Payroll Manager

Vaco by Highspring; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring is seeking an experienced Payroll & Pension Manager to lead a biweekly and monthly payroll and pension program in Hamilton, Ontario. You will supervise a team, ensure regulatory compliance, and deliver analytics to support audits and decision-making.

You will own system governance for payroll, time & attendance, and employee portal, while driving continuous improvement and cost efficiency. This role is based in-office in Hamilton, with 4 days on-site.

Qualifications

• Provide leadership and governance for payroll and pension administration for 4 direct reports.
• Ensure accurate, timely, compliant processing of payrolls and pensions.
• Oversee payroll systems, time & attendance, and related controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead payroll operations for biweekly hourly & salaried, monthly pensions, and quarterly variable pay.
• Oversee year-end and year-begin activities, including T4/T4A filings and remittances.
• Maintain compliance with CRA, EHT, WSIB, garnishments and reporting.
• Manage complex payroll calculations, retroactive adjustments, and pension adjustments.
• Ensure payroll accounting, journal entries, accruals and reconciliations.
• Oversee pension plan operations and employee communications.
• Govern system configurations and upgrades for data integrity and security.
• Prepare analytics to identify trends and support continuous improvement.
• Develop and coach a skilled payroll team with succession planning.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Pension administration

Regulatory compliance

Analytics & reporting

Team leadership

Job description

4 days a week in office in Hamilton, ON.

Overall Responsibility

• Provide leadership and governance for payroll and pension administration for 4 Direct Reports
• Ensure accurate, timely, compliant, and well-controlled processing of payroll and pensions
• Oversee payroll systems and time & attendance to support operational efficiency and legislative alignment.
• Deliver analytics and insights to support audits, cost management, and informed business decision-making.
• Lead, develop, and sustain a knowledgeable, high-performing team

Key Accountabilities

• Provide overall leadership and governance for payroll operations, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant processing of biweekly hourly & salaried, monthly pension, and quarterly variable compensation payrolls.
• Oversee year-end and year-begin payroll activities, including statutory reporting (T4, T4A, tax filings), source remittances, and compliance with federal and provincial legislation.
• Maintain compliance with all payroll-related regulatory bodies, including CRA, Employer Health Tax, WSIB, and garnishments, ensuring accurate calculations, remittances, and reporting.
• Manage complex payroll calculations and exceptions, including retroactive adjustments, variable pay programs, service vacation, pension and fund adjustments, and ITA excess payments.
• Ensure accurate payroll accounting and financial reporting, including payroll journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and timely delivery aligned with financial close requirements.
• Lead pension administration activities, ensuring effective and accurate administration of defined contribution, profit sharing, and legacy defined benefit plans, including benefit calculations and ongoing plan operations.
• Ensure effective pension communication and employee support, including responding to employee inquiries, personal counselling, and delivery of communication materials to ensure employees understand their pension benefits.
• Own and govern payroll, time & attendance, and employee portal systems, leading system configuration, enhancements, and upgrades to ensure data integrity, security, stability, and alignment with business and legislative requirements.
• Ensure strong internal controls, segregation of duties, and audit readiness across payroll and pension administration. Serve as the primary lead for internal and external audits and ensure effective and timely issue resolution.
• Develop and generate analytics to identifying trends and discrepancies in order to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Lead, develop, and sustain a knowledgeable, high-performing team through effective performance management, coaching, training, knowledge transfer, and succession planning

----- DISCLAIMERS -----

You must currently reside within the Greater Toronto Area and be permitted to work in Canada to be considered for this opportunity.

Vaco by Highspring values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if one is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact.

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and is committed to providing transparent notice of our policies in English here and in French here. Additionally, the company uses AI to perform preliminary screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco/Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client’s use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

• the individual’s skill sets, experience and training;
• licensure and certification requirements;
• office location and other geographic considerations;
• other business and organizational needs.
• Having said that Vaco by Highspring believes that the salary range referenced reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company’s retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).