Payroll Manager

Theuniversityunion; Tulsa (OK); On-site; USD 80,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Employee life insurance

401(k)

Flexible Spending Accounts

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Wallace Design Collective in Tulsa, OK is seeking a Payroll Manager to lead multi-state payroll operations, mentor the Payroll Specialist, and partner with HR and Finance leadership to ensure accuracy and compliance.

The role requires strong knowledge of FLSA, multi-state tax rules, and payroll systems (UKG, ADP, Workday). You will own quarterly and year-end processes, and support budgeting with labor analytics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, accounting, or business.
• 6+ years of progressive payroll experience in-house.
• Experience with payroll for architecture, engineering, or professional services firms preferred.
• CPP or FPC certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Direct, mentor, and evaluate the Payroll Specialist, ensuring high-performance standards.
• Escalate complex employee pay inquiries and tax adjustments as needed.
• Conduct final audits and approvals on payroll batches prior to funding release.
• Back up payroll tasks as needed within HR team.
• Ensure timesheets are accurate, submitted on time, and properly authorized.
• Oversee labor distribution reconciliation to project codes and cost categories.
• Manage multi-state payroll compliance and Prevailing Wage reporting where applicable.
• Process 401k reports and payroll deductions; maintain payroll systems.
• Collaborate with HR and Finance leadership to integrate benefits and retirement contributions.
• Own quarterly and year-end payroll processes; distribute W-2 forms.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Multi-state payroll

HRIS/Payroll systems

FLSA & wage/hour

Analytical ability

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Accounting/Business

CPP or FPC preferred

Tools

UKG

ADP

Workday

Deltek

Ajera

Job description

• Location 123 N Martin Luther King Jr Blvd,Tulsa, OK, 74103,United States

Description

How This Position Supports Our Purpose and Strategy
Responsible for leading, managing, and ensuring absolute accuracy, compliance, and execution of the firm’s multi-state payroll operations. This role provides strategic mentorship to the Payroll Specialist and partners closely with the HR and Finance leadership teams.

Department Role
Administrative and clerical support services. Perform a variety of general payroll and accounting tasks.

Reports To
Director of Human Resources directly; CFO and Principals indirectly

Salary Rate: $80,000 to $95,000
Additional benefits include medical plans, dental, vision, employee life insurance,
401(k), Flexible Spending Accounts, paid time off, paid holidays, and tuition
reimbursement.

Requirements

Responsibilities and Requirements

• Direct, mentor, and evaluate the daily work of the Payroll Specialist, ensuring high-performancestandards and continuous professional development
• Act as the final escalation point for complex employee pay inquiries, complex tax adjustments,or time-tracking discrepancies
• Conduct final audits and required approvals on all payroll batches processed prior to fundingrelease
• Serve as backup for completion of any task completed by the Payroll Specialist or othermembers of the HR team that involve payroll related items (processing semi-monthly payroll, uploading 401k reports, processing payroll deducts, etc.)
• Partner with firm leadership to ensure employee timesheets are accurate, submitted on time,and properly authorized
• Oversee the strict reconciliation of labor distribution reports to confirm that hours are correctlybilled to specific project codes, phases, and cost categories
• Manage multi-state payroll complexities specific to local municipal projects, including CertifiedPayroll reporting and Prevailing Wage compliance where applicable
• Manage payroll adjustments for technical staff transitioning between billable (project) and non-billable (overhead/BD) time blocks
• Posting of Payroll Journal Entries in Financial ERP system
• Maintain comprehensive compliance with all federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations,specifically managing multi-state taxation for field engineers and remote staff
• Serve as the functional system administrator for the HRIS/Payroll and ERP systemconfiguration (e.g., maintaining rate tables, pay rules, and PTO accrual structures)
• Own quarterly and year-end payroll processes, including the balancing, reconciliation, anddistribution of W-2 forms
• Lead internal and external payroll audits (e.g., Worker’s Compensation, 401k compliance, andtax authority reviews)
• Oversee 401k monthly transaction processing and completion of annual 401k census includingreconciliation of wages to W-3, ensure compliance with 401k annual employee contributionlimits
• Collaborate directly with the Director of HR and the HR Coordinator to integrate employeebenefit adjustments, retirement plan contributions (401k deductions/loans), and HSA/FSAplans into payroll
• Manage calculations and distribution processing for complex compensation payouts, includingbut not limited to performance bonuses, profit sharing, and final termination payouts
• Provide monthly or quarterly workforce metrics, labor cost dashboards, and utilization analyticsto HR and Finance executives to guide firmwide budget decisions
• Assist in evaluation and integration of payroll software into the ERP system. Includesevaluation of current and future system capabilities

Skill Sets

• Advanced understanding of project-based professional service firms, billable hour metrics, and internal job costing structures
• Expert knowledge of FLSA rules, multi-state wage/hour regulations, garnishments, andemployer tax obligations
• High level proficiency in major integrated HRIS/Payroll platforms (e.g., UKG, ADP, Workday,Paylocity) and engineering ERP software (e.g., Deltek, BST, or Ajera) is highly preferred
• Experience and demonstrated expertise using enterprise accounting software and HRISsystems
• Strong analytical and data manipulation skills using Excel including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs,and logic arrays)
• Sound judgment, discretion, and integrity handling sensitive confidential financial and personal data

Recommended Education/Training

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, accounting, business administration, or a closelyrelated field is highly recommended
• 6+ years of progressive in-house corporate payroll experience, including 2+ years in adedicated supervisory and/or leadership capacity
• Experience with payroll for an Architecture, Engineering, or Construction (AEC) firm or aprofessional services corporation is strongly preferred
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) credential ispreferred

Summary

At Wallace Design Collective, our company culture is rooted in our desire to producequality projects. We strive to be responsive, flexible, and creative. We have a
supportive environment where every person is encouraged to continuously learn, grow, and achieve. We understand the importance of respect, compassion, and treating others professionally. We listen.

Wallace Design Collective offers a competitive and comprehensive package ofinsurance programs to regular full-time employees and their eligible dependents 30days after their date of hire. Insurance options include a choice of 5 different medicalplans, dental, vision, and supplemental life. Additional insurances, at no cost to the
employee include life (employee only), accidental death and dismemberment, accident,and short- and long-term disability.

Wallace offers a wide range of other employee benefits, including: 401(k), FlexibleSpending Accounts, Paid Time Off, and Tuition Reimbursement.