Payroll Analyst

Manulife • Waterloo, ON

7d • $61,875 - $103,125 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Payroll Analyst supports complex U.S. payroll operations for approximately 5,500 employees across all 50 states and five Employer Identification Numbers. The role delivers accurate and compliant payroll while reducing risk, strengthening controls, improving processes, and enhancing the employee experience. It requires sound judgment, technical payroll expertise, analytical curiosity, and collaboration with Payroll, HR, Finance, Benefits, Tax, Technology, vendors, and business stakeholders.

The analyst independently processes and validates high-volume payroll, resolves escalated and complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues, and leads specialized payroll activities and quarterly and year-end work. The role also supports payroll system and process changes through structured testing, documentation, and validation; identifies opportunities to improve and automate processes; troubleshoots payroll integrations; and uses approved AI and productivity tools with appropriate data protection, validation, and human review.

The position builds cross-functional partnerships, communicates complex payroll matters clearly, shares knowledge, and contributes to continuous improvement. The role is a hybrid position. The advertised role is an existing vacancy.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of progressive payroll experience with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to independently research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues.
• Experience with payroll audits, reconciliations, quarterly and year-end activities, taxable benefit reporting, and employee year-end reporting.
• Experience supporting payroll system or process changes, including documenting requirements and decisions, managing scope, developing test scenarios, and executing positive and negative testing.
• Experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP, or similar enterprise payroll systems.
• Expert-level knowledge of gross-to-net payroll processing, including earnings, deductions, taxable benefits, statutory remittances, employer liabilities, general ledger impacts, payroll funding, and accounting reconciliations.
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently with minimal direction, and collaborate effectively within a team.

Nice To Haves

• CPP, FPC, or similar payroll certification.
• Experience supporting international payroll operations, including expatriate payroll, mobile employees, cross-border taxation, and compliance across jurisdictions such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.
• Benefits administration or operations experience, particularly where benefits programs affect 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 point.

Responsibilities

• Independently process, audit, and validate high-volume payroll accurately and on time across multiple jurisdictions, legal entities, pay groups, and payroll cycles.
• Handle escalated payroll support cases and complex employee, manager, HR, and vendor inquiries through research and timely resolution.
• Lead complex payroll activities involving equity compensation, executive payroll, deferred compensation, board payments, mobile employees, relocation, annual compensation, bonus cycles, taxable benefits, and special tax treatment.
• Lead quarterly and year-end reconciliations, audits, amended filings, adjustments, taxable benefit reporting, and employee reporting requirements.
• Research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues while applying applicable regulatory requirements.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, identify root causes, and recommend sustainable solutions.
• Support payroll system, configuration, integration, and process changes through structured end-to-end testing and validation.
• Develop test scripts, scenarios, and validation plans covering regression, integration, parallel, negative, and exception testing.
• Anticipate edge cases, verify outcomes against business requirements, and document testing results, defects, risks, and recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, standardize, and strengthen payroll processes and controls.
• Create and maintain process documentation, job aids, and operating procedures, and contribute to projects that reduce risk and support scalable operations.
• Use Workday, ADP GlobalView, SAP-based payroll tools, and related technologies to support payroll delivery, integrations, and issue resolution.
• Support and troubleshoot inbound and outbound payroll integrations, including retirement plans, deferred compensation, benefits, withholding, garnishments, tax filings, and workers' compensation reporting.
• Use approved AI, automation, reporting, and productivity tools to improve payroll research, reconciliations, documentation, testing, analysis, process mapping, and communications while protecting confidential data and validating outputs.
• Build partnerships with Benefits, Pension, Compensation, Finance, Tax, Technology, and external vendors, and communicate complex payroll concepts in clear, business-friendly language.
• Share knowledge, support teammates, and contribute to learning, continuous improvement, and positive change.
• Analyze payroll impacts of benefits programs, including disability, paid family leave, taxable wages, deductions, imputed income, and year-end reporting.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities through payroll, benefits, tax, and reporting data; evaluate impacts, risks, and alternatives before recommending changes or corrections.
• Apply sound judgment when navigating ambiguous or non-standard payroll situations.

Benefits

• Eligible employees may receive health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life, and AD&D insurance coverage.
• Adoption and surrogacy benefits, wellness benefits, and employee and family assistance plans.
• Retirement savings plans, including pension and 401(k) plans, and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions.
• Financial education and counseling resources.
• U.S. paid time off includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time each year, or more where required by law.
• Statutory leaves of absence.
• Eligible employees may participate in incentive programs with compensation tied to business and individual performance.

What This Job Offers

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