Payroll Supervisor

Client

Our client is a well-established organization that prioritizes operational excellence, employee experience, and strong financial stewardship. They offer a collaborative environment where accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement are highly valued.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Payroll Operations Manager to lead the execution and oversight of U.S. payroll processing activities. This individual will ensure payroll is delivered accurately, on time, and in full compliance with all applicable regulations. The role combines hands-on leadership of payroll operations with responsibility for strengthening controls, improving processes, and supporting payroll system effectiveness.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience in multi-state payroll environments and has evolved beyond transactional processing into ownership of payroll operations, governance, and team leadership. This is a highly visible role partnering closely with HR, Finance, and external vendors to ensure a seamless and compliant pay experience. The position also plays a key role in supporting key compensation cycles such as merit increases and bonus payouts.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end payroll execution across the U.S., ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance
• Review and validate payroll data inputs including compensation changes, new hires, terminations, and variable pay components
• Manage critical compensation cycles such as annual merit processing, bonus payouts, and off-cycle payroll events
• Ensure payroll records, reconciliations, and reporting outputs are accurate, complete, and audit-ready
• Partner with HR, Finance, and Total Rewards to align on pay-related processes and ensure consistency across systems and stakeholders
• Serve as escalation point for complex payroll issues and provide guidance to payroll team members
• Support payroll governance activities including audits, controls testing, and documentation standards
• Identify opportunities to streamline payroll processes and enhance system utilization and automation

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in U.S. payroll administration with multi-state exposure
• Prior experience in a lead, senior, or supervisory capacity supporting payroll operations
• Strong working knowledge of payroll compliance requirements at federal, state, and local levels
• Experience with processing payroll in Workday
• CPP or FPC certification preferred
• Proven ability to manage payroll cycles end-to-end with high accuracy and attention to detail
• Experience supporting audits, controls, and compliance reviews (SOX exposure a plus)
• Strong Excel skills and ability to work with large data sets and reconciliations
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to partner across HR, Finance, and external vendors
• High level of discretion in handling sensitive and confidential employee data