and systemic blockers; enforce intake and closure workflows to ensure no notice, payroll correction, and amended return exceeds agency deadlines without documented action.

• Own SOP and Knowledge Base (KB) governance; direct team in authoring and validating process documentation; translate IRS and state regulatory updates into team briefings and SOP revisions with effective dates.

• Drive hiring, onboarding, and skills calibration for new team members; proactively build succession depth at the team level. What We're Looking For

• Deep hands-on payroll tax expertise; payroll tax specialist, not a generalist.

• Experience resolving complex IRS and state notices, penalty assessments, cross-jurisdictional discrepancies, and multi-quarter audits; ability to develop resolution strategies.

• Strong track record leading and coaching a high-volume payroll tax team; experience with SLA management and backlog elimination.

• Ability to translate regulatory updates into clear process improvements; strong governance of SOPs and knowledge base.

• Excellent collaboration, communication, and escalation skills; comfortable operating as a final escalation point.

• Lean management mindset (Daily Huddles, WIP reviews, performance boards) to surface and solve problems in real time.

• Hiring, onboarding, and succession planning capabilities.