Senior Payroll Analyst

Job Description

Job Description

Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership (DPRLP) known as PEMEX Deer Park is a highly complex refinery located 18 miles east of Houston in Deer Park, TX, and is a part of the PEMEX group which is a fully integrated oil company in the Americas, working across the entire value chain: exploration, production, industrial processing/refining, logistics and marketing. PEMEX Deer Park provides a diverse and inclusive work environment that employs approximately 1000 employees with another 1200 contractors on site. The refinery’s rated capacity is 340,000 barrels per day and has the feed flexibility to process multiple grades of crudes to produce the high-quality transportation fuels the world needs. The PEMEX Deer Park site is co-located with other 3rd party chemical facilities allowing for further integration and optimization of the refinery and its products. We set high standards of performance and ethical behaviors and offer challenging and fulfilling job opportunities in a number of fields. We take great pride in our ability to ensure the health and safety of our workers and the environment while being a good neighbor and have a positive impact on the local community where we work.

BENEFITS:

We value our employees’ time and efforts. Our commitment to your success is enhanced by our competitive compensation and an extensive benefits package including paid time off, medical, dental, and vision benefits, and future growth opportunities within the company. Plus, we work to maintain the best possible environment for our employees, where people can learn and grow with the company. We strive to provide a collaborative, creative environment where each person feels encouraged to contribute to our processes, decisions, planning and culture.

For more information, please visit our website: PEMEX

Job Summary

The Senior Payroll Analyst is responsible for ensuring the accurate, timely, and compliant processing of payroll for all employees. This role serves as a subject matter expert in payroll operations, analyzes payroll data and processes, identifies opportunities for improvement, and ensures compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

The Senior Payroll Analyst partners with Human Resources, Finance, and external vendors to resolve complex payroll issues, support audits, maintain payroll system integrity, and deliver exceptional employee service while driving operational efficiency and continuous process improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

Payroll Administration

• Lead end-to-end payroll processing for union and non-union employees, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant payroll execution in accordance with federal, state, local, and collective bargaining agreement requirements.
• Review, validate, and reconcile payroll transactions, including wages, overtime, shift differentials, bonuses, commissions, garnishments, and tax withholdings.
• Ensure accurate payroll tax reporting, filings, deposits, and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
• Manage payroll audits, quarter-end and year-end activities, including W-2 processing, payroll reconciliations, and reporting requirements.
• Prepare, analyze, and validate payroll reports pre- and post-processing to identify discrepancies and ensure data integrity.
• Administer employee payroll-related life cycle events, including new hires, transfers, promotions, leaves of absence, terminations, and employee status changes.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee, manager, and stakeholder inquiries related to payroll, taxes, wage calculations, and compliance matters.
• Partner with Finance to reconcile payroll accounts, labor allocations, accruals, and general ledger transactions.
• Coordinate with third-party payroll providers and external agencies to resolve payroll-related issues and ensure service excellence.

Strategic HR & Cross-Functional Projects

• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Information Technology, and external vendors to ensure effective payroll operations and data integrity.
• Support employee onboarding and offboarding activities by ensuring accurate payroll setup, maintenance, and final pay processing.
• Provide payroll and workforce data analysis, reporting, and insights to support business decisions, workforce planning, and operational initiatives.
• Participate in payroll system enhancements, upgrades, testing, implementations, and integrations.
• Lead or contribute to special projects related to payroll operations, HR compliance, data analytics, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders to align payroll operations with business objectives and employee needs.

Compliance & Process Improvement

• Ensure compliance with SOX, FLSA, IRS regulations, Department of Labor requirements, and all applicable federal, state, and local employment and wage laws.
• Maintain payroll policies, procedures, controls, and documentation to support audit readiness and operational consistency.
• Monitor legislative and regulatory changes impacting payroll administration and recommend necessary policy and process updates.
• Partner with applicable departments and external auditors to support compliance reviews, audits, investigations, and risk mitigation efforts.
• Analyze payroll processes to identify root causes of issues, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous process improvements.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities, system enhancements, and best practices to improve efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and service delivery.
• Ensure confidentiality and security of employee payroll and personal information in accordance with company policies and applicable regulations.
• Develop key performance metrics and reporting tools to monitor payroll accuracy, compliance, service levels, and operational effectiveness.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field required.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant payroll experience may be considered.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation preferred.
• Additional certifications in payroll, HRIS, accounting, or compliance are a plus.

Experience

• Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive payroll experience, including full-cycle payroll processing.
• Experience processing payroll in a multi-state environment preferred.
• Experience supporting both union and non-union employee populations preferred.
• Strong knowledge of payroll tax regulations, wage and hour laws, garnishments, and payroll compliance requirements.
• Experience preparing payroll reconciliations, audits, and year-end reporting activities, including W-2 processing.
• Proficiency with payroll and HRIS systems (e.g., UKG, ADP, Workday, SAP, or similar platforms).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including data analysis, reporting, and reconciliation.
• Experience partnering with other stakeholders and external vendors to resolve payroll issues and improve processes.
• Proven track record of maintaining confidentiality, accuracy, and compliance in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience participating in payroll system implementations, upgrades, testing, or process improvement initiatives preferred.
• Knowledge of collective bargaining agreements and union payroll structures.

Skills

• Strong diligence and analytical skills.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex payroll calculations / discrepancies and optimize inefficient processing workflows
• Oversee the end-to-end integration of timekeeping data, pay group realignments, and historical adjustments resulting from company mergers, acquisitions, or departmental reorganizations, while systematically auditing intricate pay structures – such as multi-tier shift differentials, holiday premiums, and overlapping schedules- to ensure precise, compliant payroll runs
• Ability to communicate effectively with employees, managers, vendors, and regulatory agencies in both written and verbal formats.
• Demonstrated commitment to maintaining the highest standards of ethics, confidentiality, and protection of sensitive employee and company information.
• Project management and change management capabilities.
• End-to-end payroll processing (union and non-union environments)
• Multi-state payroll administration
• Payroll tax regulations, reporting, and filings
• Wage and hour compliance (FLSA, federal, state, and local laws)
• Garnishment administration and payroll deductions
• Payroll reconciliation and general ledger balancing
• Year-end payroll processing (W-2s, quarterly and annual reporting)
• HRIS and payroll systems proficiency (e.g., UKG, ADP, Workday, SAP, Oracle)
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, formulas, data analysis)
• Payroll reporting, analytics, and audit preparation
• Internal controls and SOX compliance
• Data management and data integrity practices

Other Requirements & Working Conditions:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described below are representative of those that an employee must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to work additional hours, as needed, to support payroll processing deadlines, audits, system implementations, and year-end activities.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without current or future sponsorship requirements.
• Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods while performing computer-based work and reviewing payroll data and reports.
• Frequent use of a computer, keyboard, and other standard office equipment.
• This position is designated as an onsite role and requires regular attendance at the assigned work location.
• Must possess, or be able to obtain and maintain, a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card. Note, information regarding TWIC qualification standards may be found at