Payroll Manager

Job Description

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Payroll Manager to oversee payroll operations for a large employee population in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. This Long-term Contract position calls for a hands-on leader who can ensure timely pay delivery, maintain regulatory compliance, and strengthen payroll processes through effective systems oversight and cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in complex, multi-state payroll environments and a strong ability to guide teams while supporting accurate financial reporting and audit readiness. Experience with ADP is strongly preferred. This role is fully onsite.

Responsibilities:

• Lead payroll administration across one or more recurring pay cycles, ensuring employees are paid correctly and on schedule.

• Oversee compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations, including taxes, wage rules, garnishments, and benefit deductions.

• Partner with Human Resources and Finance to resolve payroll issues, improve data accuracy, and support broader organizational objectives.

• Manage payroll systems and identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation and platform enhancements.

• Reconcile payroll activity with financial records, support accrual accuracy, and maintain strong internal controls for audit preparedness.

• Supervise and develop payroll staff by setting performance expectations, providing coaching, and supporting ongoing training.

• Monitor vendor relationships and coordinate with external service providers to maintain dependable payroll operations.

• Support payroll-related process improvements and system modernization efforts to reduce manual work and strengthen reliability

• 10+ years of progressive payroll experience, including leadership responsibility in a large-scale or enterprise environment.
• Strong background managing full-cycle payroll, including multi-state processing for more than 500 employees.
• Demonstrated experience with ADP Workforce Now and other enterprise payroll or HRIS platforms.
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• In-depth knowledge of payroll tax regulations, wage and hour requirements, and payroll compliance standards.
• Ability to reconcile payroll with general ledger records and maintain documentation for audits and internal controls.
• Proven leadership skills with experience managing, mentoring, and developing payroll team members.
• Certified Payroll designation preferred.