Senior Payroll Administrator

Construction Specialties•Lebanon, NJ

5d•$70,000 - $100,000

About The Position

The Senior Payroll Administrator is responsible for accurate preparation, documentation, distribution, and reconciliation of payroll, as well as administration of the payroll system across U.S. and Canadian operations. Payroll is a financial reporting function that feeds the general ledger, tax filings, and the Company’s retirement plan. The role requires financial acumen and the ability to reconcile, analyze, and explain payroll results. It partners with Accounting, Treasury, Human Resources, and outside service providers, and provides exposure to month-end close, benefits accounting, and multi-jurisdiction tax within the corporate finance organization.

Requirements

Associate degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business required.
Generally 4–7 years of experience in payroll administration or a related field.
Strong knowledge of accounting principles and practices, including debits and credits, account reconciliations, and accruals.
Detail-oriented, with excellent analytical skills and a track record of meeting non-negotiable deadlines.
Ability to work with multiple payroll cycles and varying taxing jurisdictions simultaneously.
Intermediate to advanced Excel skills, including lookups, pivot tables, and reconciliation of large data sets.
Absolute discretion when handling confidential compensation and employee data.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Payroll experience ideally involving multiple states and entities.
Prior general accounting exposure, such as journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations, or month-end close participation.
Hands-on ERP experience, such as Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics 365, and ability to learn new systems quickly.
Canadian or cross-border payroll experience.
FPC, CPP, or equivalent payroll certification, or willingness to pursue certification with Company support.
Experience with direct deposit administration; garnishments and levies; time-card review and audit; pay calculations; general-ledger coding, accruals, and close support; payroll tax reporting and process maintenance; payroll, wage, and tax adjustments; payroll software such as Oracle, ADP, or Vanguard; process improvement and payroll automation; or a manufacturing or multi-site environment.

Responsibilities

Administer end-to-end Canadian and U.S. payroll processing for weekly and biweekly cycles.
Review pay computations and associated deductions for accuracy before payroll release.
Coordinate payroll processing with an outside service provider, including file transmission, funding, and error resolution.
Perform monthly payroll reconciliations and investigate variances through resolution.
Review and audit time-card data for completeness, approvals, and policy compliance before processing.
Administer direct deposits, garnishments, levies, and court-ordered withholdings.
Respond to and resolve inquiries about paychecks and payroll reporting professionally and discreetly.
Process off-cycle payments, wage adjustments, retroactive pay, and payroll tax corrections.
Maintain current knowledge of applicable city, state, provincial, local, and federal payroll legislation and follow its provisions.
Operate within established internal controls and segregation-of-duties requirements, escalating exceptions rather than working around them.
Escalate and resolve payroll issues promptly, with root-cause follow-up to prevent recurrence.
Serve as backup to the Department Manager for reconciliations and to other department members.
Manage payroll inquiries and research, and identify process-improvement, automation, and documentation opportunities.