Payroll Director

Vaco by Highspring; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring seeks an experienced Director of Payroll in New York to lead end-to-end, multi-state payroll operations for a large workforce. The role combines hands-on regulatory expertise with strategic optimization of payroll processes, codes, and cross-functional collaboration with HR and IT.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years of progressive payroll leadership, deep NYS and federal tax knowledge, and proficiency with major payroll platforms such as Paylocity, Workday, ADP, or Paycom.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive, full-cycle payroll experience with direct leadership responsibilities.
• Deep technical expertise in federal, NYS, and local payroll regulations, wage-and-hour laws, and multi-state withholding.
• Hands-on experience preparing and reviewing payroll tax filings (Form 941s, W-2s) and state/local returns.
• Expert-level Excel skills (pivot tables, complex formulas, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, large data sets).

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end multi-state payroll processing for a large, complex workforce.
• Partner with HR and IT to optimize payroll and HRIS systems (Paylocity, Workday, ADP, Paycom).
• Direct federal, NYS, and local payroll tax filings, reconciliations, and year-end reporting.
• Perform pre-processing audits and ensure accurate payroll outputs.
• Establish and enforce robust internal controls over payroll processing.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing payroll team and SOP development.

Skills

Payroll regulations (federal NYS & NY)

Multi-state tax withholding

Payroll tax filings (941s, W-2s)

Leadership / team management

Microsoft Excel (advanced)

Education

CPP or CPA designation (preferred)

Tools

Paylocity

Workday

ADP

Paycom

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Director of Payroll to lead, optimize, and scale the end-to-end payroll operations for a premier healthcare employer in New York State with nearly 4,000 employees.

Reporting to senior finance leadership, this permanent executive role is responsible for ensuring payroll accuracy, regulatory compliance, internal controls, and system efficiency. The ideal candidate is a hands-on payroll leader with deep New York State and federal tax expertise, multi-state exposure, and a proven track record of optimizing payroll structures, pay codes, and enterprise software platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end multi-state payroll processing for a large, complex workforce. Drive cross-training, operational continuity, and performance metrics across the payroll team.
• Partner with HR and IT to optimize payroll and HRIS systems (including platforms such as Paylocity, Workday, ADP, and Paycom). Streamline pay codes, earnings/deductions structures, and department setups to eliminate manual workflows.
• Direct federal, New York State, and local payroll tax filings, reconciliations, and year-end reporting (W-2s, Form 941s, state filings). Manage multi-state tax withholding for remote and hybrid employees.
• Perform pre-processing audits and payroll outputs for accuracy. Identify trends or variances that impact workforce costs, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting.
• Establish and enforce robust internal control frameworks over payroll processing to mitigate operational risk, prevent overpayments, address misclassifications, and ensure full audit readiness.
• Lead, mentor, and build a high-performing payroll team, establishing clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) and driving a culture of continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• 7+ years of progressive, full-cycle payroll experience, including direct leadership and team management responsibilities in a high-volume, complex organizational setting.
• Deep technical expertise in federal, New York State, and local payroll regulations, wage-and-hour laws, and multi-state tax withholding.
• Hands-on experience preparing and reviewing payroll tax filings, including Form 941s, W-2s, and state/local quarterly returns.
• Expert-level Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, complex formulas, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, reconciliations, and handling large data sets).

Preferred Qualifications (Nice-to-Have)

• Background handling payroll within a Healthcare or Unionized environment.
• Hands-on experience configuring or managing enterprise payroll platforms such as Paylocity, Workday, ADP, or Paycom.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or CPA designation.

Location: New York, NY (Hybrid)

Salary: $170,000-210,000

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
• Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
• Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies here.

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by 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; and
• other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. 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).