Payroll Analyst

Manulife • Waterloo, ON

6d • CA$59,100 - CA$98,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

Manulife is seeking an experienced Payroll Analyst to support complex Canadian payroll operations for approximately 13,000 employees across all provinces and six legal entities. The role helps deliver accurate, compliant payroll while strengthening controls, reducing risk, improving processes, and enhancing the employee experience. The successful candidate will bring strong payroll expertise, sound judgment, analytical curiosity, and the ability to work across Payroll, Human Resources, Finance, Benefits, Tax, Technology, vendors, and business teams to solve complex problems.

The Payroll Analyst independently processes, audits, and validates high-volume payroll, handles complex payroll activities and issues, and supports quarterly and year-end activities. The position also leads structured testing of payroll system and process changes, improves controls and processes, supports payroll integrations, and responsibly uses approved technology, automation, reporting, and AI tools. The role is advertised as hybrid and is based in Waterloo, Ontario. The position is an existing vacancy.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of progressive Canadian payroll experience with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Strong analytical thinking, curiosity, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis skills, including the ability to independently research and solve complex or unfamiliar payroll, tax, and benefits issues.
• Experience with payroll audits, reconciliations, quarterly and year-end activities, adjustments, taxable benefit reporting, and employee year-end reporting.
• Experience developing test scenarios, testing payroll system or configuration changes, validating end-to-end results, documenting defects, and identifying unintended impacts.
• Experience contributing to payroll projects and documenting business requirements, decisions, risks, controls, and test results.
• Experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP, or a similar enterprise payroll system.
• Strong knowledge of gross-to-net payroll processing, statutory requirements, employer liabilities, funding, general ledger impacts, and payroll accounting reconciliations.
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills, including analyzing large data sets, reconciling results, identifying exceptions and trends, and clearly explaining findings.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently with minimal direction, and collaborate effectively across teams.

Nice To Haves

• Canadian payroll certification or comparable payroll designation, such as PLP or PCP.
• Experience supporting payroll operations across multiple countries.
• Experience with cross-border or mobile-employee payroll and benefits programs affecting payroll taxation, disability payments, paid leave, taxable wages, or year-end reporting.
• Experience serving as a lead tester, project contributor, subject matter expert, mentor, or escalation resource for complex payroll work.

Responsibilities

• Independently process, audit, and validate complex, high-volume Canadian payroll accurately and on time across multiple provinces, legal entities, pay groups, and payroll cycles.
• Research and resolve complex payroll, tax, benefits, employee, and vendor issues; investigate discrepancies, identify root causes, evaluate risks and alternatives, and implement sustainable solutions.
• Lead complex payroll activities, including executive compensation, equity, bonuses, taxable benefits, disability, leaves, mobile employees, and special payments.
• Lead quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including reconciliations, adjustments, audits, reporting, and amended filings.
• Analyze payroll impacts related to benefits programs, including short- and long-term disability, legislated leaves, taxable wages and benefits, imputed income, and year-end reporting.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities through payroll, benefits, tax, and reporting data.
• Lead structured testing of payroll system, configuration, integration, and process changes, including planning, edge cases, end-to-end validation, defect documentation, and confirmation of business requirements.
• Identify and implement opportunities to automate, simplify, standardize, and strengthen payroll processes and controls to reduce errors, risk, manual effort, and rework.
• Troubleshoot payroll system, data, and integration issues in partnership with Technology, Benefits, Finance, Tax, vendors, and other business teams.
• Use approved technology, automation, reporting, and AI tools responsibly to improve payroll analysis, testing, controls, documentation, and delivery while protecting confidential information and validating results.
• Support inbound and outbound payroll-related integrations, including retirement plans, deferred compensation, benefits, withholding, garnishments, tax filings, and workers' compensation reporting.
• Build strong partnerships with Benefits, Pension, Compensation, Finance, Tax, Technology, and external vendors.
• Communicate complex payroll concepts in clear, business-friendly language.
• Share knowledge, support teammates, and contribute to a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
• Influence positive change through expertise, credibility, and collaboration.

Benefits

• Eligible employees may receive customizable health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life, and AD&D insurance coverage.
• Adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits.
• Employee and family assistance plans.
• Retirement savings plans, including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions.
• Financial education and counseling resources.
• Paid time off in Canada, including holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days.
• Statutory leaves of absence.
• Opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.
• Flexible environment supporting well-being and inclusion.

What This Job Offers

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