Payroll Manager

Classic Fire + Life Safety; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Educational assistance program

Comprehensive Group benefits

Employee referral bonus program

Social events

Job summary

Classic Fire + Life Safety in Ontario is seeking a skilled Payroll Manager to oversee Canadian payroll operations for about 850 employees across field and office roles. You will ensure accurate pay rules, deductions and statutory compliance while driving system improvements and integration with HRIS.

The role requires leadership experience, strong knowledge of provincial and CRA regulations, and comfort with multi‑entity, multi‑union environments. A competitive benefits package is offered.

Qualifications

• Diploma or degree in Accounting, Business Administration or related field.
• Payroll certification PCP/CPM preferred.
• 5+ years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years in leading a team.
• Experience managing payroll in multi-entity, multi-province organisations with unionised and field-based employees.
• Experience with HRIS or payroll system implementation.
• Strong Excel/data analysis skills; familiarity with post-acquisition payroll integration is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Manage payroll team to process full-cycle weekly payroll for approximately 850 employees across multiple provinces and business units.
• Ensure accurate application of pay rules, overtime, shift premiums, travel pay, union dues, benefits and statutory deductions.
• Oversee payroll reconciliations, journal entries and coordination with Finance for labour costing and GL accuracy.
• Ensure compliance with collective agreements, wage rate changes and dues remittances.
• Responsible for all employee related tax, benefit and compliance calculations and payments.
• Manage year-end payroll activities including T4/RL-1 preparation, reconciliations, and government filings.
• Lead payroll and HRIS integration activities for newly acquired companies across Canada.

Skills

Canadian payroll knowledge

People leadership

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Attention to detail

Education

Diploma or degree in Accounting/Business Administration

Payroll certification (PCP or CPM)

Tools

Jonas payroll system

Bamboo HR

Excel

Job description

Company Description

Thank you so much for considering our company in your career search! Classic Fire + Life Safety is a leader in the fire protection and life safety industry because of our talented, knowledgeable, and motivated staff. We know that it is our people who make the difference, and we are looking to grow our team of passionate professionals. Interested in joining us?

Company Description

Thank you so much for considering our company in your career search! Classic Fire + Life Safety is a leader in the fire protection and life safety industry because of our talented, knowledgeable, and motivated staff. We know that it is our people who make the difference, and we are looking to grow our team of passionate professionals. Interested in joining us?

Our goal is to partner with our customers, to ensure their buildings, and the people in them are safe, from new building construction activities, modernization activities, and demand for system upgrades, through to preventative maintenance and service.

Why join the Classic team?

• CFLS is a caring company who values our staff.
• CFLS is local and is part of the community.
• CFLS is a full-service fire protection contractor.
• A great working environment with opportunities for career advancement.
• Comprehensive Group benefits.
• Educational assistance program.
• Employee referral bonus program.
• Social events: Building camaraderie and fostering a sense of community is essential.

Job Description

As we scale our operations and improve our systems and processes, we are seeking a results-focused, collaborative and detail-oriented Payroll Manager.

The Payroll Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company's payroll operations across Canada, supporting approximately 850 employees in both field and office-based roles. This includes weekly payroll processing for hourly unionized employees (across multiple collective bargaining agreements), hourly non-union employees, and salaried staff. This role ensures the accurate and timely delivery of payroll while maintaining full compliance with federal and provincial regulations and collective agreements.

This position also plays a critical role in system and process improvement initiatives and leads post-acquisition payroll and HRIS integrations, supporting the company’s continued growth. The ideal candidate combines hands‑on payroll expertise with strong systems knowledge and project management capability, and thrives in a dynamic, growing, multi‑entity and multi‑union environment.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

Payroll Operations

• Manage payroll team to process full‑cycle weekly payroll for approximately 850 employees across multiple provinces and business units.
• Ensure accurate application of pay rules, overtime, shift premiums, travel pay, union dues, benefits and statutory deductions.
• Oversee payroll reconciliations, journal entries and coordination with Finance for labour costing and GL accuracy.
• Ensure compliance with collective agreements, including wage rate changes and dues remittances.
• Responsible for all employee related tax, benefit and compliance calculations and payments.
• Manage year‑end payroll activities including T4/RL‑1 preparation, reconciliations, and government filings.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Supervise, coach, and develop payroll team members, fostering a culture of accuracy, accountability and service.
• Collaborate with HR on employee lifecycle activities, including new hires, terminations, pay changes and benefits.
• Partner with Finance for payroll reporting, labour cost analysis and budgeting.
• Build strong relationships with operations leaders and regional managers to ensure payroll accuracy and responsiveness to payroll related queries.

Compliance & Governance

• Maintain compliance with CRA and provincial employment standards across all jurisdictions.
• Serve as the main contact for payroll-related audits, remittances and government inquiries.
• Maintain and document payroll policies, procedures and internal controls to support consistent, audit‑ready processes.

Systems, Process Improvement & Implementation

• Partner with HR, Finance and IT to improve integration between payroll, HRIS, time tracking and accounting systems.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes, improve accuracy and enhance reporting capabilities.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and standardised reports to support management decision‑making.
• Support the evaluation, selection and implementation of any potential new payroll system ensuring scalability for continued acquisitions and workforce growth.

Post‑Acquisition Integration

• Lead payroll and HRIS integration activities for newly acquired companies across Canada.
• Assess inherited payroll processes and systems, align pay practices and consolidate into company standards.
• Ensure smooth employee transitions by harmonising pay frequencies, benefits deductions and system access.
• Work closely with HR, Finance and IT on data conversion, onboarding and compliance.
• Provide communication and training to acquired teams during transition.

Qualifications:

Education & Certification

• Diploma or degree in Accounting, Business Administration or related field.
• Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) or Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation from the National Payroll Institute (NPI) preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years in leading a team.
• Experience managing payroll in multi-entity, multi-province organisations with unionised and field-based employees.
• Proven success in HRIS or payroll system implementation.
• Experience with post-acquisition payroll integration in a growing or acquisitive environment preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of major payroll systems and advanced Excel/data analysis skills.
• Experience with Jonas as a payroll system and experience with Bamboo HR as an HRIS is an asset.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Deep knowledge of Canadian payroll legislation, taxation and unionised pay structures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead system and process transformation initiatives.
• Proven ability to develop, coach and mentor a team.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on process optimisation.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across both office and field environments.
• Attention to detail, high integrity and discretion when handling sensitive employee information.

We thank all applicants who apply, but only those candidates who meet the above qualifications will be contacted for an interview.

Salary/Wage placement within the stated range is determined by evaluating the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications, along with internal equity and prevailing market conditions. These factors are applied consistently to support transparent and equitable compensation practices in Ontario.

No part of our hiring process uses AI or automated screening technology, all candidate reviews and applications are evaluated manually and hiring decisions are completed by human staff, to ensure a fair and transparent assessment.

Classic Fire + Life Safety is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity. We are also committed to meeting the needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you have any accommodation needs or would like to provide us with your feedback, questions or concerns, please contact our Human Resources department at [e-mail]