Senior Manager, Payroll

POSITION SUMMARY For over a century, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCSWW) has provided services for youth, immigrants, older adults, and people experiencing homelessness throughout western Washington state. Our employees and volunteers come from many faith traditions to serve and support poor and vulnerable people through the delivery of quality, integrated services and housing. Our focus is on those individuals, children, families, and communities struggling with poverty and the effects of intolerance and racism. We actively join with others to work for justice. The Senior Manager, Payroll serves as the enterprise functional leader for payroll and labor accounting processes across the $350M+ multi region, decentralized, nonprofit organization supporting approximately 4,000 employees across seven divisions and four physical offices. This position supports the next phase of a newly implemented core payroll and accounting system by refining, standardizing, optimizing, and enhancing payroll operations, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment across payroll, human resources, grant accounting and accounting functions. This leadership position partners closely with payroll staff, Accounting Operations, Human Resources, and Grant Accounting, Accounting Systems & Compliance to ensure payroll processes are well coordinated, scalable, well-documented, and responsive to organizational needs. In addition to supporting day-to-day operations, this role plays a key part in strengthening internal controls, supporting audit readiness, evaluating and implementing system improvements, including the future selection and implementation of a payroll system. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES Payroll Operations Leadership Provide overall leadership and support to a team of 12 payroll professionals across multiple offices, including supervision, coaching, performance management, workload balancing, cross-training, and development of standardized team practices. Oversee end to end payroll processing for approximately 4,000 employees across a multi-division, multi-office environment, including salaried, hourly, union and non-union employees, , including: Payroll runs and review/approval of payroll transmissions Payroll tax filings and compliance reporting Reconciliations of payroll, tax, benefits related and other payroll-related general ledger accounts, including support for payroll accruals and liability balancing Ensure payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations Support resolution of payroll issues and discrepancies in a timely and customer focused manner Labor Accounting & Grant Alignment Partner with Grant Accounting teams to ensure payroll costs are: Properly allocated across programs and funding sources Accurately coded for cost reimbursement contracts and grants Support alignment between payroll processes and grant billing requirements Ensure labor cost data is reliable, traceable, and audit ready Cross Functional Partnership Collaborate closely with Human Resources to align payroll processes with: Benefits administration Payroll related liabilities Accrued PTO and leave tracking (including FMLA/PFML considerations) Work with program and operational leadership to understand workforce structures and evolving needs Maintain strong partnerships across accounting, HR, and systems teams to ensure consistent and coordinated processes Process Improvement & Operational Optimization Build on existing payroll processes to identify opportunities to: Improve efficiency and reduce manual effort Strengthen reconciliation and review processes Enhance consistency across divisions and programs Develop and maintain clear payroll procedures, documentation, and internal controls Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and service orientation within the payroll function Systems & Technology Evaluate current payroll processes and system capabilities to identify improvement opportunities Lead efforts—together with HR and IT—to: Assess options for a future payroll system Participate in vendor evaluation and selection Support implementation and integration with HR and accounting systems Help ensure systems are used effectively to support reporting, compliance, and operational efficiency Compliance & Reporting Maintain strong understanding of payroll laws and regulations, including federal and Washington State requirements Ensure payroll practices align with audit expectations and internal controls Prepare and review payroll related reporting for leadership Support audits and regulatory reporting requirements as needed QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field 7–10 years of progressive payroll experience, including leadership responsibility Strong knowledge of payroll processing, tax reporting, and compliance requirements Experience supporting payroll in large, complex organizations (3,000+ employees) Demonstrated ability to identify and implement process improvements Experience working with ERP or payroll systems (ADP or similar) Strong collaboration skills and ability to work across functional teams PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation Experience with multientity or multiregion organizations Experience participating in system implementation or optimization efforts Familiarity with nonprofit environments and labor cost allocation requirements #J-18808-Ljbffr