Payroll Leader - Americas

Job Overview

Reporting to the Global Director, PACE (Payroll, Automation, Customer Experience), the Senior Manager, Payroll – Americas is responsible for oversight and governance of payroll operations for the Americas and operates within the Global PACE organization.  This role is responsible for day-to-day operations, oversight and governance of the NA payroll and employment tax portfolio, SOX and controls, and related activities.  In addition, this role is also responsible for leading and fostering proactive collaboration with customers and key internal and external business partners and stakeholders while driving operational excellence throughout the service delivery model. The leader for this role must demonstrate and have a proven track record for payroll operations throughout the Americas, while being able to lay out a vision and strategy for continued growth of the service delivery model.  Strong background with and working knowledge of payroll regulations, labor and employment tax regulations, and applicable end-to-end activities encompassing payroll operations.

The successful candidate for this role must be able to work through ambiguity, be self-motivated with the ability to piece together facts and data necessary in order to identify issues, propose solutions, make decisions and operationalize necessary change to improve operations and service delivery.  This leader must have a strong end-to-end mindset and understanding for all payroll operations, including the up and down stream impacts to payroll operations and the customer service delivery model.  A focus on continuous process improvement, through SOPs, systems, integrations, RPA, etc., is key to ensuring the Americas payroll operations remain cutting edge while our service delivery continues to delight our customer.

To be successful in this role, the Regional Payroll Manager – Americas must be a payroll SME, including wage and hour laws, payroll processing and associated compliance/regulations, Federal and State Tax legislation and regulations, Canada legislation and regulations, knowledge and experience with payroll throughout LATAM, all with a demonstrated ability to handle large, complex payroll operations timely and accurately.  The ability to understand and apply compliance and regulations, tax legislation, and E2E process standardization in support of World-Class payroll service delivery is paramount to success in this role.

This individual must be an independent thinker with the ability to work with little day-to-day direction.  Most critical is the ability of this individual to provide leadership, guidance and oversight to payroll staff (including three direct reports) and internal partners regarding payroll, employment tax actions, policies, and procedures.  In this leadership role, this individual must be able to foster and drive engagement, trust, transparency, and accountability across the PACE organization.  Focusing on Intuit’s Leadership Playbook, leadership success is seen and defined by Leading with a Clear Vision while aligning to overall PACE and organizational goals; Building a High-Performance Culture which will accelerate performance through agility and velocity; and Driving Winning Results by prioritizing work and resources while maintaining a focus on extreme ownership, accountability, and outcomes.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Organize and lead staff ensuring a fully efficient payroll operation throughout the Americas
• Verify and maintain compliance with government payroll/tax requirements
• Keep abreast of current and changing payroll and employment tax laws
• Must have a broad and deep understanding of payroll operations, including reporting and year-end activities
• Broad understanding of requirements throughout the region, including the US, Canada, and LATAM
• Review and audit current processes to ensure compliance, while recommending and implementing changes where needed
• Strong understanding of Time & Labor laws and requirements, with the ability to lead, strategize and implement changes as needed
• Lead the daily/monthly/quarterly wage reconciliations and tax filing requirements, including year-end reporting, W-2s, W-2Cs and amendments
• Research, determine root cause, and resolve incoming tax notices from various agencies
• Lead and perform audits of payroll and employment tax data prior to payroll completion while following all established controls
• Research, determine root cause, and resolve E2E processes impacting payrolls throughout the region
• Lead the internal or external audits and review of records, tax filings, SOX, and other related documentation
• Must have a general understanding and knowledge of payroll accounting while working closely with various organizational partners to ensure accurate GL & tax reporting
• Respond to complex payroll related inquiries from employees and/or key stakeholders
• Research and produce complex reports which may require in depth analysis
• Lead work and provide direction for transitions in mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures
• Ability to work through payroll platform changes and implementations, various integrations, and related activities
• Communicate effectively with various levels of management to ensure high level of customer support and positive customer interactions
• Ensure department’s ability to meet all company deadlines and annual performance goals
• Develop, maintain and improve payroll processes, employment tax processes, and internal controls to preserve the quality, efficiency and overall effectiveness of all payroll functions while ensuring regulatory compliance
• Manage vendors and system providers including compliance with service level agreements
• Manage monthly vendor partner invoices, associated PO’s and necessary accruals for monthly and quarterly accounting close
• Responsible for tracking and testing of legislative/regulatory changes, application enhancements, and system modifications
• Support execution of SOX controls as well as internal, external audits
• Manage, coach and develop team members
• Conduct ongoing training for payroll staff to ensure productivity and knowledge of overall processes are maintained and improved

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• CPP or other certification preferred
• 15+ years of experience in payroll related operations throughout the Americas, with a minimum of 10 years of payroll and employment tax experience in a large, complex organization
• Apply documented rules, past practices, or instructions on an independent level
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, agile environment
• Ability to process and connect information in times of ambiguity
• Demonstrated ability to hold information confidential with excellent judgment
• Ability to manage time, prioritize deliverables, multi-task and work under pressure in a dynamic work environment
• Exceptional organizational, analytical, research and problem-solving skills
• Intermediate to advanced analytical skillset, including the use of Excel, Alteryx and/or other tools
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated working knowledge of employer benefits and treatment in payroll
• Prior payroll implementation experience, including E2E integrations
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment while fostering growth and development of resources throughout the PACE organization
• Experience with Workday HCM and ADP payroll systems highly preferred