Payroll Specialist - North America

Payroll Specialist North America

Worldpac, a leading provider of automotive parts, is seeking an experienced, analytical, and detail-oriented Payroll Specialist North America to join our Human Resources team in Oak Brook, IL. This role is responsible for supporting and executing accurate, timely, and compliant payroll operations across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

The successful candidate will bring broad, hands-on payroll expertise and a strong understanding of the payroll lifecyclefrom payroll inputs and processing through tax withholding, garnishments, reconciliations, audits, quarterly filings, and year-end reporting. This is an ideal opportunity for a payroll professional who enjoys working with numbers, investigating discrepancies, strengthening payroll controls, and serving as a knowledgeable resource to employees and business partners.

The Payroll Specialist will partner closely with Human Resources, Accounting, and external payroll providers to ensure payroll is accurate, compliant, well-controlled, and continuously improved. While Workday experience is preferred, deep knowledge of payroll fundamentals, compliance, reconciliation, auditing, and end-to-end payroll processing is more important than expertise in any one payroll system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Process and oversee bi-weekly payroll for employees across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, ensuring payroll is accurate, timely, and compliant with applicable federal, state, local, and international requirements.
• Review, audit, and validate payroll before and after processing, including earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, benefits, timekeeping, and employee changes; identify potential errors, overpayments, and unusual transactions.
• Perform payroll reconciliations and variance analysis by balancing payroll registers, funding, wages, taxes, deductions, and third-party provider results to ensure financial and payroll records are accurate.
• Manage payroll tax and garnishment activities, partnering with ADP and other providers to validate tax withholdings, filings, remittances, garnishments, and net pay, and investigate and resolve discrepancies and tax notices.
• Support quarterly and year-end payroll processes, including wage and tax reconciliations, quarterly filings, W-2 balancing and validation, taxable wage reviews, and resolution of discrepancies to ensure accurate reporting.
• Research and maintain compliance with payroll laws and regulations, including IRS guidance, IRS Circular E, federal, state, local, Puerto Rico, and Canadian requirements, and assess changes that may impact payroll.
• Maintain and troubleshoot payroll systems, including Workday and ADP, by investigating data or processing issues, supporting configurations and testing, and participating in system upgrades or implementation projects.
• Partner with HRIS, HR, Accounting, and external payroll providers to resolve payroll issues, explain payroll results and calculations, support audits, and ensure accurate and timely processing of employee and financial transactions.
• Provide exceptional payroll customer service and subject-matter expertise by responding to employee and business-partner inquiries, clearly explaining complex payroll, tax, deduction, and garnishment matters, and continuously identifying opportunities to improve payroll processes and controls.

Qualifications:

• 35+ years of progressive payroll experience with demonstrated knowledge of end-to-end payroll processing and administration.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of U.S. multi-state payroll, including federal, state, and local payroll requirements.
• Experience processing payroll involving multiple jurisdictions and complex payroll transactions.
• Demonstrated experience with payroll reconciliations, audits, balancing, variance analysis, and payroll controls.
• Strong understanding of payroll taxes, withholding requirements, taxable wages, deductions, garnishments, and payroll reporting.
• Experience investigating and resolving payroll discrepancies and identifying potential overpayments or other payroll errors.
• Strong Excel skills and the ability to analyze and reconcile large volumes of payroll data.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and investigative skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to explain payroll matters clearly to employees and business partners.
• Ability to handle confidential payroll and employee information with a high degree of discretion and professionalism.
• Ability to work independently while effectively collaborating with HR, Finance, Accounting, HRIS, and external payroll providers.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
• CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) or FPC (Fundamental Payroll Certification) designation through PayrollOrg/APA.
• Experience with Puerto Rico payroll.
• Experience with Canadian payroll and an understanding of Canadian payroll requirements.
• Experience with Workday Payroll, although deep Workday expertise is not required.
• Experience with ADP payroll, tax, garnishment, and/or payment solutions, or comparable third-party payroll providers.
• Experience with payroll system configuration, integrations, testing, upgrades, or implementations.
• Experience supporting payroll tax notices and working directly with federal, state, local, or Puerto Rico tax agencies.
• Experience with quarterly and year-end payroll reconciliations, including W-2 balancing and validation.
• Familiarity with IRS Circular E and other authoritative federal, state, local, Puerto Rico, and Canadian payroll guidance.
• Spanish and/or French language skills are a plus but are not required.

Core Competencies:

• Payroll Expertise
• Analytical & Investigative Thinking
• Accuracy & Risk Management
• Communication & Customer Service
• Business Partnership
• Continuous Improvement
• Confidentiality & Professional Judgment
• Physical Requirements

Posted Salary Range USD $60,000.00 - USD $75,000.00 /Yr.