Senior Payroll Analyst

Workiva Inc.•Ames, IA

9d•$86,000 - $140,000

About The Position

The Senior Payroll Analyst processes and reconciles payroll for the United States and Canada and cross-trains to provide backup for EMEA, APAC, and South America payroll. The role partners with Accounting & Finance, Benefits, Equity, and People & Culture teams globally to support a strong employee experience and contributes to automation, reporting, compliance, and process-improvement projects. The analyst processes and reviews payroll inputs using Workday and CloudPay, reviews payroll reports, maintains review documents and payroll metrics, supports reconciliations and reporting, and researches tax discrepancies. The role also maintains payroll controls and procedures, supports payroll implementations and automation, responds to employee and third-party inquiries, and serves as the day-to-day contact for payroll tax partner inquiries through the OneSource Virtual portal. The position includes 15% travel for customer and internal meetings. Workiva supports employees working from an office or remotely from any location within their country of employment; reliable internet access is required when working remotely. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. on a permanent basis; visa sponsorship is not provided.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience in a related field.
At least 4 years of experience in payroll operations; public company experience preferred.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
Excellent verbal and written command of English.
Ability to adapt to people from different cultures and their needs and styles.
Ability to identify and resolve issues methodically, with attention to detail and critical thinking.
Ability to support the team with a proactive mindset.
Reliable internet access when working remotely and not in a Workiva office.
Must be authorized to work in the U.S. on a permanent basis; Workiva will not provide visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience using modern data tools, automated reporting, or AI-assisted technologies to improve workflow efficiency and data integrity.
Experience with Workday Payroll is strongly preferred.
Multinational payroll experience preferred.
Public company payroll experience preferred.
Self-motivated, action-oriented, results-focused, and committed to continuous improvement.
Exceptional organizational skills and ability to multitask and manage multiple processes, programs, and procedures simultaneously while working under pressure to meet deadlines.
Other languages are desirable.

Responsibilities

Process and review automated and manual payroll inputs for the United States, Canada, and Brazil using Workday and CloudPay.
Review payroll reports each pay period, monthly, quarterly, and at year-end to ensure payments to employees, EOR employees, vendors, and statutory jurisdictions are accurate.
Create and maintain documents that demonstrate payroll-result accuracy and maintain payroll metrics at the end of each period.
Partner with Accounting & Finance, Benefits, Equity, and Human Resources teams in administering payroll activities.
Identify opportunities for improvement and positive change.
Maintain payroll checklists and audits for accuracy and SOX compliance.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local statutory regulations and company policies.
Work with Accounting & Finance on reconciliations and payroll reporting needs.
Research tax deduction and filing discrepancies and use Workday knowledge to resolve tax entries internally and with third-party providers.
Provide project support and participate in projects involving implementations, automation, payroll interfaces, and process improvement.
Address payroll inquiries from employees and third parties in a supportive and timely manner.
Create and maintain payroll guidelines by writing and updating policies and procedures as processes change.
Process and reconcile statutory tax and third-party payroll payments.
Serve as the day-to-day contact for payroll tax partner inquiries and manage, monitor, and resolve tax cases, agency notices, and support tickets through the OneSource Virtual (OSV) portal.