Senior Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Licensing

Justworks • New York, NY

1d • $147,000 - $190,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Licensing leads people and operations across Regulatory Compliance and Licensing Operations within Product Compliance. The role establishes priorities, ownership, operating rhythms, and performance expectations; develops team capabilities and accountability; and partners with Product Compliance leadership on organizational design, resourcing, and the evolution of these functions.

This position builds reliable operational foundations for regulatory obligations by establishing documented processes, controls, escalation paths, backup coverage, cross-training, business continuity planning, and knowledge management. It improves visibility into obligations, execution, risks, and issues, and develops measures to assess execution, capacity, quality, and risk.

The role oversees timely and compliant regulatory execution, including applicable PEO and other licensing, CPEO certification, ESAC accreditation, regulatory reporting, government filings, business registrations, examinations, and agency correspondence. It leads regulatory change monitoring and implementation, strengthens controls and remediation, supports audit and examination readiness, and partners across Legal, Product, Engineering, Payroll Compliance, Finance, Security, Internal Audit, Customer Success, Government Affairs, and Operations.

The Senior Manager builds and develops a high-performing team, communicates regulatory priorities and risks to senior leadership, and serves as a senior advisor on regulatory requirements and their operational implications. The role calls for strategic and people leadership, sound regulatory judgment, operational excellence, systems thinking, risk management, cross-functional influence, and clear executive communication.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive experience in regulatory compliance, licensing, tax compliance or research, compliance operations, or a related field.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading teams responsible for complex regulatory or compliance obligations.
• Experience leading regulatory compliance programs in a highly regulated environment.
• Strong regulatory judgment and ability to translate complex requirements into operational processes, controls, and clear ownership.
• Experience strengthening or scaling compliance operations, including process documentation, business continuity, controls, and performance management.
• Experience working with government agencies, regulators, auditors, Legal, and cross-functional business partners.
• Ability to identify and manage regulatory, operational, and business continuity risks.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, and performance management skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate risks and priorities to senior leaders.
• Proven ability to influence and drive outcomes across functions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in PEO, payroll, HR technology, fintech, SaaS, or another regulated technology-enabled environment.
• Experience with CPEO certification, ESAC accreditation, state PEO licensing, or similar regulatory programs.
• Experience leading regulatory change management or a comparable regulatory interpretation function.
• Experience strengthening compliance functions through organizational, process, or control improvements.
• Familiarity with internal audit, SOX, SOC, or other control and assurance frameworks.
• Experience using technology, automation, or AI to improve compliance operations.

Responsibilities

• Provide people and operational leadership across Regulatory Compliance and Licensing Operations within Product Compliance.
• Set priorities, ownership, operating rhythms, and performance expectations across the functions.
• Develop team members’ capabilities, judgment, and accountability; coach employees and support their growth.
• Partner with Product Compliance leadership on organizational design, resourcing, and the evolution of the functions.
• Establish clear ownership, documented processes, effective controls, escalation paths, and backup coverage for critical regulatory obligations.
• Reduce single points of failure through cross-training, business continuity planning, and sustainable knowledge management.
• Improve visibility into upcoming obligations, execution status, risks, and issues requiring leadership attention.
• Standardize and simplify workflows where doing so improves reliability, efficiency, and compliance outcomes.
• Develop operational measures to assess execution, capacity, quality, and risk.
• Oversee timely, accurate, and compliant execution of applicable licensing, certification, accreditation, reporting, filings, registrations, examinations, and agency correspondence.
• Ensure regulatory obligations are documented, calendared, assigned, reviewed, and escalated appropriately.
• Oversee interactions with regulators, government agencies, auditors, and external partners, and ensure follow-up actions are completed.
• Identify emerging regulatory and operational risks and ensure appropriate mitigation and escalation.
• Monitor and interpret regulatory developments and assess their impact on Justworks’ products and operations.
• Communicate regulatory changes to relevant stakeholders and translate them into operational, product, or control requirements.
• Partner with Payroll Compliance, Legal, Product, Engineering, Operations, and other stakeholders to implement new or changing requirements.
• Establish processes to track regulatory change from identification through assessment, ownership, implementation, and closure.
• Partner with Product Compliance leadership, Internal Audit, Legal, Finance, Product, Security, and others to strengthen controls and address risks.
• Support audit and examination readiness through clear documentation, evidence, ownership, and timely follow-up.
• Prioritize, assign, track, and sustain remediation actions owned by the functions.
• Promote proactive risk identification and escalation rather than reactive issue management.
• Build trusted cross-functional partnerships and advise on regulatory requirements, operational impacts, risks, and implementation considerations.
• Build an engaged, high-performing team with clear expectations, accountability, and collaboration.
• Assess team capabilities and capacity, address performance or skill gaps, and inform hiring and resourcing decisions.
• Create sustainable coverage for critical responsibilities through role design, cross-training, and succession planning.
• Provide senior leaders with clear, concise updates on regulatory priorities, organizational health, risks, and decisions requiring attention.

Benefits

• Wellness program offerings
• Company retreats
• The posting refers applicants to Justworks’ Total Rewards information for additional perks and benefits, but does not specify them in the description.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed