Corporate Payroll & HRIS Manager

Optalis•Bloomfield Township, MI

4h•Hybrid

About The Position

Optalis Health & Rehabilitation is seeking an experienced, strategic, and highly analytical Corporate Payroll & HRIS Manager to oversee enterprise-wide payroll operations and HRIS administration supporting approximately 9,000 employees across multiple healthcare entities and locations throughout Michigan and Ohio. This is a senior-level leadership role responsible for ensuring the integrity, compliance, auditing, reporting, and operational excellence of all payroll and HRIS functions. The ideal candidate must possess extensive multi-state payroll leadership experience, advanced auditing capabilities, deep knowledge of 401(k) administration and annual 5500 audit preparation, and hands-on expertise with ADP Lyric and Workforce Management systems. This position plays a critical role in partnering with Human Resources, Finance, Operations, Benefits, and external auditors to maintain compliance, strengthen internal controls, optimize payroll systems, and support organizational growth initiatives. This is not an entry-level role. We are seeking a proven payroll and HRIS leader with experience managing complex healthcare payroll environments, leading teams, navigating audits, and driving process improvement at an enterprise level.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
Minimum of 7+ years of progressive payroll and HRIS leadership experience in a large multi-site organization.
Minimum of 3+ years of direct management experience leading payroll and/or HRIS teams.
Extensive experience processing and overseeing large-scale multi-state payroll operations.
Advanced knowledge of payroll compliance, wage and hour laws, payroll taxation, garnishments, and labor regulations.
Hands-on experience with ADP Lyric, ADP Workforce Management, or enterprise-level payroll/HRIS platforms.
Strong experience supporting 401(k) administration, retirement plan audits, and annual 5500 audit preparation.
Proven auditing and reconciliation experience involving payroll, taxes, deductions, benefits, and retirement plans.
Advanced Excel and payroll reporting experience, including pivot tables, reconciliations, auditing, and workforce analytics.
Experience working cross-functionally with HR, Finance, Operations, Benefits, and external auditors.
Executive-level professionalism and discretion
Exceptional attention to detail and auditing accuracy
Strong leadership and team development skills
Advanced analytical and problem-solving capabilities
High sense of urgency and accountability
Strong organizational and project management abilities
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
Exceptional communication and collaboration skills
Commitment to integrity, confidentiality, and compliance excellence

Nice To Haves

Healthcare, skilled nursing, assisted living, or multi-facility healthcare payroll experience strongly preferred.
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), FPC, SHRM, HRIP, or related certification preferred.
Experience with payroll/HRIS conversions, implementations, or mergers/acquisitions.
Experience supporting union payroll environments preferred.
Knowledge of healthcare staffing structures, PBJ reporting, and labor analytics preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and oversee bi-weekly payroll operations for approximately 9,000 employees across multiple entities and states, ensuring payroll accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
Manage complex payroll processes including shift differentials, overtime calculations, hazard pay, retroactive pay adjustments, union payroll considerations, garnishments, bonuses, and multi-rate compensation structures.
Oversee payroll balancing, reconciliations, quarter-end processing, and year-end activities including W-2 processing and tax filings.
Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local payroll regulations, including FLSA, wage and hour laws, tax regulations, and healthcare industry requirements.
Develop, implement, and maintain payroll internal controls, audit processes, and standard operating procedures to minimize organizational risk.
Serve as escalation point for complex payroll issues, tax discrepancies, off-cycle payrolls, and compliance concerns.
Serve as subject matter expert and lead administrator for ADP Lyric, Workforce Management (WFM), payroll integrations, reporting, and system optimization.
Manage HRIS configuration, workflow design, security roles, system audits, troubleshooting, and reporting functionality.
Partner with HR, Operations, Finance, and IT to improve HRIS efficiencies, automation, integrations, and data integrity.
Lead HRIS testing, upgrades, implementations, process improvements, and acquisitions/onboarding initiatives.
Ensure payroll and HRIS data accuracy through routine auditing, reconciliation, and compliance monitoring.
Lead payroll-related audits including internal audits, external audits, 401(k) audits, and annual 5500 preparation support.
Partner with Finance, Benefits, external auditors, and retirement plan administrators to reconcile payroll deductions, employer contributions, loan repayments, and retirement plan funding.
Audit payroll tax filings, benefit deductions, HSA/FSA deductions, garnishments, union deductions, PTO accruals, and wage calculations.
Ensure compliance with IRS, DOL, ERISA, ACA, and retirement plan regulations.
Assist with annual census reporting, retirement plan audits, and payroll reporting requests.
Directly supervise and mentor payroll and HRIS staff, fostering accountability, development, customer service, and operational excellence.
Provide leadership, training, auditing oversight, and performance management for payroll team members.
Build strong partnerships with facility leadership, HR teams, Finance, and Operations leadership.
Promote a culture of integrity, responsiveness, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Generate and analyze payroll, labor, overtime, staffing, and compliance reports for executive leadership.
Develop workforce analytics and dashboards to support operational and financial decision-making.
Identify trends, discrepancies, risks, and opportunities for process improvements.