Senior Manager, Payroll (Tax)

EssilorLuxottica Group•Mason, OH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Payroll Tax Operations leads the strategy, compliance, and execution of payroll tax operations across U.S. and Canada entities. This role ensures accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll tax processes in a complex, multi-jurisdictional environment. The leader drives operational excellence, risk management, and transformation while partnering across HR, Finance, IT, and Legal to support enterprise priorities. EssilorLuxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames, and sunglasses. They offer industry stakeholders in over 150 countries access to a global platform of high-quality vision care products. Their portfolio includes renowned brands and a network of vision care providers and e-commerce platforms. The Shared Services Team supports the EssilorLuxottica collective in achieving their targets by ensuring smooth operations across the business. The company has a global community of over 200,000 employees.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, HR, or related field (or equivalent experience)
8–10+ years of progressive payroll tax experience, including leadership roles
Mastery of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax laws (plus Canadian if applicable)
Ability to interpret complex regulations (e.g., multi-state taxation, remote work, supplemental wages)
Strong command of SOX controls, internal audit processes, and tax compliance frameworks
Ability to identify risks, manage audits, resolve tax notices, and implement corrective actions
Proven ability to lead high-performing teams and drive accountability
Influences cross-functional partners (Finance, HR, Legal, IT) and advises senior leadership
Translates technical tax issues into business decisions and strategy
Expertise in enterprise payroll systems (ADP, SAP, Workday, etc.)
Strong analytical capability to leverage data for insights, accuracy, and forecasting
Proven ability to lead teams in complex, high-volume environments
Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills

Nice To Haves

Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), Payroll Leadership Professional (PLP), or Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Experience with payroll transformation, M&A, or shared service
Knowledge of data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau)

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end payroll tax operations, including filings, deposits, reconciliations, and reporting across jurisdictions
Ensure compliance with U.S. federal, state, local, and Canadian tax regulations; monitor legislative changes and implement updates
Lead and execute payroll tax compliance audits, reviewing processes, data integrity, filings, and reconciliations; partner with Audit and Finance to remediate findings and strengthen controls (including SOX)
Serve as primary contact for audits, tax authorities, and agency inquiries; oversee notice resolution and root cause analysis and negotiations
Partner with Finance on general ledger integration, account reconciliations, and financial reporting
Lead year-end activities including W-2, W-2c, and T4 processing with accuracy and timeliness
Oversee employee tax setup processes, including multi-state, remote workforce, and cross-border considerations
Drive payroll tax system strategy and optimization (ADP GlobalView, SmartCompliance, SAP or equivalent)
Lead system implementations, upgrades, and integrations
Manage vendor relationships and performance to ensure delivery against SLAs
Establish KPIs and reporting to monitor service delivery, compliance, and operational effectiveness
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team; build capabilities and support succession planning
Drive continuous improvement through process optimization, automation, and analytics
Partner cross-functionally to support complex business needs, including M&A and organizational change