Job description
Position Summary:
The Manager, Total Rewards is responsible for the strategic and day-to-day management of the Company’s employee benefits, compensation, and payroll functions. This role administers employee programs and benefits that aim to enhance the overall employee experience, including compensation philosophy, recognition programs, wellness, benefits, and payroll. The Manager serves as a key partner to HR, Finance, Accounting, HRIS, employees, and external vendors, and is responsible for strengthening processes, controls, systems, and the overall employee experience. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring experience managing compensation, benefits, and payroll operations in a high-growth, multi-state environment.
The ideal candidate will be located in EST or CST time zone.
Responsibilities:
Maintain strong knowledge of evolving benefits and payroll legislation, regulations, and industry practices, and proactively recommend changes as needed
Partner as a member of a high-performing HR Operations team, working closely with HR, HRIS, Finance, Accounting, and Talent Acquisition
Ensure benefit and payroll accruals and expenses are properly established, reviewed for accuracy, and aligned with Accounting
Oversee benefits and payroll tracking, reporting, audits, and metrics to support compliance, operational decision-making, and senior management needs
Lead the annual 401(k) audit and coordinate Form 5500 filing and other retirement plan compliance activities with the TPA and applicable partners
Recommend, evaluate, and modify benefits policies and programs to ensure offerings are competitive, cost-effective, aligned with Company objectives, and compliant with legal requirements
Manage benefit plan administration, including eligibility, enrollment, deductions, billing, audits, reconciliations, and issue resolution
Oversee benefits vendor management and build strong relationships with brokers, carriers, third-party administrators, and other external partners
Develop communication strategies related to benefits offerings, payroll programs, and employee education
Manage annual compensation and benefit processes including annual market pricing exercises, salary increase cycles, bonus plan administration, and benefits open enrollment
Identify and implement opportunities to improve compensation, payroll, and benefits processes, automation, controls, efficiency, and the employee experience
Partner with HRIS and vendors to maintain compensation, payroll, and benefits system configuration, integrations, interfaces, file feeds, deductions, and data accuracy
Manage payroll and benefit related employee inquiries and escalations, ensuring timely, accurate, and service-oriented resolution
Oversee payroll tax administration and year-end activities, including W-2 processing, corrections, reconciliations, and coordination with payroll vendors
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage and hour, payroll tax, withholding, garnishment, and recordkeeping requirements
Partner with Finance and Accounting on payroll funding, general ledger reconciliations, accruals, payroll reporting, and resolution of discrepancies
Establish and maintain payroll controls, audits, reconciliations, standard operating procedures, and documentation to reduce risk and ensure data integrity
Review and approve payroll prior to final submission, ensuring earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, benefits, timekeeping, and other payroll inputs are accurate
Oversee the end-to-end payroll process to ensure accurate and timely processing of regular, off-cycle, bonus, commission, and other supplemental payrolls
Manage and develop payroll team members, providing direction, coaching, performance feedback, workload prioritization, and operational support
Lead the day-to-day administration and ongoing strategy of the Company’s employee benefits and payroll programs
Perform other duties as assigned
Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field, or equivalent years of relevant work experience
Dayforce experience preferred. Experience with backend HRIS configuration from payroll and benefits perspective
7+ years of progressive experience in benefits and payroll administration
Skills:
Strong knowledge of benefits, payroll, wage and hour, payroll tax, and employment laws and compliance requirements. Experience with Dayforce/Ceridian or a comparable HRIS/payroll platform strongly preferred
Being detail oriented with organizational skills is critical to this role
Interpersonal communication skills to deal effectively with all levels of the organization
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local regulations, filing requirements, and compliance obligations affecting employee benefits and payroll, including ACA, ERISA, COBRA, FMLA, ADA, Section 125, workers’ compensation, Medicare, FLSA, wage and hour requirements, payroll tax, garnishments, and recordkeeping
A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected
Must have ability to manage deadlines and multiple competing priorities
Strong technical skills, systems acumen, analytical ability, and advanced proficiency with payroll and benefits data, reporting, audits, and reconciliations are required
Strong problem-solving, root-cause analysis, and process improvement capabilities
Ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive employee and payroll information with discretion
Strong understanding of payroll accounting, general ledger reconciliation, internal controls, and cross-functional partnership with Finance and Accounting
Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop payroll professionals and manage performance in a deadline-driven environment
Travel:
Limited Travel, scheduled per needs of the business
Working Conditions:
All roles require:
• Sitting
- Ability to sit for extended periods stationary or while driving
• Dexterity/Effort
- Repetitive motion for typing and/or texting
- Good manual dexterity for handling packages, paperwork, operation of motor vehicles and/or electronic devices
• Sense Acuity
- Ability to see/read computer monitors or other electronic devices
Additionally, on-site or at location positions (ex. Mailroom, IT or Admin) may require:
• Lift/Carry/Push/Pull
- Occasional movement of equipment, or materials up to 50/75 Pounds
• Bend/Twist
- Occasional bending, twisting, and stooping
- Occasional need to kneel or crouch
Additionally Traveling positions (ex. Field Care Navigators or Quality Practice Advisors) may require:
• Sense Acuity
- Ability to see/read road signs, maps, and electronic devices
- Good visual acuity for driving, including peripheral vision and depth perception
• Environmental
- Possible exposure to travel, traffic and/or other outdoor hazards
- Possible exposure to various weather conditions, including extreme heat, cold, rain, and snow
Originally posted on Himalayas
Who can apply
Eligible countries: United States. Accepted UTC offsets: UTC-10, UTC-9, UTC-8, UTC-7, UTC-6, UTC-5, UTC+14. Review the full description for employer-specific work authorization, residency and schedule requirements.