Manager, Payroll Tax and Accounting (Hybrid - 3x a week in Secaucus, NJ)

Quest Diagnostics•Secaucus, NJ

8d•$110,000 - $145,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Payroll Tax and Accounting has end-to-end strategic and operational accountability for payroll tax compliance, statutory reporting, and related accounting controls across federal, 50 states, Puerto Rico, and local jurisdictions for 20+ legal entities, governing more than $750M+ in annual payroll tax liabilities. Reporting directly to the Director, Corporate Payroll, the incumbent oversees tax filing vendors (ADP, Equifax), directs quarterly and annual reconciliation (Forms 941, 940, W-2, W-2c), manages state/local audits, orchestrates Oracle HCM Cloud legislative/tax configuration testing, and partners with Corporate Tax, Corporate Treasury, and Centralized Accounting.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or equivalent relevant work experience.
Minimum 7–10 years of progressive, multi-state payroll tax and payroll accounting experience in a large-scale corporate enterprise (20,000+ employees, multiple EINs).
Minimum 3–5 years of supervisory or team leadership experience directing payroll analysts or specialists.
In-depth experience managing outsourced tax filing vendor partnerships (ADP Comprehensive Tax Services preferred) and state unemployment vendors (Equifax).
Deep mastery of US Federal, State, and Local payroll tax statutes, withholding rules, reciprocity agreements, and unemployment compensation laws.
Working knowledge of Canadian provincial/federal payroll tax concepts (T2200) and Puerto Rico Hacienda tax filing standards.
Strong understanding of payroll accounting, general ledger journal entries, account reconciliations, and SOX internal control frameworks.
High proficiency in Oracle HCM Cloud Payroll, ADP SmartCompliance, Equifax UI, advanced Microsoft Excel (Power Query, complex pivots, index/match), and database query tools (Access, SQL).
Exceptional analytical, quantitative reconciliation, and root-cause diagnostic skills.
Strategic leadership, team coaching, and performance management skills.
Proven cross-functional project management and change management ability.
Polished interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills across all organizational tiers.
Direct supervisory responsibility for 3 professional team members.
Responsible for hiring, performance appraisals, goal setting, career development, compensation recommendations, workload distribution, and technical oversight.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Accounting, Taxation, or MBA.
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) – American Payroll Association.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
10+ years of corporate multi-state payroll tax management in healthcare, clinical diagnostics, or related distributed workforce environments.
Hands-on leadership of major ERP payroll system migrations or upgrades (e.g., Oracle Cloud HCM / Fusion Time & Labor / E-Business Suite).
Prior experience defending state and local payroll tax audits and coordinating statutory state tax credit programs.

Responsibilities

Directs compliance, cash forecasting, and tax impound reconciliations for $750M+ in annual payroll taxes across 20+ legal entities.
Oversees multi-state taxation for 40,000+ employees across 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada (T2200), and local tax jurisdictions.
Primary business owner for Oracle HCM Cloud (Time & Labor, Payroll, Costing, USOPTE), ADP Tax Services, and Equifax Unemployment & Verification Services.
Directly leads and develops a specialized team comprising a Senior Payroll Tax Analyst, Payroll Tax Lead, and Payroll Analyst II.
Directs the preparation, audit, and submission of all federal, state, and local quarterly and annual filings (including Forms 941, 940, state unemployment returns, local reconciliations, and Puerto Rico W-2 / SUI returns) through ADP.
Reviews and approves quarterly ADP tax exception reports, W-3 to balance register comparisons, and FICA/Medicare reconciliations.
Manages the end-to-end W-2 and W-2c reporting cycles, overseeing automated before-and-after variance summaries, amendment tracking, and electronic filing confirmations with the SSA and IRS.
Audits executive fringe benefits, imputed income balance adjustments (e.g., corporate aircraft, company car personal use), Golden Parachute, and supplemental equity compensation events (AIP, RSU, PSU).
Evaluates non-resident/resident taxation, multi-state withholding reciprocity, NYC/NY part-year rules, and complex state compliance (e.g., NJ Convenience of Employer rule, Washington Cares/PFML, and California meal break tax treatments).
Conducts bi-weekly review and approval of payroll tax funding schedules, verifying ACH debits against Treasury accounts, ADP impound reports, and Puerto Rico wire disbursements.
Manages monthly and bi-weekly general ledger (GL) journal entries for ADP-paid taxes, aligning tax categories, penalties, interest, and state withholding accounts to Centralized Accounting charts of accounts.
Prepares and updates the rolling Monthly/Annual Payroll Cash Forecast, analyzing gross-to-net variances, non-biweekly earnings, merit increases, and M&A tax cash impacts.
Reconciles balance sheet tax accounts monthly and quarterly, partnering with Corporate Accounting to investigate, resolve, and document reconciling items.
Evaluates annual payroll accrual rate calculations, financial calendars (e.g., 27th pay period, holiday pay), and work-day factors in collaboration with Finance.
Compiles, validates, and provides statutory payroll and headcount data to Corporate Tax for federal, state, and municipal tax credits.
Directs Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting, Multi-Worksite Reporting (MWR), and live electronic data testing across all operating subsidiaries.
Acts as primary functional subject matter expert for Oracle HCM Cloud Payroll & USOPTE engine updates, quarterly SOAK testing, and legislative tax patches.
Evaluates and automates tax card creation, regional tax assignment rules, resident/work geocoding, and transfer/rehire state tax record maintenance.
Drives process automation initiatives (e.g., Microsoft Access tools, SQL queries, and robotic process automation) to eliminate manual entry for balance adjustments, out-of-state remote worker audits, and address fallouts.
Ensures strict SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) compliance; conducts bi-annual reviews of ADP compliance SOC 1 reports, SSAE-18 bridge letters, and remediation plans to maintain airtight internal controls.
Leads representation and audit defense for federal, state, and municipal payroll tax audits, workers’ compensation audits (DE-9 / Form 940 reconciliations), and 401(k) plan annual census audits.
Resolves complex tax notices, penalty assessments, and fallout reconciliations with taxing authorities and third-party vendors.
Leads payroll tax integration for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures: transfers state unemployment experience ratings, unifies federal EIN reporting, audits legacy tax data, and verifies local tax configurations.

Benefits

Day 1 Medical, supplemental health, dental & vision for FT employees who work 30+ hours
Best-in-class well-being programs
Annual, no-cost health assessment program Blueprint for Wellness®
healthyMINDS mental health program
Vacation and Health/Flex Time
6 Holidays plus 1 "MyDay" off
FinFit financial coaching and services
401(k) pre-tax and/or Roth IRA with company match up to 5% after 12 months of service
Employee stock purchase plan
Life and insurance, plus buy-up option
Flexible Spending Accounts
Annual incentive plans
Matching gifts program
Education assistance through MyQuest for Education
Career advancement opportunities