Senior Payroll at Clarity Weehawken, New Jersey

Senior Payroll Analyst

Our client, a leading global wealth management firm, is seeking a Senior Payroll Analyst to support complex payroll operations across North America. This role will serve as a key contributor within a collaborative payroll team, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payroll processing while partnering closely with HR, Finance, Benefits, and external payroll providers. The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in U.S. and Canadian payroll, payroll systems, and process improvement within a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

Location: New York (Hybrid - 4 days per week in office)

Hours: Full-Time

Salary: 100,000-120,000k

Compensation: Competitive base salary plus bonus and comprehensive benefits package

Key Responsibilities

• Execute and support payroll operations across the United States, Canada, Caribbean, and Hong Kong, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing.
• Process and review semi-monthly payrolls for salaried and hourly employees utilizing Workday and ADP.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure payroll accuracy and resolve payroll-related issues across multiple jurisdictions.
• Serve as a primary liaison with outsourced payroll providers, monitoring service delivery, issue resolution, and SLA performance.
• Support payroll audits by coordinating with HR, Finance, Compliance, and external auditors.
• Lead year-end payroll activities, including tax filings, reconciliations, and issuance of statutory documents such as W-2s and T4s.
• Perform payroll reconciliations and collaborate with Finance to ensure payroll accounts are accurately balanced to the general ledger.
• Partner with Benefits teams to support payroll-related benefit payments and employee leave scenarios.
• Assist with payroll activities related to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and employee transitions.
• Investigate and resolve complex payroll discrepancies while delivering a positive employee experience.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements, automation, and operational efficiencies.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and international payroll regulations, internal policies, and data privacy standards.
• Act as a subject matter expert on payroll processes, systems, and best practices.

Ideal Background

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Accounting, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5-8 years of progressive payroll experience within mid-sized or large, multi-location organizations.
• Strong hands-on experience managing end-to-end payroll processing using Workday and ADP.
• Comprehensive knowledge of U.S. and Canadian payroll legislation, tax requirements, and compliance regulations.
• Experience working with outsourced payroll vendors and managing escalations and issue resolution.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and reconciliation skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Experience supporting payroll activities related to mergers and acquisitions is a plus.
• Exposure to global payroll operations across multiple countries and jurisdictions is highly desirable.