AVP, Payroll Specialist, Americas

Swiss Re•Town of North Castle, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Swiss Re is seeking an experienced payroll professional to support accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery across the US and selected Americas payrolls. The role involves managing key activities across the payroll cycle for US employees across multiple legal entities, as well as monthly payroll support for employees in Colombia. Responsibilities include managing payroll inputs, audits, reconciliations, funding, tax-related processes, issue resolution, and year-end activities in partnership with internal stakeholders and external payroll providers. This role requires strong payroll technical knowledge, discretion, and the ability to manage strict deadlines in a controlled and highly confidential environment. The position will also support payroll projects, process improvements, and business continuity coverage for additional Americas payrolls, including serving as backup for Canadian payroll.

Requirements

At least 3–5+ years of relevant payroll experience, with demonstrated experience processing complex US multi-state payroll functions
Strong understanding of payroll processing, payroll controls, reconciliations, garnishments, tax reporting, and year-end payroll activities
Working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements, payment processes, and filing procedures
Experience working with outsourced payroll providers or third-party payroll vendors, including coordination, issue resolution, and escalation
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and large data-set reconciliation
Experience with payroll systems and HRIS platforms
Strong organizational, prioritization, problem-solving, and follow-through skills, with the ability to manage competing deadlines
Spanish proficiency is required
High degree of integrity, discretion, confidentiality, accountability, and teamwork
College degree or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Experience in a large, matrixed, or global organization preferred
SAP Payroll and/or SuccessFactors preferred
Experience supporting international, cross-border, expatriate, or non-resident payroll populations; familiarity with Canadian, Colombian, or broader Americas payroll preferred
Experience supporting payroll transformation, automation, or process improvement initiatives
Portuguese is a plus for broader regional support
Certified Payroll Profession designation helpful

Responsibilities

Process end-to-end US multi-state biweekly payroll for approximately 2500 employees across multiple legal entities, including input, audit, funding, reconciliation, tax returns, vendor management, etc.
Coordinate and process monthly payroll for approximately 30 employees in Colombia
Apply payroll requirements across relevant federal, state, local, and country-specific jurisdictions, addressing or escalating complex matters as needed (e.g. tax adjustments, deferred compensation, et al)
Support payroll activities for International Assignees, International Transfers, and Non-Resident Aliens, including related tax forms and payroll implication
Perform payroll audits and validations to ensure accurate inputs, outputs, deductions, taxes, payments, employee data changes, and process adherence
Prepare funding requests and reconcile payroll funding to payroll registers, general ledger files, and bank activity
Support year-end payroll activities, including validation and delivery of Forms W-2 and other required payroll tax documents
Maintain payroll documentation, controls, and records in accordance with Swiss Re policies and audit requirements
Respond to employee and stakeholder payroll inquiries in a timely, accurate, and service-oriented manner
Support payroll projects, system testing, process changes, and continuous improvement initiatives; lead defined workstreams where appropriate
Serve as backup for Canadian payroll processing and provide business continuity and resiliency support for additional global payrolls as needed
Maintain strict confidentiality of payroll, compensation, banking, and employee data