Payroll & Benefits Manager

Small Door Veterinary•New York, NY

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Small Door is membership-based veterinary care designed with human standards that is better for pets, pet parents, and veterinarians alike. We designed and delivered a reimagined veterinary experience via a membership that includes exceptional care, 24/7 telemedicine, and transparent pricing - delivered with modern hospitality in spaces designed by animal experts to be stress-free. We opened our flagship location in Manhattan's West Village in 2019 and have quickly expanded across the East Coast. Small Door now operates in New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia with continued expansion plans in 2026. The Payroll & Benefits Manager is responsible for owning and scaling Small Door’s payroll, benefits, leave administration, and related People systems. This role ensures accurate, compliant, and reliable pay and benefits operations while continuously improving processes to support a growing, multi-state workforce. This is a manager-level individual contributor role that combines hands-on execution with systems ownership. The Payroll & Benefits Manager partners closely with the Head of People, Finance, external vendors, and employees to deliver a smooth, predictable employee experience as the company opens new clinics and continues to grow.

Requirements

A detail-oriented payroll and benefits professional with a strong record of accurate, on-time execution in a multi-state U.S. environment
Experienced in owning payroll, benefits, and leave administration end to end, with a focus on reliability, compliance, and continuous improvement
Comfortable managing sensitive employee and payroll data with discretion, integrity, and sound judgment
Skilled at maintaining clean, auditable payroll and benefits data and building documentation and controls that scale
Effective at communicating payroll and benefits processes clearly and consistently to employees and cross-functional partners
Able to operate independently in a growing organization while contributing to more mature, repeatable systems

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end payroll processing, including audits, corrections, off-cycle payrolls, and final pay
Manage benefits administration across enrollments, life events, terminations, and annual open enrollment
Own administrative management of all leaves of absence, coordinating payroll impacts and vendor communication
Own administration of the company’s 401(k) plan, including coordination of annual nondiscrimination testing, Form 5500 preparation and filing, census reviews, and partnership with plan administrators, payroll, and Finance to ensure ongoing compliance and accurate contributions
Manage state payroll tax registrations, filings, and notices as the company expands into new locations
Monitor payroll and benefits-related compliance requirements and support audits and agency inquiries
Own People systems related to payroll, benefits, leave, and employee data
Design processes that are scalable and repeatable, with strong system usage and documentation that reduce the need for manual intervention
Create and maintain SOPs, controls, and documentation to ensure accuracy and continuity
Serve as the primary internal partner to ADP, benefits brokers, and carriers
Partner with Finance on payroll reconciliation and reporting
Partner with the HR Business Partner and Head of People on complex or escalated issues
Act as a trusted point of contact for employee payroll, benefits, and leave questions
Support a clear, predictable onboarding and ongoing employee experience