Payroll and Benefits Manager

ZT Motors of Texas LP•Houston, TX

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Payroll and Benefits Manager owns both the payroll and the employee benefits functions for the entire company, multi-state payroll across multiple legal entities and pay frequencies, and full administration of the group's health, welfare and retirement plans. The role is hands-on and supervisory, leads a team of payroll and benefits administrators. It sets the standard for every store rather than administering a single rooftop, works directly with store Controllers and the executive team, and leads payroll and benefits onboarding each time the group acquires.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Human Resources or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
Five or more years covering BOTH payroll and benefits administration, with direct hands-on ownership of each
Multi-entity, multi-state payroll experience
Two or more years supervising payroll and/or benefits staff
Working knowledge of the FLSA, multi-state wage and hour law, payroll tax deposits and filings by FEIN, and year-end reporting
Working knowledge of ERISA, Section 125, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA and ACA reporting requirements
Has served as the responsible administrator through at least one complete annual open enrollment cycle
Experience reconciling carrier invoices and self-bill statements to payroll deductions and enrollment records
Hands-on configuration experience in a full-service HCM platform across both payroll and benefits modules, building and controlling the system, not data entry alone
Advanced Microsoft Excel, pivot tables, lookups and large-volume data reconciliation
Legally authorized to work in the United States and able to work on-site in Houston, Texas

Nice To Haves

Automotive dealership or dealer group experience, with direct exposure to flat-rate technician pay, commission structures and draw administration
Paylocity experience
CDK Global (Dealer Management System) experience
CPP or FPC certification
CEBS, SHRM-CP or PHR certification
Experience integrating acquired locations or converting payroll and benefits platforms
Working knowledge of Texas, Florida, Alabama and Georgia employment, wage payment and benefits continuation requirements
Bilingual English/Spanish

Responsibilities

Manage the complete payroll cycle for all 18 rooftops and management companies across semi-monthly, bi-weekly and weekly pay groups
Review and approve payroll registers, pre-process audits, gross-to-net variance reports and funding requests before each transmission
Administer the full range of dealership pay plans, flat-rate and hourly technician pay with efficiency bonuses and guarantee true-ups; service advisor and manager commissions; sales and management commissions with unit, volume and CSI bonuses; F&I commissions and chargebacks; recoverable and non-recoverable draws; manufacturer and vendor spiffs; and taxable fringe including demonstrator vehicle use
Serve as the control point for pay plan changes verify authorization, confirm effective dates and validate entry before the pay period closes
Administer off-cycle payrolls, manual checks, retroactive adjustments and terminations per each state's final-pay requirements
Own payroll tax compliance for each FEIN deposits, Forms 941, 940, W-2 and W-3, state withholding and unemployment filings, agency notices, and reconciliation to the general ledger
Administer garnishments, child support orders and tax levies
Administer all group health and welfare plans across every entity, medical, dental, vision, life, disability and voluntary products
Own eligibility and enrollment waiting periods, qualifying life events, dependent verification, waivers and terminations
Manage annual open enrollment end to end: system build and testing, employee communications and meetings across all markets, election capture, deduction setup and post-enrollment audit
Reconcile monthly carrier invoices and self-bill statements to payroll deductions and enrollment; recover overbillings and terminated-employee premiums
Monitor eligibility file feeds and EDI connections between the HCM platform and carriers
Administer the 401(k) plan deferrals, loans, per-payroll contribution and match funding, timely remittance, and reconciliation to the recordkeeper
Coordinate annual compliance testing, Form 5500 and the annual plan audit
Own ACA compliance measurement and stability period tracking, offer-of-coverage determinations, affordability testing, and Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
Administer COBRA, FMLA, military, personal and applicable state leave programs, including pay treatment and benefit continuation during leave
Manage PTO accrual configuration, carryover and payout at termination per each state's requirements
Support workers' compensation administration and annual premium audits
Serve as primary contact for the benefits broker and carriers, and support the CFO at annual renewal with census data, cost analysis and plan design modeling
Serve as group administrator for the HCM platform across payroll, benefits, ACA and time and attendance modules
Own the interface between the HCM platform, the dealer management system and carrier systems, including journal entry mapping by store and department
Reconcile payroll clearing, accrued wages, accrued commissions, accrued PTO, benefit liability and payroll tax accounts monthly, supporting Controllers through close
Produce recurring headcount, payroll cost, benefit cost and overtime reporting by store, department and position group
Enforce internal controls over the payroll and benefits master file, segregation of duties, dual approval for rate, deduction and bank changes, and documented change logs
Lead payroll and benefits onboarding for newly acquired stores, including successor employer wage base treatment and first-payroll validation
Supervise, train and develop the payroll and benefits team with documented cross-training
Act as the escalation point for employee and management pay and benefit inquiries