Manager Payroll

Friendsofkerhonkson; Broadview Heights (OH); On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sotera Health is seeking a Payroll Manager to lead and modernize US payroll operations across multiple states and entities. You will oversee end-to-end payroll processing for ~1,700 associates, ensure compliance, strengthen internal controls, and drive payroll automation within a complex shared-services environment.

The role partners with HR, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, IT, and Internal Audit, reporting to the Director of Shared Services.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent experience.
• CPP designation strongly preferred; otherwise equivalent payroll expertise considered.
• Minimum seven years of progressive payroll processing experience, including leadership roles.
• Strong Excel and data-analysis skills, with high-volume reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead accurate end-to-end payroll processing for multi-state, multi-entity environment.
• Oversee payroll calendar, timekeeping interfaces, deductions, and regulatory filings.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll laws and audits; manage W-2, garnishments, and leaves.
• Develop and coach payroll team; collaborate with HR, Accounting, Treasury, and IT.
• Govern payroll-system configuration, governance, testing, upgrades, and data quality monitoring.

Skills

Leadership

Payroll processing

Excel

Workday

ADP Workforce Now

CPP designation

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Workday

ADP Workforce Now

Job description

The name Sotera Health was inspired by Soteria, the Greek goddess of safety, and reflects the Company’s unwavering commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health.Sotera Health Company is a leading global provider of mission-critical sterilization and lab testing and advisory services for the healthcare industry. With a combined tenure across our businesses of nearly 200 years and our industry recognized scientific and technological expertise, we help to ensure the safety of millions of patients and healthcare practitioners around the world every year.Across our 64 facilities worldwide, we have over 3,000 employees who are dedicated to safety and quality. We are a trusted partner to more than 5,800 customers in over 50 countries, including more than 40 of the top 50 medical device companies and 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies.Job SummaryThe Payroll Manager will help lead and modernize the Company’s US payroll operations in a complex, multi-state and multi-entity environment supporting approximately 1,700 associates. The role is accountable for ensuring associates are paid accurately, timely, and compliantly while strengthening internal controls, developing payroll talent, improving associate experience, and advancing payroll technology and automation.The position supports a diverse payroll environment that includes salaried and hourly associates, union and non-union populations, incentive and bonus payments, shift and other premium pay, garnishments, leaves of absence, and periodic off-cycle payments. The Payroll Manager partners closely with Human Resources, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, IT, Internal Audit, and business leaders to ensure payroll processes and data remain accurate, controlled, scalable, and responsive to the needs of the organization.Reporting to the Director of Shared Services, the Payroll Manager will have the opportunity to influence the future direction of payroll operations, technology, service delivery, and team development.Key ResponsibilitiesPayroll Operations and ComplianceLead accurate and timely end-to-end payroll processing, including regular, supplemental, and off-cycle payrollsEstablish and manage the payroll calendar, submission deadlines, review procedures, approvals, and escalation protocolsReview biweekly payroll registers, variance reports, exception reports, tax calculations, deductions, and funding requirements before final transmissionOversee payroll-tax deposits, filings, reconciliations, W-2 processing, agency notices, garnishments, levies, and other statutory obligationsOversee payroll processing and controls related to executive compensation programs, including incentive payments, deferred compensation arrangements, equity-related transactions, and other executive payroll components, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and regulatory complianceEnsure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage, tax, record-retention, and payroll-reporting requirementsOversee timekeeping, absence, and payroll-data interfaces, including resolution of failed or inaccurate transactionsFinancial Controls and ReportingMaintain effective payroll policies, procedures, internal controls, segregation of duties, system access, and audit trailsPartner with Accounting to support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close requirementsSupport internal and external audits and ensure timely remediation of findingsMaintain payroll records in accordance with legal and company retention requirementsLeadership and Service DeliveryLead, coach, and develop the payroll team, establishing clear responsibilities, goals, schedules, service levels, backup coverage, and development plansServe as the escalation point for complex associate-pay issues, ensuring timely, accurate, and empathetic resolutionBuild effective partnerships with Human Resources, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, IT, Internal Audit, and business stakeholdersManage payroll vendors, service levels, issue escalation, system releases, and continuous improvement opportunitiesEstablish business-continuity procedures to ensure payroll can be completed during system, staffing, or other operational disruptionsTechnology and Continuous ImprovementLead payroll-system governance, configuration, testing, upgrades, integrations, and data-quality monitoringIdentify and implement automation and process improvements that reduce manual work, errors, cycle time, and control riskDevelop and monitor payroll KPIs, root-cause trends, and corrective-action plansSupport acquisitions, organizational changes, payroll conversions, and employee-data integrationsMaintain current knowledge of payroll legislation, market practices, and emerging payroll technologiesPartner with HRIS team to maintain payroll configuration, testing, and integrations within Workday and related payroll systemsSkills & Experience Requirements:Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business, human resources, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent combination of education, payroll certification, and relevant experience will be consideredMinimum seven years progressive payroll processing, preferably in a shared services environment, including at least three years in people leadership rolesCertified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation strongly preferred; candidates without the designation should demonstrate equivalent technical payroll expertiseAdvanced Excel and payroll-data analysis skills, including pivot tables, XLOOKUP, structured data analysis, reconciliations, and high-volume exception reportingStrong written and verbal communication skillsExperience with ADP Workforce Now and Workday preferedOther Requirements:Leadership: outstanding people leader, organizational skills and ability to effectively lead a team within a high volume, service-related atmosphere, someone who encourages their team to contribute thoughts and ideas to drive improvementAnalytical Rigor: a detail-oriented professional who can use data to diagnose issues, prioritize fixes, and report outcomesContinuous improvement: Uses data, root-cause analysis, process mapping, and technology to simplify payroll processes, reduce errors, strengthen controls, and improve employee experienceChange Management: Plans, prepares, communicates, trains, implements, and sustains new ways of workingInterpersonal skills: a relationship builder with excellent communication skills (verbal and written) and proven ability to effectively communicate at all levelsCross-functional influence: builds trust across Accounting, Procurement, Treasury, and other key stakeholdersExecution and prioritization: Anticipates payroll risks, distinguishes urgent issues from structural opportunities, and delivers accurate outcomes under fixed payroll deadlinesAssociate experience: Communicates pay-related issues with accuracy, discretion, urgency, and empathy while addressing root causes and maintaining appropriate confidentialityPayroll judgment: Applies payroll regulations, company policies, collective bargaining provisions, and internal controls to complex situations, escalating appropriately when legal, tax, or employee-relations interpretation is requiredSotera Health goes to market through its three best-in-class businesses – Sterigenics, Nordion and Nelson Labs. Sterigenics is a leading global provider of outsourced terminal sterilization and irradiation services for the medical device, pharmaceutical, food safety and advanced applications markets. Nordion is the leading global provider of Co-60 and gamma irradiators, which are key components to the gamma sterilization process. Nelson Labs is a global leader in outsourced microbiological and analytical chemistry testing and advisory services for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.