Senior Payroll Specialist (Open to remote)

cargill • Shorewood, MN

2d • $95,000 - $135,000 • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Payroll Specialist (Open to remote) job leads complex payroll processing and compliance activities while serving as a trusted payroll subject‑matter expert and partner to cross‑functional stakeholders. With minimal supervision, this role ensures accurate payroll execution, regulatory compliance, and high data integrity, while also supporting cross‑functional projects, system or process changes, and vendor interactions that impact payroll delivery. This position plays a key role in establishing standards, advising internal partners, resolving complex employee inquiries, and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives that enhance payroll effectiveness, compliance, and employee experience.

Requirements

• Minimum requirement of 4 years of relevant work experience. Typically reflects 5 years of progressive payroll experience, including complex, multi‑state U.S. payroll processing
• Proven ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and resolve complex payroll issues with minimal supervision
• Proficient in Microsoft Office

Nice To Haves

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)
• Advanced experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP Payroll, or ADP Tax Services
• Experience supporting payroll‑related cross‑functional projects, system implementations, or regulatory changes
• Experience acting as a payroll subject‑matter expert, providing guidance, training, or informal coaching to peers or stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• PAYROLL COMPLIANCE EXECUTION: Proposes and implements payroll process adjustments based on new regulations to ensure payroll processes meet legal and fiscal requirements and that payroll records are aligned to guidelines.
• PAYROLL RECORDS MAINTENANCE & DATA QUALITY ASSURANCE: Verifies payroll data, ensuring the accuracy of data for essential payroll variables such as employee salaries, bank accounts, and addresses for new hires and terminations, and that payroll variable elements are aligned with the organization's policies.
• STAKEHOLDER & EMPLOYEE PARTNERSHIP: Acts as a primary payroll point of contact for internal stakeholders and employees by proactively communicating payroll topics, explaining impacts of changes, resolving complex inquiries, and providing guidance grounded in policy and regulation. Builds trusted partnerships through clear communication, issue anticipation, and collaborative problem solving.
• PAYROLL ADMINISTRATION: Executes various complex payroll process tasks, including coordinating the submission of required reports, running post payroll reports for third party companies, preparing and distributing paychecks or direct deposits, generating payroll reports, ensuring reconciliation of payroll records, tax filing and reconciliation, and responding to employee inquiries regarding their pay.
• PAYROLL COMPLIANCE: Leads complex internal and external research of payroll related laws and regulations to help monitor compliance of the organization's payroll process, identify impact and provide suggestions on improvements.
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Assesses current payroll processes, maintains awareness of industry trends and best practices, and identifies opportunities to improve the organization's methods and control implementation, including sharing best practices, providing informal coaching, and supporting knowledge transfer within the payroll team.
• CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PROJECT & VENDOR MANAGEMENT: Leads and contributes to cross‑functional payroll initiatives and projects by partnering with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, Time & Labor, and external vendors. Serves as the payroll subject‑matter expert to assess impacts, define requirements, coordinate testing activities, manage vendor interactions, and support the successful implementation of process, system, or regulatory changes.

Benefits

• As part of your overall rewards, we offer a comprehensive benefit program including medical and/or other benefits dependent on the position offered and hours worked.
• Minnesota Sick and Safe Leave accruals of one hour for every 30 worked, up to 48 hours per calendar year unless otherwise provided by law.

What This Job Offers

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