Senior Payroll & Tax Analyst

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Payroll & Tax Analyst to join our Northbrook team in a contract‑to‑permanent capacity. The role blends strong technical payroll knowledge with an analytical mindset to ensure accurate pay processing and compliance for a multi‑state employee population.

Key responsibilities

• Manage end‑to‑end bi‑weekly payroll for a large workforce, including variable compensation and specialized pay items.
• Maintain payroll records, earnings and deduction setups, and system parameters for accurate calculations.
• Coordinate payroll funding, employee payments, and benefit/third‑party remittances.
• Partner with accounting on payroll‑related journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and month‑end close.
• Review and reconcile payroll, tax, benefit, and liability balances to support audit readiness.
• Administer payroll tax accounts, monitor third‑party tax services, and ensure proper withholding across federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
• Examine external tax filings, resolve notices, and guarantee timely payments.
• Assist with year‑end activities, including W‑2 validation and distribution.
• Track regulatory updates and implement process or system changes for ongoing compliance.

Required profile

• Proven experience managing full‑cycle payroll for 500+ employees.
• Hands‑on knowledge of multi‑state payroll tax withholding, filings, and compliance.
• Strong ability to reconcile payroll data, identify discrepancies, and resolve issues accurately.
• Experience supporting accounting processes tied to payroll (journal entries, accruals, reconciliations).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for analysis, auditing, and reporting.

Required skills

• ADP Workforce Now
• Workday (payroll & HRIS functionality)
• Microsoft Excel