Payroll Specialist II, Payroll Operations & Compliance

Payroll Specialist II, Payroll Operations & Compliance

The Payroll Specialist II, Payroll Operations & Compliance is an advanced payroll specialist responsible for payroll execution, payroll controls, complex issue resolution, and compliance support for U.S., Canada, and assigned PEO populations.

This role combines advanced payroll processing ownership with reconciliation, audit support, reporting, documentation, and payroll system expertise. The role serves as an operational escalation resource and supports the Senior Manager, Payroll by providing peer review, mentoring, and process discipline across recurring payroll activities.

The role does not have direct reports and is designed to create a growth path within the payroll team while reducing the manager's involvement in routine processing issues. This position partners with HR, Benefits, Finance, Legal, IT, and external vendors to ensure payroll data, deductions, taxes, payments, reports, and employee corrections are accurate, timely, and compliant.

The role supports U.S., Canada, and PEO payroll populations across multiple pay groups and jurisdictions, covering roughly 3,500 to 4,000 employees.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute payroll processing activities for assigned payroll cycles and pay groups, including pay inputs, timekeeping data, retroactive adjustments, off-cycle payments, deductions, taxes, final pay, and correction processing.
• Perform detailed payroll output review, variance analysis, gross-to-net reconciliation, tax reconciliation, and deduction balancing before payroll finalization.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll inquiries, Tier 2/Tier 3 cases, employee corrections, manager questions, and recurring payroll issues requiring cross-functional resolution.
• Provide peer review, training, and mentoring to payroll specialists, coordinators, and other payroll team members without holding direct people-management responsibility.
• Own payroll control activities, including payroll checklists, approval evidence, audit documentation, garnishment controls, timekeeping controls, and recurring compliance validation.
• Partner with HR, Benefits, Finance, Legal, IT, tax providers, payroll vendors, and PEO/international vendors to resolve payroll data issues, employee lifecycle changes, benefit and tax deduction discrepancies, payment questions, and payroll reporting needs.
• Support Dayforce, UKG, and related payroll/HCM system activities, including data validation, report review, user acceptance testing, defect resolution, integration monitoring, and process stabilization.
• Monitor federal, state, provincial, local, and assigned international payroll requirements, and support quarterly and year-end activities including tax balancing, W-2/T4 preparation support, statutory reporting support, and audit response.
• Maintain payroll SOPs, process maps, checklists, calendars, and knowledge documentation, and identify process improvements that reduce manual work, rework, and recurring errors.
• Produce payroll metrics, reconciliation packages, exception reports, and issue trend analysis for payroll leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field preferred; equivalent payroll experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
• 6+ years of progressive payroll experience, including advanced payroll processing, payroll review, reconciliation, compliance, and complex correction work.
• Experience supporting U.S. and Canada payroll across multiple jurisdictions required; PEO-administered populations preferred.
• Experience with enterprise payroll and HCM systems required; Dayforce and UKG experience strongly preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills required, including reconciliation, variance analysis, data review, and audit support.
• Experience partnering with HR, Benefits, Finance, Legal, IT, external payroll vendors, tax providers, and auditors.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or equivalent payroll certification preferred.
• Ability to work with confidential employee, payroll, tax, banking, and compensation information with strong judgment and discretion.
• Minimal travel expected unless required for project, audit, implementation, or team planning activity.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

Required:

• Advanced payroll processing knowledge, including payroll calendars, pay groups, earnings, deductions, taxes, retroactive adjustments, final pay, off-cycle payments, and year-end activities.
• Strong payroll compliance and controls mindset with the ability to identify risk, validate evidence, and maintain audit-ready documentation.
• Strong reconciliation and analytical skills, including variance review, gross-to-net analysis, tax balancing, deduction review, and root-cause analysis.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex payroll, employee data, timekeeping, integration, tax, and deduction issues across systems and functions.
• Ability to provide peer review and mentoring while escalating appropriately to payroll leadership.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain payroll issues clearly to employees, managers, HR partners, Finance, Legal, and vendors.
• Strong process documentation and continuous improvement skills, including SOP development, checklist discipline, and issue trend identification.
• High attention to detail, strong follow-through, sound judgment, and the ability to manage competing deadlines during payroll cycles.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; talk or hear.

The employee must have the ability to operate a personal computer and express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word. May be required to sit and/or stand for long periods of time.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. May be required to lift or move 10+ pounds.

Pay Range

USD $77,700.00 - USD $132,300.00 /Yr.