Director of Payroll

Aspire Public Schools • Oakland, CA

2d • $119,773 - $153,754

About The Position

The Director of Payroll leads Aspire NorCal’s payroll function and team, taking ownership of payroll compliance, processing, reporting, and tax filing. This hands-on technical leader ensures payrolls and related deadlines are accurate and timely, and provides proactive payroll education to colleagues across the organization. The role researches, recommends, and implements improvements to payroll processes and systems in alignment with federal and state regulations and Aspire’s strategies and goals.

Aspire NorCal is forming a unified Northern California region that serves 22 schools and approximately 10,000 scholars across the Bay Area and Central Valley. The Director of Payroll will support the organization through this transition while upholding Aspire Public Schools’ mission, vision, values, commitment to antiracism, confidentiality standards, and code of ethical behavior.

The position is full-time and exempt. Salary is $119,773 to $153,754 annually, commensurate with experience. The work location and in-person expectations are still being finalized. Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement; the department’s budget and positions may be affected if the agreement is not finalized, renewed, or is ended early. Employment is at-will.

Requirements

• FPC or CPP designation required.
• At least 5 years of payroll experience.
• At least 3 years of direct management experience.
• Experience with UltiPro (UKG) required and ability to navigate HRIS systems.
• Knowledge of federal and California labor laws, including FLSA and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Deep payroll technical knowledge and willingness to stay current with changing regulations.
• Strong customer service orientation, communication, relationship-building skills, and professional integrity.
• High attention to detail, organization, and follow-up; ability to manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Excellent critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and good judgment.
• Advanced Excel and technology skills, including ability to work with large databases and provide meaningful analysis.
• Ability to handle highly sensitive information and influence and partner across HR, Finance, and Payroll.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Business preferred.
• Working knowledge of accounting and benefit principles preferred.
• Experience in or strong interest in K-12 public education.

Responsibilities

• Lead, build, and manage a high-performing payroll function and team, including managing 2–3 direct reports.
• Develop payroll training materials and deliver live training on compliance, industry updates, and best practices; maintain payroll tools and Q&A materials.
• Foster a customer-service culture, uphold service-level agreements and success metrics, and oversee the payroll service desk ticket system.
• Serve as the Payroll Service Level Agreement lead between Aspire NorCal and Aspire LA, participate in SLA review meetings, and deliver performance reports.
• Collaborate with Employee Services and the Retirement Manager on tax, benefit, and retirement questions, including 403(b), CalSTRS, and CalPERS audits.
• Develop, own, and communicate the payroll calendar; ensure timely payrolls, tax filings, retirement reporting and funding, and termination payments; own the payroll year-end process.
• Manage the full payroll cycle and payroll/HRIS processes, including status changes, W-4 and direct deposit entry, leave processing, adjustments, retroactive payments, W-2 filings, off-cycle checks, garnishments, retirement deductions, fringe benefits, journal entries, and final pay calculations.
• Understand benefit taxation and ACA requirements and support reporting with the Employee Services team.
• Manage payroll controls and develop audit reports, checks, and balances to ensure accurate payroll and mitigate errors.
• Document payroll processes, maintain a training manual, and regularly file pay-period adjustments electronically.
• Hire, develop, coach, and retain a customer-focused, cross-trained payroll team; set priorities and balance workload.
• Build collaborative partnerships with HR leadership, Employee Services, Employee Relations, the HRIS Manager, Business Managers, and the Retirement Manager.
• Liaise between internal managers and Aspire’s payroll provider and lead payroll-related projects.
• Support Aspire Public Schools’ mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

Benefits

• Eligible for Aspire health benefits.
• Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on role credential requirements, with a 403(b) option.
• Paid time off.
• Additional teammate benefits to be determined under an updated employee value proposition, to be shared before an offer.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed