Payroll Manager

Lactalis USA Inc.•Buffalo, NY

2d•$85,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Lactalis USA, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Payroll Manager based in Buffalo NY. The Payroll Manager leads the U.S. payroll function, with responsibility for the planning, organization, management, and continuous improvement of payroll operations. This role owns the development and governance of payroll and time and attendance processes across all U.S. entities, ensuring consistent standards, strong controls, compliance, accuracy, and scalable best practices. The Payroll Manager provides leadership across payroll operations and establishes clear expectations for process ownership, documentation, accountability, and continuous improvement. This role plays a key part in strengthening and evolving payroll processes to support a consistent, efficient, and well-governed payroll experience across the organization.

Requirements

Associate's degree or equivalent experience required; Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or related field preferred.
5+ years of equivalent experience required.
2+ years of supervisory or management experience highly preferred.
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamentals of Payroll Certification (FCP) preferred.
Strong expertise in payroll procedures, process governance, internal controls, and continuous improvement practices.
Solid knowledge of multi-state tax, accounting principles, and reciprocity rules across state, federal, and local jurisdictions.
Proficiency in Paylocity, UKG, or similar Payroll and T&A systems; advanced expertise in Microsoft Excel and Word required.
Ability to evaluate existing processes, identify root causes and control gaps, develop practical solutions, and lead sustainable process improvements across payroll, time and attendance, and related cross-functional processes.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or related field preferred.
2+ years of supervisory or management experience highly preferred.
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamentals of Payroll Certification (FCP) preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish, maintain, and continuously improve payroll and T&A policies, process maps, internal controls, and standard operating procedures across all US entities to ensure compliance, accuracy, and scalability.
Oversee payroll and time/attendance vendor relationships, service performance, and system/timeclock configurations to ensure rapid issue resolution and minimal operational downtime.
Monitor changes in federal, state, and local payroll regulations, assess impacts on systems and workflows, and lead timely compliance implementations.
Oversee weekly and biweekly payroll processing to guarantee timeliness, accuracy, and strong internal controls, utilizing post-payroll audits to drive root-cause improvements.
Support integrations between payroll/T&A platforms and core enterprise software by defining data controls, testing protocols, and governance standards.
Lead payroll-driven initiatives by establishing project timelines, mitigating risks, and directing cross-functional resources to ensure successful execution.
Ensure high-level management and accurate execution of executive and expatriate payroll components.
Oversee quarterly and annual reconciliations for federal, state, and local tax withholdings, while assuring compliant deduction processes for garnishments, benefits, etc. Partner with Accounting and Tax for internal/external audits and bank reconciliations, tax agency registrations, and check requests.
Partner with Compensation, HRIS, Benefits, Finance, and Accounting to align upstream/downstream workflows, manage handoffs, and support annual bonus and merit cycles.
Provide ad-hoc HR and payroll analytics, consolidated reporting, and budget presentations as required by leadership.
Responsible for the direction, coordination, and evaluation of payroll team members in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.