Director of Payroll & Benefits - In‑Office Role (Irvine, CA)

Trinity Property Consultants • Irvine, CA

2d • $160,000 - $180,000 • Onsite

About The Position

As Director of Payroll & Benefits you are responsible for strategy, execution, compliance, and continuous improvement of payroll, benefits, leave administration, workers’ compensation coordination, and retirement programs for a workforce of approximately 1,500 employees.
You provide strong leadership to your team and partner cross-functionally with internal and external stakeholders to deliver strong internal controls, scalable processes, and data-driven insights.

Requirements

• Leadership: Demonstrated leadership experience managing, coaching and developing a payroll and benefits team with clarity and empathy.
• Operational Excellence: Deep understanding of multi-state payroll compliance, wage and hour laws, tax filings, benefits administration, LOA coordination, retirement plans, and workers compensation.
• Compliance & Risk Management: Strong internal controls mindset with experience in audits, reconciliations, and compliance calendars.
• Strategic Thinking: Advanced ability to analyze data, build executive-ready reporting, and translate insights into operational improvements.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive automation, simplification, and measurable outcomes.
• Stakeholder Management: Credible partner to employees and company leaders; High level of discretion and integrity handling confidential information.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience: 8–12+ years progressive leadership experience in payroll and benefits administration, including multi-state payroll compliance.
• Demonstrated experience supporting high-volume (1,000+ employees), multi-location, and hourly workforce environments.
• Advanced, hands?on experience with ADP Workforce Manager or comparable enterprise payroll platforms and benefits administration systems; Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• This position will require availability for nights, weekends, and holidays as needed, as well as occasional travel for company events or meetings. Active participation in team functions and regional or company activities is expected.
• This position necessitates regular periods of sitting, standing, walking, as well as use of hands and arms. Occasional climbing may be required. Extended use of computers or telephones is also necessary. The role may require lifting up to 25 pounds independently. The ability to respond promptly to both visual and auditory alarms is essential. Candidates must be able to work both indoors and outdoors under various weather conditions, including rain, snow, heat, hail, wind, and sleet.

Nice To Haves

• Payroll certifications such as CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) and/or HR/benefits certifications (e.g., SHRM/PHR) are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for all payroll activities supporting 1,500+ employees ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance across multiple states.
• Lead and develop the payroll team, setting clear goals, ensuring appropriate coverage, and driving consistent performance and service levels.
• Establish and maintain robust payroll controls such as approvals, reconciliations, segregation of duties, audit trails, error prevention, and SOPs.
• Manage payroll governance including wage/hour compliance, OT rules, final pay timing, garnishments, tax withholding, W-2/1095 reporting, record retention, and multi-state taxation.
• Partner with Finance on payroll accounting, GL mapping, accruals (bonus, PTO, benefits), funding, and monthly/quarterly reconciliations.
• Drive process improvement initiatives to increase accuracy, reduce cycle time, and improve employee experience (self-service adoption, ticketing workflows, SOPs).
• Own benefit plan administration across medical, dental, vision, life, disability, FSA/HSA, retirement/401(k) and leave programs.
• Lead annual benefits renewal and open enrollment planning, execution and benefits compliance.
• Manage leave of absence (LOA) administration, ensuring accurate pay treatment, benefit continuation, and coordination with payroll processing.
• Manage workers’ compensation coordination, including payroll reporting, vendor coordination, claims support, and audit requests.
• Own and optimize payroll, timekeeping, and benefits processes within ADP Workforce Manager, including configuration, audits, integrations, and enhancements.
• Manage vendor relationships including payroll provider, benefits carriers, brokers/consultants, and third-party administrators; negotiate contracts and service levels, monitor performance, and drive issue resolution.
• Maintain data integrity across HRIS, payroll, timekeeping and benefits systems: audit routines, integration monitoring, change control, and security permissions.
• Build dashboards and reporting for leadership (payroll accuracy, cycle metrics, benefits utilization, costs, trends, employee inquiries, audit findings).
• Lead payroll, benefits, LOA, and retirement audits, year-end processes, compliance testing and ensure payroll continuity and coverage.
• Maintain compliance calendars, policies, SOPs, and documentation aligned with regulatory and company requirements proactively identifying any risk.
• Drive a service-oriented, solutions-focused team culture with high accountability, continuous improvement and strong employee experience.
• Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on payroll, benefits, and risk-related matters.
• Partner closely with Chief People Officer, People Relations, Finance, and IT on workforce changes, compensation programs, and organizational initiatives.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision: Highlights include company-paid individual PPO-HSA plan (with $1,200 annual employer contribution); HMO options for California residents. Dental and vision premiums are fully covered for employees; coverage for dependents is available at an additional cost.
• Retirement Plans (401K): The company matches 1/3 of the employee's contribution up to 2% of the salary.
• Life & Disability Insurance: Up to $100,000 of life insurance and AD&D coverage, plus short- and long-term disability insurance. In addition, supplemental life for the employee, spouse, and children.
• Time Off: 11 paid holidays, 2–4 weeks of vacation based on years of service, and sick leave provided in compliance with state and local requirements.
• Referral Bonuses: $1,000 for eligible employee referrals.
• Volunteer Time Off: Up to 16 hours annually (8 for personal volunteer activities, 8 for company-sponsored events).
• Perks: Professional development, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, and more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees