Payroll Manager

Perry Township Schools; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 72,000 - 86,000; Full time

Job summary

Perry Township Schools seeks a Payroll Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership for the district's payroll department, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant processing for 2,300 employees across multiple pay calendars.

The role oversees INPRS reporting, SBOA controls, and CBA compliance, coordinating with HR and Finance on benefits and mass salary rollovers while managing a payroll team and driving process improvements.

Qualifications

• Mastery of INPRS rules (TRF/PERF) and related retirement reporting.
• Advanced Excel skills including XLOOKUP, pivot tables, large data reconciliation.
• Experience in high-volume payroll processing and public-sector environments.
• Familiarity with school district pay practices and CBA considerations.

Responsibilities

• Lead bi-weekly payroll for ~2,300 employees across diverse calendars.
• Ensure accurate configuration and auditing of salary schedules and TAG/retro pay per CBA.
• Oversee INPRS reporting, SBOA controls, and tax filings across multiple jurisdictions.
• Coordinate multi-fund reconciliations and system upgrades for payroll/timekeeping.
• Collaborate with HR and Finance on benefits, open enrollment, and wage rollovers.

Skills

INPRS rules mastery

Advanced Excel

Customer service

Deadline-driven

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Business

Tools

SSI

TimeClock Plus

Job description

Position Purpose The Payroll Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for the school corporation's payroll department, overseeing timely, accurate, and compliant payroll administration for approximately 2,300 certified, classified, and administrative employees. This role manages the payroll team and oversees collective bargaining agreement (CBA) pay rules, directs Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) reporting, maintains strict Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) internal controls, and serves as the functional owner of the district's payroll and timekeeping systems.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions

• Departmental Leadership & High-Volume Operations
• Team Management: Lead, train, schedule, and evaluate the payroll team; establish a division of duties (e.g., certified vs. classified/hourly caseloads), cross-training, and backup protocols to eliminate single points of failure.
• End-to-End Payroll Oversight: Direct bi-weekly payroll cycles for ~2,300 employees across diverse pay calendars.
• Contract & CBA Compliance: Oversee the accurate configuration and auditing of teacher salary schedules, Teacher Appreciation Grants (TAG), summer school pay, dock days, and retroactive pay adjustments in strict compliance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and classified and administrator employee handbooks.
• Escalation & Complex Problem-Solving: Serve as the primary escalation authority for complex wage calculations, overpayments/repayment agreements, FMLA, Workers' Compensation pay coordination, and garnishment/levy orders.
• Indiana Statutory, INPRS & SBOA Audit Compliance
• INPRS Administration: Oversee bi-weekly wage and contribution reporting to the Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS), ensuring accurate member enrollment, service credit tracking, and separation reporting across TRF (Pre-1996, 1996 Account, My Choice) and PERF.
• Multi-Fund Reconciliation: Partner with the Business Office Specialist and Grant Coordinators to reconcile payroll clearing accounts, bank statements, and multi-fund labor distributions across the Education Fund, Operations Fund, School Lunch Fund, and federal/state grant funds (Title I, IDEA, etc.).
• Tax & Regulatory Filings: Oversee quarterly Form 941 filings, Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) state and county Local Income Tax (LIT) withholdings across multiple employee counties of residence, and annual Form W-2/W-2c production,
• IDOE Reporting Support: Collaborate with HR, IT, and Finance to validate payroll data required for Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) financial and staffing submissions (including Form 9 financial reports and Certified Employee/Salary reports).
• Sick Bank Reconciliation: Oversees sick bank reconciliation to ensure all days are accounted for and annual reporting is completed per guidelines.
• Child Support & Wage Garnishments: Oversees child support and wage garnishments by ensuring appropriate documentation and court communication processes are followed.
• Systems Optimization & Cross-Departmental Collaboration
• ERP & Timekeeping Ownership: Oversees the district's payroll and electronic timekeeping platforms (TimeClock Plus), by managing annual rollover setups, pay-code tables, and system upgrades.
• HR & Benefits Alignment: Partner closely with Human Resources and Benefits leadership to streamline workflows and account code set up for open enrollment, Section 125/HSA/FSA deductions, 403(b)/457(b) retirement plans and voluntary benefit plans, new hire onboarding, and mass annual salary rollovers.
• Cross-training Leadership: Ensure all staff members are full cross-trained on core team functions to support business continuity, work distribution, and coverage during absences.
• All other duties as assigned.

Equipment

Use standard office equipment such as personal computers, printer, copier and fax machines, calculator, and telephone.

Travel Requirements

Travel to professional meetings as required.

Pay Rate

$72,000 to $85,500 annually

Work Schedule

8 hours per day.

260 days per year.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Mastery of INPRS (TRF and PERF) rules, Indiana county Local Income Taxes, FLSA overtime/blended-rate rules for non-exempt staff working multiple school roles.
• Proven experience managing payroll within Indiana school finance software (e.g., SSI) and advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency (XLOOKUP, pivot tables, large dataset reconciliation).
• Demonstrated customer service skills that make staff and vendors feel appreciated.
• Ability to meet deadlines and maintain confidentiality

Physical and Mental Demands, Work Hazards

Seldom = Less than 25% Occasional = 26 to 50% Often = 51 to 75% Very Frequent = Greater than 75%.

Physical RequirementPercentage of TimeAbility to sit for extended periods of time. Very FrequentAbility to lift 25 pounds. SeldomAbility to carry 25 pounds. SeldomAbility to work at a desk, conference table or in meetings of various configurations. Very FrequentAbility to see for the purpose of reading laws and codes, rules and policies and other printed matter. Very FrequentAbility to communicate so others can clearly understand a normal conversation. Very FrequentAbility to operate job-related equipment. Very FrequentAbility to reach in all directions. Seldom

License/ Registration/ Certification

• N/A

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field required (or an Associate's degree paired with 7+ years of high-volume public-sector payroll leadership).

Experience

• Minimum of 5+ years of full-cycle, high-volume payroll experience (1,000+ employees), with a strong preference for prior leadership experience in an Indiana public school corporation or local government entity.
• Minimum of 2+ years of direct supervisory experience managing payroll staff.

FLSA Status: Exempt