Payroll Manager

Required Skills & Experience

- Payroll Leadership: 5+ years of progressively responsible payroll experience with experience supervising staff or managing payroll operations.

- Municipal Experience: Strong municipal/public-sector payroll experience, ideally including police, fire, or other public safety employees.

- FLSA & Compliance: Strong understanding of FLSA, Department of Labor requirements, payroll taxes, wage and hour requirements, and payroll compliance.

- Collective Bargaining: Experience interpreting and applying MOUs/collective bargaining agreements, including implementing new pay rules when agreements change.

- Hands-On Payroll: Comfortable reviewing and performing complex payroll calculations, including retro pay, deductions, terminations, accruals, taxes, and reconciliations.

- Leadership & Communication: Able to lead a payroll team while working collaboratively across HR, Accounting, IT, and other departments.

Nice to Have Skills & Experience

- Tyler Munis: Hands-on Tyler Munis experience is a huge plus.

- UKG: Previous experience working with UKG or similar electronic timekeeping systems.

- System Implementation: Experience supporting HRIS/HCM implementations, payroll testing, data validation, and system transitions.

- Education: Bachelor's degree preferred, but strong directly relevant municipal payroll experience is important.

Job Description

This team is seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to oversee day-to-day payroll operations while the existing Payroll Manager focuses on a new HRIS/HCM implementation. This person will supervise the payroll team, ensure accurate and compliant payroll processing, handle escalated payroll issues, and partner across HR, Accounting, IT, and other departments.

- Payroll Operations: Manage day-to-day payroll operations, processing priorities, deadlines, staff assignments, and coverage to ensure accurate and timely payroll.

- Team Leadership: Supervise payroll staff, review work, provide coaching and training, and ensure the team has appropriate coverage and support.

- Full-Cycle Payroll: Oversee regular and supplemental payrolls, retroactive pay, deductions, leave accruals, terminations, adjustments, reconciliations, and other complex calculations. Serve as a hands-on backup when needed.

- Compliance: Ensure payroll practices align with FLSA, Department of Labor requirements, policies, and MOUs/collective bargaining agreements.

- Public Safety Payroll: Oversee complex payroll rules involving police and fire employees, including varied schedules, overtime, and other public safety pay requirements.

- Escalations: Serve as the point person for complex or sensitive payroll issues and help resolve employee pay discrepancies.

- Reporting & Reconciliations: Oversee payroll taxes, retirement contributions, deductions, GL reconciliations, W-2s, Forms 941, and other payroll reporting.

- Internal Controls: Maintain payroll controls, protect payroll data, support audits, and identify improvements to payroll processes and procedures.

- System Support: Partner with HR, IT, and Finance on payroll system changes, testing, data validation, interfaces, and reporting during the HRIS/HCM transition.