Payroll Manager (Part-time)

Regis University • Denver, CO

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Part-Time Payroll Manager oversees the end-to-end payroll operations for Regis University, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant salary and wage disbursements for faculty, staff, student workers, and adjuncts. This role manages complex compensation structures within a higher education environment, such as academic year vs. fiscal year appointments, stipends, overload pay, and student employment regulations. As a working manager, this individual serves as the primary escalation point for complex operational issues, leads continuous improvement initiatives, spearheads compliance planning, and designs and delivers robust Workday Payroll training for campus users.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressive payroll management experience
• Demonstrated expertise in Workday Payroll (configuration, processing, and reporting).
• In-depth knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations, tax laws, and FLSA compliance.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to train non-financial end-users effectively.
• Proficiency in developing process improvements and managing change.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation.
• Workday Payroll Certification or advanced training credentials.
• Higher education or a complex public sector/non-profit environment experience
• Familiarity with higher education compensation models (faculty contracts, academic calendars, student FICA rules, and grant accounting).

Responsibilities

• Oversee the accurate and timely processing of semi-monthly/monthly multi-cycle payrolls for all employee groups using Workday Payroll.
• Serve as the final escalation point for complex payroll discrepancies, exception handling, tax inquiries, garnishments, and retroactive pay adjustments.
• Partner with Human Resources and Information Technology to troubleshoot system integration issues, interface errors, and data discrepancies between Workday HR and Payroll.
• Ensure proper handling of specialized higher education pay practices (e.g., faculty summer pay, grants funding allocations, stipends, and fellowships).
• Manage, mentor, and evaluate 1–2 Payroll Specialists, providing daily guidance, workload balancing, and professional development.
• Establish operational benchmarks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and quality assurance checks for the payroll team to minimize errors.
• Lead compliance planning and execution for federal, state, and local tax laws, labor standards (FLSA), and higher education-specific regulations (e.g., nonresident alien taxation, student FICA exemptions).
• Monitor regulatory changes and collaborate with institutional legal and finance teams to implement necessary policy or system adjustments.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, collective bargaining agreements (if applicable), and grant-funded payroll compliance requirements.
• Partner and support internal and external audits, including the annual employee benefit plan audit.
• Prepare and support the monthly, quarterly, and annual W-2 processing, including 941 reconciliations.
• Support HRIS partners to drive continuous improvement projects to streamline payroll workflows, automate manual tasks, and optimize the use of Workday Payroll features.
• Support HR partners to review current business processes and implement best practices to enhance efficiency and customer service for the campus community.
• Partner with Workday system administrators to test system updates, tenant releases, tax updates, and configuration enhancements.
• Design, develop, and deliver comprehensive payroll training programs for campus users, department administrators, timekeepers, and HR partners utilizing Workday Payroll.
• Create user guides, job aids, and documentation for time-tracking, absence management, and payroll approval workflows within Workday.
• Facilitate regular training sessions and workshops to promote data accuracy and empower campus departments to manage their payroll-related tasks effectively.

Benefits

• Comprehensive group health insurance, including medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance.
• A generous tuition benefit for employees, spouses and dependents
• Paid Mission leave to allow our employees to engage in acts of service or to have time for personal reflection.
• The "Gift of Time" when Regis closes between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• Options for flexible work arrangements based on position.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Manager