Senior Payroll Lead

About the Role

This hybrid position is responsible for ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing, maintaining payroll system integrity, supporting payroll tax and regulatory compliance, and identifying opportunities for continuous process improvement. The ideal candidate will be a payroll subject matter expert with strong analytical skills, extensive knowledge of U.S. payroll regulations, and experience working within a shared services or high-volume payroll environment. Experience supporting Canadian payroll operations is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support the administration and execution of U.S. and Canadian payroll operations, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely employee payments.
• Partner closely with Payroll Shared Services team members to provide a high level of service to employees and HR business partners.
• Assist payroll leadership with day-to-day payroll activities and strategic initiatives.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, identify root causes, and recommend process improvements and best practices.
• Develop, maintain, and enhance payroll procedures, documentation, processes, and internal controls.
• Serve as a key resource for U.S. and Canadian payroll tax filings and deposits.
• Support payroll-related internal and external audits.
• Manage or support retirement plan file processing and reconciliations.
• Support general ledger payroll integrations and payroll accounting activities.
• Assist with month-end and year-end payroll close activities, including journal entries, account reconciliations, and reporting.
• Lead or participate in payroll system implementations, upgrades, and process improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and local payroll regulations, tax requirements, and company policies.
• Provide training, guidance, and support to payroll team members and internal business partners.
• Generate complex payroll reports, queries, and data analyses to support business needs and decision-making.
• Perform additional payroll-related projects and responsibilities as needed.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education and relevant payroll experience will be considered.

Experience

• 7 years of progressive payroll experience, including significant U.S. multi-state payroll administration.
• Strong experience with payroll tax compliance, audits, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience supporting month-end close activities, payroll accounting, journal entries, and account reconciliations.
• Experience within a shared services or high-volume payroll environment preferred.
• Experience processing or supporting Canadian payroll is highly preferred.

Required Skills

Technical Knowledge & Expertise

• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
• Knowledge or experience with Canadian payroll regulations is highly preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of payroll processing, administration, reporting, and recordkeeping.
• Strong understanding of payroll accounting principles and general ledger integrations.
• Knowledge of SOX controls and compliance requirements.
• Experience working with payroll systems, HRIS platforms, and timekeeping solutions.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including data analysis, reporting, pivot tables, lookups, and complex formulas.
• Experience with Workday, Kronos/UKG, or comparable payroll and timekeeping systems is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

Analytical & Problem-Solving

• Strong ability to identify issues, analyze payroll data, determine root causes, and develop practical solutions.
• Excellent attention to detail with a commitment to payroll accuracy and compliance.
• Strong critical-thinking and analytical capabilities.

Leadership & Communication

• Ability to provide guidance, training, and mentorship to payroll team members.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to collaborate across departments and levels of an organization.
• Customer-service mindset with a focus on employee and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Ability to communicate complex payroll matters clearly and professionally.

Project & Process Management

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
• Experience leading or supporting projects, coordinating resources, and participating in system implementations.
• Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on increasing operational efficiency, strengthening controls, and implementing best practices.

Preferred Skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation.
• Experience supporting both U.S. and Canadian payroll operations.
• Experience with payroll system implementations, upgrades, or process transformation initiatives.
• Background working within a large, multi-site, or multinational organization.
• Experience with Workday and/or Kronos/UKG.
• Strong payroll accounting and general ledger experience.

The Ideal Candidate

• The ideal candidate is an experienced payroll professional who can balance hands-on payroll responsibilities with higher-level analysis, compliance, and process improvement.
• This person will be comfortable investigating complex payroll issues, working with large amounts of data, partnering with HR and Finance, and serving as a resource to other members of the payroll team.
• They should have strong U.S. multi-state payroll expertise and ideally bring experience supporting Canadian payroll operations.
• The successful candidate will be detail-oriented, analytical, collaborative, and capable of identifying opportunities to make payroll processes more accurate, efficient, and scalable.