Payroll Analyst

Manulife Financial; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) / retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Manulife Financial seeks a skilled Payroll Analyst to support complex U.S. payroll operations across multiple jurisdictions with accuracy, compliance, and process improvements.

The role requires partnering with Benefits, Pension, Finance, Tax, Technology, HR, and vendors to tackle payroll-related projects and enable impactful outcomes. The ideal candidate will leverage Workday, ADP GlobalView, and SAP-based tools while ensuring confidentiality and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive payroll experience with increasing responsibility.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with payroll audits, reconciliations, quarterly and year-end activities.
• Experience supporting payroll system or process changes, including documenting requirements and testing.
• Experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP, or similar enterprise payroll systems.
• Expert-level knowledge of gross-to-net payroll processing.
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently.

Responsibilities

• Process, audit, and validate high-volume payroll across jurisdictions, entities, pay groups, and cycles.
• Handle escalated payroll inquiries requiring research and resolution.
• Lead complex payroll activities including equity compensation, executive payroll, and bonuses.
• Lead quarterly and year-end reconciliations, reporting, and amendments.
• Research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, determine root causes, and implement solutions.
• Support payroll system configuration, integration, and testing.
• Create and maintain process documentation and operating procedures.

Skills

Payroll analysis

Analytical/problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Independent research

Communication

Education

CPP/FPC certification (preferred)

Tools

ADP GlobalView

SAP

Excel

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled Payroll Analyst to support complex U.S. payroll operations with sound judgment, technical payroll expertise, and a continuous improvement mindset. Our North American Payroll team supports approximately 5,500 U.S. employees across all 50 states and five Employer Identification Numbers (EINs).

This role is responsible for delivering accurate, compliant payroll while reducing risk, strengthening controls, improving processes, and enhancing the employee experience.

The successful candidate will be curious, analytical, and comfortable partnering across Payroll, HR, Finance, Benefits, Tax, Technology, vendors, and business stakeholders to solve problems, support payroll-related projects and implementations, influence change, and drive meaningful business impact

The best Payroll Analysts do more than process payroll. They improve it by preventing errors, solving root causes, improving controls, reducing manual work, and delivering measurable results.

Position Responsibilities

Payroll Operations, Compliance & Analysis

• Independently process, audit, and validate high-volume payroll accurately and on time across multiple jurisdictions, legal entities, pay groups, and payroll cycles.
• Handle escalated payroll support cases, including complex employee, manager, HR, and vendor inquiries requiring research, judgment, and timely resolution.
• Lead complex payroll activities, including equity compensation, executive payroll, deferred compensation, board payments, mobile employee payroll, relocation, annual compensation, bonus cycles, taxable benefits, and special tax treatment items.
• Lead quarterly and year-end activities, including reconciliations, audits, amended filings, adjustments, taxable benefit reporting, and employee reporting requirements.
• Research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues while applying federal, state, local, and other regulatory requirements.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies, determine root causes, and recommend sustainable solutions.

Testing, Controls & Continuous Improvement

• Support payroll system, configuration, integration, and process changes through structured end-to-end testing and validation.
• Develop test scripts, scenarios, and validation plans, including regression, integration, parallel, negative, and exception testing.
• Anticipate edge cases and confirm that results align with business requirements.
• Document testing outcomes, defects, risks, and recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, standardize, and strengthen payroll processes and controls.
• Create and maintain process documentation, job aids, and operating procedures while contributing to projects that reduce risk and support scalable payroll operations.

Technology & AI Enablement

• Use Workday, ADP GlobalView, SAP-based payroll tools, and related technologies to support payroll delivery, integrations, and issue resolution.
• Support and troubleshoot inbound and outbound payroll integrations, including retirement plans, deferred compensation, benefits, withholding, garnishments, tax filings, and workers' compensation reporting.
• Use approved AI, automation, reporting, and productivity tools to improve research, reconciliations, documentation, testing, analysis, process mapping, and communications.
• Identify practical technology and workflow improvements while protecting confidential data, validating outputs, maintaining human review, and ensuring payroll compliance.

Partnership & Team Impact

• Build strong partnerships with Benefits, Pension, Compensation, Finance, Tax, Technology, and external vendors.
• Communicate complex payroll concepts in clear, business-friendly language.
• Share knowledge, support teammates, and contribute to a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
• Influence positive change through expertise, credibility, and collaboration.
• Analyze payroll impacts related to benefits programs, including disability, paid family leave, taxable wages, deductions, imputed income, and year-end reporting.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities through payroll, benefits, tax, and reporting data.
• Evaluate impacts, risks, and alternatives before recommending changes or corrections.
• Apply sound judgment when navigating ambiguous or non-standard payroll situations.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive payroll experience with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to independently research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues.
• Experience with payroll audits, reconciliations, quarterly and year-end activities, taxable benefit reporting, and employee year-end reporting.
• Experience supporting payroll system or process changes, including documenting requirements and decisions, managing scope, developing test scenarios, and executing positive and negative testing.
• Experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP, or similar enterprise payroll systems.
• Expert-level knowledge of gross-to-net payroll processing, including earnings, deductions, taxable benefits, statutory remittances, employer liabilities, general ledger impacts, payroll funding, and accounting reconciliations.
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently with minimal direction, and collaborate effectively within a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• CPP, FPC, or similar payroll certification.
• Experience supporting international payroll operations, including expatriate payroll, mobile employees, cross-border taxation, and related compliance requirements across jurisdictions such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.
• Benefits administration or operations experience, particularly where benefits programs affect payroll taxation, disability payments, paid leave, taxable wages, or year-end reporting.
• Experience serving as a lead tester, project contributor, subject matter expert, mentor, or escalation point.

When you join our team

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well being and inclusion are more than just words.
• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

#LI Hybrid
#LI-JH

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.

關於宏利和恒康

宏利金融公司是一家業界領先的國際金融服務商，致力於幫助人們實現「輕鬆投資理財，樂享豐盛人生」。若要進一步了解我們，請瀏覽 https://www.manulifeim.com/institutional/tw/en

宏利是平等機會僱主

在宏利／恒康，我們擁抱多元。我們致力於吸引、培養及挽留和所服務客戶同樣多元的員工，並從而營造包容的工作環境，接納文化和個體差異。我們矢志維持公平的招聘、挽留、晉升及薪酬制度，我們管理的所有實踐及項目不會因種族、血統、原籍地、膚色、族裔、國籍、宗教或宗教信仰、信仰、性別（包括懷孕及其相關情況）、性取向、遺傳特徵、退伍軍人身份、性別認同、性別表達、年齡、婚姻狀況、家庭狀況、殘疾或受適用法律保護的任何其他因素而區別對待。

我們的首要任務是消除障礙，為員工提供平等就業機會。人力資源部代表將盡力為應徵過程中提出要求的申請人提供合理協助。申請人要求提供協助所分享的信息將會按照適用法律及宏利／恒康政策儲存及使用。應徵過程中如需協助，請聯絡 [e-mail]。

Referenced Salary Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Working Arrangement

混合式

Salary range is expected to be between

$61,875.00 USD - $103,125.00 USD

Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact [e-mail] for the salary range for your location.

Manulife/John Hancock offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in the U.S. includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time (or more where required by law) each year, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.

We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement.

Know Your Rights I Family & Medical Leave I Employee Polygraph Protection I Right to Work I E-Verify

Company: John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)