Payroll Lead

ARCO Companies•St. Louis, MO

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Payroll Lead is a senior-level payroll professional who provides hands-on support across payroll operations and payroll tax. The role partners with the Payroll Operations Manager and Payroll Tax Manager to resolve complex issues, support critical deadlines, strengthen controls, improve processes, and provide coverage across the payroll function. The role works across payroll operations and payroll tax. Initially, the position will have no direct reports but will provide day-to-day leadership and may assume formal people-leadership responsibilities as organizational needs evolve.

Requirements

Progressive payroll experience in a high-volume, multi-state payroll environment.
Significant hands-on experience with both payroll processing and payroll taxation.
Strong payroll operations experience, including payroll processing, balancing, reconciliations, validations, controls, approvals, and complex issue resolution.
Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements, including withholding, filings, payments, notices, reconciliations, amendments, and year-end reporting.
Experience supporting multiple legal entities, FEINs, tax jurisdictions, payroll groups, or other complex payroll populations.
Demonstrated ability to research, analyze, and resolve complex payroll processing, tax, and compliance issues.
Experience supporting quarterly and year-end payroll activities, W-2 reporting, payroll tax reconciliations, agency notices, audits, registrations, and other compliance requirements.
Experience leading payroll processes, projects, and process-improvement initiatives, including identifying operational risks, implementing sustainable improvements, and developing procedures, controls, documentation, and cross-training materials.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, reconciliations, reporting, and audit support.
Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, decision-making, and prioritization skills.
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to work effectively with associates, managers, and business partners.
Demonstrated ability to provide guidance, mentoring, and support to payroll professionals.
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive payroll, tax, and associate information.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, preferred.
Familiarity with Viewpoint Vista and prior construction industry payroll experience preferred.
Canadian payroll and payroll tax experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner closely with the Payroll Operations Manager to support payroll processing, balancing, approvals, critical deadlines, workload, and business continuity needs.
Review and validate payroll results and assist with resolving complex payroll discrepancies and associate pay concerns.
Support complex payroll matters including union payroll, prevailing wage requirements, labor allocations, deductions, retroactive adjustments, and other payroll scenarios.
Serve as an escalation resource for payroll processing, compliance, and operational issues.
Provide hands-on and backup payroll processing support during absences, peak periods, year-end, or other business needs.
Develop working knowledge across all areas of payroll tax and provide assistance and backup support as needed.
Assist with federal, state, and local payroll tax activities, including withholding, tax setup, liabilities, payments, filings, amendments, notices, and reporting.
Assist in reviewing associate tax setup and resolving complex tax jurisdiction and withholding discrepancies.
Assist with quarterly and year-end payroll tax reconciliations and wage reporting, including W-2 and other required reporting.
Assist with researching payroll tax requirements and regulatory changes and implementing necessary process or procedural updates.
Provide backup support for payroll tax accounts, registrations, agency notices, audits, and related compliance documentation, as directed by the Payroll Tax Manager.
Lead and support continuous improvement efforts across both payroll operations and payroll tax.
Identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, controls, consistency, compliance, and service delivery by evaluating recurring issues, control gaps, manual work, and opportunities for standardization.
Partner with the Payroll Operations Manager and Payroll Tax Manager to prioritize and implement process improvements.
Lead assigned improvement initiatives through implementation, documentation, training, and follow-up.
Develop and maintain payroll procedures, controls, checklists, job aids, and training materials.
Analyze payroll trends and operational data to identify issues and improvement opportunities.
Represent payroll operations and payroll tax needs on cross-functional projects and organizational initiatives.
Participate in payroll testing and validation when process or system changes impact payroll calculations, tax results, reporting, or other payroll activities.
Partner with the Payroll Business Analyst as needed on payroll-related reporting, testing, process changes, and recurring payroll deliverables; develop working knowledge of selected Payroll Business Analyst responsibilities to provide backup support as needed.
Support internal and external audits through documentation, reconciliations, reports, and analysis.
Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance, mentoring, and support to payroll team members.
Serve as a resource for complex payroll processing and assist with payroll tax and compliance matters as needed.
Support cross-training and knowledge transfer across payroll operations and payroll tax to strengthen team coverage.
Help identify critical processes requiring additional backup coverage and support cross-training plans.
Lead assigned payroll projects, initiatives, and process improvements on behalf of the Payroll Operations Manager, Payroll Tax Manager, or Director of Payroll and Employment Taxes.
Promote collaboration, accountability, strong controls, and consistent practices across the payroll function.

Benefits

Industry-leading performance-based bonus program
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
Traditional and Roth 401k
Tuition reimbursement for associates
Scholarship for associates’ children up to $28,000 per child
1-month paid sabbatical after every five years of employment, plus $5,000 for travel
1-week paid volunteer leave each year
100% charitable match
Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage
100% paid 12-week maternity leave