Payroll Manager (U.S. and Canadian Entities)

About the role

The company is looking for a Payroll Manager to own payroll strategy and governance for its U.S. (and potentially Canadian) entities. You will lead a small payroll administration team and manage the external payroll services vendor, ensuring payroll is accurate, timely and compliant. You will not run payroll hands-on: instead you will set the direction, controls and standards and hold the team and vendor accountable, while partnering with HR, Finance and HRIS leadership on process improvement and system integration.

Key responsibilities

• Define and own the payroll strategy, operating model and roadmap for multiple U.S. and/or Canadian entities
• Oversee end-to-end payroll delivery by the payroll team and the outsourced provider, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and SLA adherence
• Lead, coach and develop a team of 2-3 payroll administrators, setting priorities, quality standards and performance expectations
• Manage the relationship with payroll vendors and tax authorities, including performance reviews, escalations and contract oversight
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial and local payroll and tax regulations and monitor regulatory changes
• Own payroll controls, internal and external audits, reconciliations and year-end reporting (W-2s, T4s, etc.)
• Partner with HR, Finance and HRIS on system integrations, data flows and continuous process improvement
• Provide payroll metrics, analysis and reporting to senior leadership

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field
• 6-8+ years of payroll experience, including 2-3 years in a management or supervisory role
• Hands-on U.S. payroll experience (mandatory) and in-depth knowledge of U.S. payroll law and compliance; Canadian payroll knowledge is a strong plus
• Proven experience managing outsourced payroll providers or vendors
• Fluent in English (written and spoken)

Required skills

• Experience with large-scale payroll/HRIS systems such as ADP, Workday or Ceridian Dayforce
• Strong analytical, process improvement and team management skills
• Nice to have: Payroll Fundamentals certificate (e.g. FPC/CPP), shared services or center of excellence experience, and multi-entity or multi-state payroll experience