Payroll Manager

Job DescriptionPosition Summary. The Payroll Manager owns the accurate, timely, and compliant payment of all employees across every pay cycle. This role leads the payroll function end to end in Workday, manages the payroll team, and partners closely with HR, Finance, Benefits, and Accounting to keep pay, tax, and benefit deductions correct. The ideal candidate combines hands-on Workday Payroll expertise with strong control discipline and a service-minded approach to employee questions.\n\nKey Responsibilities. Payroll operations: Direct the full payroll cycle in Workday, including time and absence inputs, earnings and deductions, retro pay, off-cycle runs, bonuses, commissions, and final pay. Review pre-process audit reports, resolve exceptions, approve results, and confirm on-time payment to employees and third parties. Workday administration: Maintain payroll configuration such as pay groups, pay calendars, earning and deduction codes, tax setup, and calculation rules. Support Workday releases by testing payroll-impacting changes, and build or maintain custom reports and calculated fields. Compliance and tax: Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations, including multi-state withholding, wage garnishments, and new hire reporting. Oversee quarterly and year-end filings, W-2 production, and reconciliations with tax vendors, and serve as the point of contact for audits and agency inquiries. Reconciliation and reporting: Reconcile payroll to the general ledger, validate journal entries, and review liability accounts. Provide payroll metrics and headcount cost reporting to Finance and leadership. Controls and process improvement: Maintain documented procedures and internal controls, including segregation of duties and approval workflows, and support internal and external audits. Identify opportunities to automate and streamline processes within Workday. Team leadership: Hire, coach, and develop payroll specialists, set priorities and cutoffs, and provide backup coverage during peak periods. Employee service: Act as the escalation point for complex pay questions and maintain clear communication with employees and managers about payroll calendars and changes. Cross-functional partnership: Collaborate with HR on onboarding, terminations, compensation changes, and benefits enrollment to ensure data flows correctly into payroll. Coordinate with integration partners and vendors, such as benefits carriers, 401(k) providers, and banks.\n\nQualifications. Required: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business, or equivalent experience. Three or more years of progressive payroll experience, including at least two years in a supervisory or management role. Hands-on experience running payroll in Workday, including audit reports, off-cycle processing, and tax and payment configuration. Working knowledge of multi-state payroll tax and wage and hour requirements. Strong Excel skills and comfort with reconciliations and data analysis. Preferred: Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC). Workday Payroll certification or experience leading a Workday payroll implementation or major release. Experience with hourly, shift-based, or multi-entity workforces. Familiarity with Workday integrations and calculated fields.\n\nCore Competencies. Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy under deadline pressure. Sound judgment and a strong sense of confidentiality when handling compensation data. Clear written and verbal communication with both technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to manage competing priorities and lead a team through recurring cutoffs.\n\nWorking Conditions. Primarily office or remote desk-based work, with heightened workload around payroll cutoffs, quarter-end, and year-end. Occasional extended hours may be required.