Own day-to-day payroll processing for U.S. and Canada, ensuring accuracy of earnings, taxes, statutory deductions, benefits, and garnishments
Perform and oversee all pre- and post-pay audit activities, exception management, and corrections
Ensure compliance with Federal, State, Local, and Canadian regulations, including provincial employment standards and statutory withholding rules
Lead off-cycle processing, retroactive adjustments, manual payments, and data corrections
Maintain the payroll calendar and ensure 100% on-time execution of payroll cycles
Maintain internal control frameworks with strict segregation of duties
Prepare and maintain backup documentation for internal/external audits
Lead, coach, and develop 7+ payroll analysts to ensure a high-performing and compliant payroll operation
Serve as the operational payroll liaison to HR, HRIS/Workday, Benefits, Finance/Accounting, Tax, Legal, IT, and Audit teams

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, HR, or related field and 6 years’ progressive payroll experience, including Canadian payroll processing
1+ year of experience in management or lead role
Workday Payroll experience
Strong understanding of U.S. payroll laws (IRS, DOL, multi-state) and Canadian payroll regulations (CRA, provincial standards)
Preferred Qualifications: CPP (Certified Payroll Professional), FPC, or Canadian payroll certification (PCP/CPM)
Experience with Smartsheet for workflow, task tracking, and operational dashboards
Experience with UKG, ADP, or other large payroll/time systems (in addition to Workday)
Experience supporting payroll components of M&A activities
Expertise with payroll controls, audits, SOX/ICFR frameworks, and payroll reconciliation
Advanced proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data analysis)

Benefits

flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties
seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year
up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members
additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave
health care insurance (medical, dental, vision)
retirement planning (401(k))
paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO)

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

payroll processingCanadian payroll processingpayroll auditspayroll controlspayroll reconciliationdata analysisExcelexception managementmanual paymentsretroactive adjustments

Soft Skills

leadershipcoachingdevelopmentcommunicationorganizational skillsattention to detailproblem-solvingcollaborationhigh-performance team managementcompliance management

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeCertified Payroll Professional (CPP)Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC)Canadian Payroll Certification (PCP/CPM)