Manager-Payroll

Job summary

The Payroll Manager leads national payroll operations, strategy, and compliance for over 25,000 employees across Canada. This role oversees full-cycle payroll processing, system enhancements, and provides leadership to a dedicated team of payroll professionals.

Job details

Join our team and what we'll accomplish together The Payroll Manager is responsible for leading national payroll operations, strategy, and compliance for over 25,000 employees across Canada. This role oversees the accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of multi-province biweekly and monthly payrolls, manages payroll system enhancements, and leads a dedicated team of payroll professionals. The Payroll Manager serves as a technical subject matter expert and trusted advisor to People & Culture, Finance, and executive leadership, ensuring alignment with federal and provincial regulations, risk & compliance, and corporate objectives.What you'll do Payroll Operations & Execution Lead and oversee full-cycle biweekly and monthly payroll processing for 25,000 salaried and hourly team members across all Canadian provinces and territories Ensure 100% accuracy and timeliness of payroll calculations, deductions, garnishments, taxable benefits, and expense reimbursements Manage payroll financial processes, including general ledger postings, journal entries, payroll accruals, account reconciliations, and wire transfers Oversee year-end processing, including T4/T4A and RL-1 preparation, filing, and distribution, as well as PIER report resolutions Compliance, Audit & Risk Management Ensure strict adherence to Canadian federal and provincial employment standards, tax legislation, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines, and Revenu Québec (MRQ) regulations Maintain and enforce robust internal controls to comply with corporate governance and audit requirements Serve as the primary liaison for internal, external, and government regulatory audits, preparing required documentation and reports Monitor evolving payroll laws and regulations across Canada, proactively implementing required process or system updates Team Leadership & Talent Development Provide direct leadership, mentoring, and performance management for a team of payroll specialists and advisors Foster a culture of continuous learning, service excellence, and cross-functional collaboration within the payroll team Establish operational KPIs and benchmarks to monitor payroll accuracy, inquiry response times, and processing efficiency Systems, Strategy & Process Optimization Drive continuous process improvement and automation initiatives to simplify payroll workflows and enhance data integrity Serve as the functional/business lead for enterprise payroll software and HRIS modules (e.g., SAP SuccessFactors / ECP / SAP Payroll) Partner with IT, HR Operations, and Finance teams to test, configure, and implement payroll system upgrades, interfaces, and tools Stakeholder Partnership & Advisory Act as the primary technical resource and advisor on complex payroll matters for P & C Business Partners, Finance, Total Rewards, and Legal Manage escalated payroll inquiries and complex compensation scenarios with high confidentiality, discretion, and customer focus Oversee relationships with third-party payroll vendors, benefit carriers, and tax authorities What you'll bring Required Experience & Qualifications Experience: 7–10+ years of progressive payroll management experience in large-scale, multi-province Canadian organizations supporting 20,000+ employees System Expertise: Deep hands-on experience with enterprise HRIS/payroll systems (SAP Payroll / SAP SuccessFactors ECP highly preferred) and advanced MS Excel capabilities Regulatory Knowledge: Thorough understanding of Canadian federal/provincial payroll legislation, CRA, Revenu Québec, statutory remittances, and audit frameworks Labor Environment: Experience managing payroll within both unionized and non-unionized operating environments Leadership: Proven track record of leading, coaching, and developing high-performing payroll operations teams Required Education & Professional Designations Payroll Certification: Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation from the National Payroll Institute (NPI) required; Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) designation considered Accounting / Finance Designation: CPA designation or post-secondary degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, or Business Administration preferred Core Competencies & Skills High degree of analytical thinking, detail orientation, and quantitative problem-solving skills Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present complex financial data to non-finance stakeholders Strong change management skills with comfort operating in fast-paced, evolving corporate environments Bilingualism in English and French (oral and written) is considered a strong asset Advanced knowledge of English is required because you will most of the time interact in English with external parties (clients, suppliers, candidates, external partners, etc.); interact in English with internal parties (colleagues, internal partners, stakeholders, etc.) as part of this position's main responsibilities given its national scope.

What you’ll do

The Payroll Manager leads national payroll operations, strategy, and compliance for over 25,000 employees across Canada. This role oversees full-cycle payroll processing, system enhancements, and provides leadership to a dedicated team of payroll professionals.

Requirements

Candidates must have 7-10+ years of progressive payroll management experience in large-scale Canadian organizations and hold a Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation. Deep expertise in SAP Payroll/SuccessFactors and thorough knowledge of Canadian federal and provincial tax legislation are required.

Listed skills

• Financial Reporting · Preferred
• Team Leadership · Preferred
• Process Improvement · Preferred
• Change Management · Preferred
• Stakeholder Management · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Payroll Management
• Canadian Payroll Legislation
• SAP SuccessFactors
• SAP Payroll
• CRA Compliance
• Revenu Québec Regulations
• Financial Reporting
• General Ledger
• Team Leadership
• Process Improvement
• Audit Management
• Analytical Thinking
• Change Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Data Integrity
• MS Excel
• Payroll Regulations
• Account Reconciliation
• Compliance Auditing
• Payroll Computation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Continuous Development
• Payroll Processing
• Payroll Systems
• Workflow Management
• HR Operations
• Technical Subject Matter
• Bilingual (French/English)
• Talent Development
• Microsoft Excel
• Accounting
• Accruals
• Auditing
• Automation
• Business Administration
• Internal Controls
• Customer Service
• Communication
• Quality Auditing
• Confidentiality
• Continuous Improvement Process
• Corporate Governance
• Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
• Performance Management
• English Language
• Finance
• Financial Data
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Job areas

• Human Resources
• Finance & Accounting
• Management & Leadership
• Administrative
• Payroll Manager
• Payroll Clerks
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

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