Payroll Manager

Job title: Payroll Manager

Job Summary

The Payroll Manager will help lead and modernize the Company’s US payroll operations in a complex, multi-state and multi-entity environment supporting approximately 1,700 associates. The role is accountable for ensuring associates are paid accurately, timely, and compliantly while strengthening internal controls, developing payroll talent, improving associate experience, and advancing payroll technology and automation.

The position supports a diverse payroll environment that includes salaried and hourly associates, union and non-union populations, incentive and bonus payments, shift and other premium pay, garnishments, leaves of absence, and periodic off-cycle payments. The Payroll Manager partners closely with Human Resources, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, IT, Internal Audit, and business leaders to ensure payroll processes and data remain accurate, controlled, scalable, and responsive to the needs of the organization.

Reporting to the Director of Shared Services, the Payroll Manager will have the opportunity to influence the future direction of payroll operations, technology, service delivery, and team development.

Key Responsibilities

• Payroll Operations and Compliance

• Lead accurate and timely end-to-end payroll processing, including regular, supplemental, and off-cycle payrolls

• Establish and manage the payroll calendar, submission deadlines, review procedures, approvals, and escalation protocols

• Review biweekly payroll registers, variance reports, exception reports, tax calculations, deductions, and funding requirements before final transmission

• Oversee payroll-tax deposits, filings, reconciliations, W-2 processing, agency notices, garnishments, levies, and other statutory obligations

• Oversee payroll processing and controls related to executive compensation programs, including incentive payments, deferred compensation arrangements, equity-related transactions, and other executive payroll components, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage, tax, record-retention, and payroll-reporting requirements

• Oversee timekeeping, absence, and payroll-data interfaces, including resolution of failed or inaccurate transactions

• Financial Controls and Reporting

• Maintain effective payroll policies, procedures, internal controls, segregation of duties, system access, and audit trails

• Partner with Accounting to support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close requirements

• Support internal and external audits and ensure timely remediation of findings

• Maintain payroll records in accordance with legal and company retention requirements

• Leadership and Service Delivery

• Lead, coach, and develop the payroll team, establishing clear responsibilities, goals, schedules, service levels, backup coverage, and development plans

• Serve as the escalation point for complex associate-pay issues, ensuring timely, accurate, and empathetic resolution

• Build effective partnerships with Human Resources, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, IT, Internal Audit, and business stakeholders

• Manage payroll vendors, service levels, issue escalation, system releases, and continuous improvement opportunities

• Establish business-continuity procedures to ensure payroll can be completed during system, staffing, or other operational disruptions

• Technology and Continuous Improvement

• Lead payroll-system governance, configuration, testing, upgrades, integrations, and data-quality monitoring

• Identify and implement automation and process improvements that reduce manual work, errors, cycle time, and control risk

• Develop and monitor payroll KPIs, root-cause trends, and corrective-action plans

• Support acquisitions, organizational changes, payroll conversions, and employee-data integrations

• Maintain current knowledge of payroll legislation, market practices, and emerging payroll technologies

• Partner with HRIS team to maintain payroll configuration, testing, and integrations within Workday and related payroll systems

Skills & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business, human resources, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent combination of education, payroll certification, and relevant experience will be considered
• Minimum seven years progressive payroll processing, preferably in a shared services environment, including at least three years in people leadership roles
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation strongly preferred; candidates without the designation should demonstrate equivalent technical payroll expertise
• Advanced Excel and payroll-data analysis skills, including pivot tables, XLOOKUP, structured data analysis, reconciliations, and high-volume exception reporting
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with ADP Workforce Now and Workday preferred

Other Requirements:

• Leadership: outstanding people leader, organizational skills and ability to effectively lead a team within a high volume, service-related atmosphere, someone who encourages their team to contribute thoughts and ideas to drive improvement
• Analytical Rigor: a detail-oriented professional who can use data to diagnose issues, prioritize fixes, and report outcomes
• Continuous improvement: Uses data, root-cause analysis, process mapping, and technology to simplify payroll processes, reduce errors, strengthen controls, and improve employee experience
• Change Management: Plans, prepares, communicates, trains, implements, and sustains new ways of working
• Interpersonal skills: a relationship builder with excellent communication skills (verbal and written) and proven ability to effectively communicate at all levels
• Cross-functional influence: builds trust across Accounting, Procurement, Treasury, and other key stakeholders
• Execution and prioritization: Anticipates payroll risks, distinguishes urgent issues from structural opportunities, and delivers accurate outcomes under fixed payroll deadlines
• Associate experience: Communicates pay-related issues with accuracy, discretion, urgency, and empathy while addressing root causes and maintaining appropriate confidentiality
• Payroll judgment: Applies payroll regulations, company policies, collective bargaining provisions, and internal controls to complex situations, escalating appropriately when legal, tax, or employee-relations interpretation is required