Payroll Manager

What You'll Do

The Payroll Manager is responsible for end-to-end payroll operations for the U.S. and ensures compliance with all applicable regulations, internal controls, and corporate standards. In the future, this role may expand to include payroll operations for countries outside of the U.S. while maintaining governance alignment with global payroll standards for other regions. The role operates within a shared-services model and leverages Dayforce HCM for payroll processing, integrations, and reporting.

• Lead all aspects of U.S. payroll operations across multiple business segments and multiple-states, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with federal, state, and local requirements.
• Maintain governance over payroll processes and controls (SOX, Segregation of Duties), implement and manage compliance calendars, and uphold business continuity/disaster recovery standards.
• Ensure payroll compliance with collective bargaining agreements (CBA) where applicable; translate contractual terms (e.g., overtime, premiums, holiday pay) into executable payroll rules.
• Own the payroll processing lifecycle milestones (cutoff, approval, commit, impound, and pay date), off-cycle adjustments when needed.
• Partner with HRIS analysts to manage Dayforce configuration, payroll/tax updates, integrations, and change control; assure data integrity across upstream inputs (HR changes, timekeeping, accruals) and downstream outputs (GL, tax, treasury, benefits, stock plans).
• Manage payroll tax registrations, garnishments, child support, liens, and year-end reporting (W‑2); support future expansion readiness for other countries.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation (evidence of approvals, reconciliations, access logs) and support internal/external audits.
• Develop and monitor KPIs, including on-time payroll processing across all jurisdictions; error rate and correction metrics; compliance timeliness for tax and garnishments; and audit readiness with zero material findings.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Treasury, Tax, and IT to resolve issues, drive root-cause analysis, and execute continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead, coach, and develop payroll team members; establish standard work, SOPs, and clear SLAs.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, HR, or related field (preferred).
• 7+ years of progressive payroll experience, including U.S. multi‑state administration; 3+ years managing teams.
• Demonstrated proficiency managing payroll operations on an enterprise HCM platform (e.g., Dayforce, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle, ADP GlobalView) with integrations, controls, and reporting required. 
• Strong knowledge of payroll compliance and tax regulations; familiarity with audit/risk frameworks (SOX, COSO) and SoD.
• Experience consolidating multiple pay frequencies into streamlined processes.

What We Value 

• Payroll certifications (e.g., CPP, PCP) preferred
• Payroll Experience in shared services payroll supporting multiple business segments.
• International payroll governance exposure and readiness for future operational ownership
• Experience with Dayforce HCM payroll operations preferred; ability to quickly learn and leverage Dayforce functionality.
• Analytical capability for payroll reporting and variance analysis
• Vendor management experience with measurable outcomes (SLA adherence, defect rates, change throughput).
• Project experience with payroll system upgrades or multi-country implementations