Payroll Manager

Sesame Workshop • New York, NY

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Senior Payroll Manager, the Payroll Manager will serve as the primary payroll processor for all Sesame Workshop employees’ full-time, part-time, Season Union, and Non-Union Seasons’ across both ADP Workforce Now and Cast & Crew. This role will handle the day-to-day processing workload across all pay groups, enabling the Senior Payroll Manager to focus on payroll oversight, compliance monitoring, state registrations, and strategic initiatives. This role requires a detail-oriented, process-driven individual who maintains thorough payroll documentation and notes. The Payroll Manager will work closely with Finance, People & Culture, and Legal to ensure accurate and timely payroll processing, support employee record onboarding, and assist with retirement plan contribution uploads and payroll tax compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, or equivalent work experience
• 3-5 years of payroll processing experience
• Previous experience in production payroll
• Hands-on experience with ADP Workforce Now
• Working knowledge of payroll tax regulations and retirement plan contribution processing
• Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite) and comfort navigating integrated financial platforms, and Cast & Crew payroll systems or equivalent (Wrapbook, Greenslate or Entertainment Partners)

Nice To Haves

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Proficient in Excel (Pivot Tables, LOOKUP formulas, etc).
• Experience with process documentation, SOP development, or workflow improvement in a payroll or accounting environment

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary payroll processor responsible for managing and executing all payroll runs, including the ADP Workforce Now semi-monthly payroll for staff and variable-hour employees, as well as all Cast & Crew payrolls including the Season Union Weekly, Non-Season Union Weekly, and Semi-Monthly production payrolls (SAG-AFTRA, WGA, DGA)
• Reconciliation of IRS Form 941 on a quarterly basis and assisting Assistant Controller with year end reconciliation for audit purposes
• Assist in the monitoring and timely responsiveness of the Payroll Inbox
• Process and upload semi-monthly retirement plan contributions (401k and 457b) to Vanguard following each Cast & Crew semi-monthly payroll run, reconcile contribution amounts to payroll registers, and escalate discrepancies to the Senior Payroll Manager
• Maintain proficiency across all payroll runs and systems to ensure seamless coverage and support the Senior Payroll Manager in managing overall payroll operations, including residual payments for talent
• Assist Senior Payroll Manager with annual Workers’ Compensation audit, state and tax related items as well as any calendar year end adjustments
• Support employee record onboarding and maintenance in ADP Workforce Now and Cast & Crew, including new hire setup, tax elections, benefit enrollments, direct deposit, union status coding, and ongoing employee record changes
• Maintain detailed, organized payroll processing notes for every pay cycle, documenting all exceptions, adjustments, overrides, and resolutions with dates and authorizations to ensure a clear audit trail and continuity across the payroll team
• Perform payroll-to-general-ledger reconciliation on a regular basis, investigate and resolve discrepancies, and provide supporting documentation to Finance for month-end and quarter-end close
• Monitor outstanding payroll checks and proactively initiate reissuance for uncashed items approaching stale-dated thresholds, coordinating with employees and Finance to resolve before escalation to unclaimed property
• Partner directly with the Senior Payroll Manager on day-to-day payroll operations and serve as a key point of contact across People & Culture, Legal, and Finance on matters including employee changes, union compliance, payroll expense tracking, and tax withholding
• Communicate proactively with cross-functional stakeholders via Microsoft Teams and shared documentation (e.g., Notion), ensuring payroll-related decisions, process updates, and open items are visible and well-documented for the broader team
• Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and demonstrate strong interpersonal skills when responding to employee pay inquiries, resolving discrepancies, and coordinating sensitive information across departments

Benefits

• 401k
• 457b
• health insurance
• dental insurance
• vision insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level