Vice President, Payroll

Continuserve•Atlanta, GA

23d•Remote

About The Position

The Vice President, Payroll provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of payroll services across a diverse client portfolio, including nonprofit and for-profit organizations ranging from emerging businesses to complex enterprises. This role is responsible for ensuring the accurate, compliant, and efficient delivery of payroll services across multi-state, union, and highly regulated environments. As the leader of the payroll practice, the Vice President serves as a senior advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, partnering with U.S. and internal teams to deliver best-in-class payroll solutions. This individual is responsible for driving service excellence, regulatory compliance, operational scalability, and process innovation while navigating complex payroll requirements and evolving employment regulations. The VP acts as a trusted business partner, helping clients mitigate risk, improve payroll operations, and support organizational growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, HR, or related field
10+ years of progressive payroll experience, including leadership roles
Proven experience managing multi-state payroll operations
Union payroll experience, including interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements
Experience managing payroll for both small organizations and large enterprises
Strong client-facing experience with the ability to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders
Deep knowledge of payroll compliance, tax regulations, and reporting requirements
Experience working with U.S. and international teams
Experience with North American payroll operations, including Canada
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills
Advanced proficiency with payroll systems and Excel

Nice To Haves

Experience with nonprofit organizations and funding environments
Experience in consulting, outsourcing, or multi-client environments
Experience leading process improvement and system implementations

Responsibilities

Serves as the primary payroll leader and strategic advisor for assigned clients across nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
Oversees end-to-end payroll operations across U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, compliance, and exceptional client service.
Manages complex payroll environments, including unionized workforces, ensuring adherence to collective bargaining agreements.
Partners with cross-functional teams across North America to align payroll processes, controls, reporting, and compliance practices.
Leads client-facing engagements, presenting payroll insights, risk mitigation strategies, and process improvements to senior stakeholders.
Ensures compliance with applicable U.S. federal, state, and local regulations, as well as Canadian federal and provincial payroll requirements, including tax, wage and hour, and reporting obligations.
Oversees payroll audits, reconciliations, and issue resolution, ensuring strong internal controls and audit readiness.
Advises clients on payroll best practices, system optimization, and operational efficiencies.
Advises clients on North American payroll matters, including taxation, year-end reporting, union payroll, regulatory changes, and complex compliance requirements.
Supports payroll implications of organizational changes, including growth, restructuring, and workforce expansions.
Collaborates cross-functionally with HR, Finance, and Benefits teams to ensure seamless integration and alignment.
Manages payroll vendor relationships and evaluates systems and tools to enhance delivery and scalability.
Leads the North American Payroll Practice, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, compliant, scalable, and profitable payroll services across the client portfolio.
Provides leadership and direction to payroll professionals, fostering technical excellence, continuous development, and a high-performance culture.
Establishes and maintains quality control standards, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and adherence to client, regulatory, and organizational requirements.
Directs workforce planning, resource allocation, process optimization, and service delivery strategies to meet evolving client needs and business objectives.
Serves as a subject matter expert and escalation point for complex payroll matters, driving best practices, operational effectiveness, and client satisfaction.
Acts as a thought leader in payroll strategy, compliance, and operations, both internally and externally.
Supports business development efforts, including participation in client presentations and solution design.
Contributes to process improvement initiatives, automation, and scalability efforts across the organization.
Partners with leadership to evaluate engagement scope, pricing, resource allocation, and staffing models to drive profitability, scalability, and client satisfaction.
Partners with executive leadership to drive growth of the Payroll Practice, including service expansion, client retention, and strategic business development initiatives.
Other duties as assigned.
Serves as a representative of the organization in client and industry settings, demonstrating professionalism, expertise, and discretion.
Builds and maintains strong client relationships, establishing credibility as a trusted payroll advisor.