Payroll Tax Manager (North America)

Manulife John Hancock; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife John Hancock is seeking a Payroll Tax Manager to independently lead U.S. payroll tax compliance in a complex, high-volume, multi-state environment.

The role covers filings, reconciliations, agency matters, vendor oversight, controls, and governance while partnering with the Payroll Operations team. Responsibilities include ownership of federal/state/local filings, quarter- and year-end activities, issue resolution, and collaboration with agencies and internal partners to ensure accuracy

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 7+ years payroll tax experience in multi-state environment.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. payroll tax withholding, reporting, depositing.
• Ownership of quarter-end and year-end payroll tax reconciliations and filings.
• Ability to research complex tax issues and drive outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead U.S. payroll tax compliance across federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
• Oversee filings, registrations, notices, amendments, and agency records.
• Manage quarter-end and year-end tax activities and GL activity.
• Collaborate with agencies and internal teams to resolve issues and ensure accuracy.

Skills

Excel

Data analysis

Documentation

Control

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Tax, or related field

Tools

Workday

ADP GlobalView

ADP SmartCompliance

SAP Payroll

Job description

The Payroll Tax Manager independently leads U.S. payroll tax compliance for a complex, high-volume, multi-state and multi-entity payroll environment, with growing support for North America payroll tax needs. This role owns tax filings, reconciliations, registrations, agency matters, vendor oversight, controls, research, and issue resolution from discovery through closure while partnering with the Payroll Operations team.

Position Responsibilities

Payroll Tax Compliance, Registrations, and Agency Management

• Own U.S. payroll tax compliance across federal, state, and local jurisdictions, including filings, remittances, reconciliations, registrations, notices, amendments, and agency account maintenance.
• Lead quarter-end and year-end tax activities, ensuring taxable wages, deposits, general ledger activity, vendor data, agency records, and employee tax forms are accurate and supported.
• Research tax requirements, monitor law changes, determine operational impacts, and maintain clear governance, controls, documentation, and audit evidence.
• Work directly with agencies and internal partners to resolve account setup issues, missing filings, payment discrepancies, tax rates, notices, and other compliance concerns.

Vendor Oversight, Systems, and Issue Resolution

• Own payroll tax matters involving payroll and tax filing vendors, including filing results, exceptions, amendments, account setup, notices, open items, and service performance.
• Hold vendors accountable for timely investigation, clear root-cause analysis, corrective action, and documented closure; challenge incomplete responses and elevate recurring or high-risk issues.
• Analyze payroll tax data across payroll, human resources, finance, tax filing, vendor, and agency systems to identify errors, risks, trends, and control gaps.
• Build reconciliations, exception reports, dashboards, testing evidence, and control procedures that improve accuracy, visibility, and sustainability.

Judgment, Communication, and Process Improvement

• Interpret complex payroll tax requirements, form a clear recommendation, and explain the facts, risk, options, and business impact in plain language.
• Coordinate across Payroll, Tax, Legal, Finance, Technology, vendors, and agencies to drive decisions, resolve issues, and confirm outcomes.
• Provide concise leadership updates on material risks, decisions required, corrective actions, and resolution status.
• Convert lessons learned from notices, corrections, amendments, and agency issues into stronger processes, controls, training, and documentation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Tax, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Seven or more years of progressively responsible payroll tax experience in a complex, multi-state, multi-entity environment.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax withholding, reporting, depositing, filings, registrations, and agency resolution.
• Demonstrated ownership of quarter-end and year-end payroll tax reconciliations, filings, W-2/W-2c processes, notices, amendments, and tax vendor management.
• Ability to independently research complex tax issues, make recommendations, and drive outcomes when no documented process exists.
• Strong Excel, data analysis, documentation, control, project management, and communication skills.
• Preferred Certified Payroll Professional designation (CPP); experience with Workday, ADP GlobalView or another enterprise payroll platform, ADP SmartCompliance or another tax filing platform, SAP payroll or payroll accounting data, and financial services or another highly regulated industry.
• Preferred Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, new entities, reorganizations, new jurisdictions, Canadian payroll tax matters, artificial intelligence-assisted research, automation, or reconciliation tools.

What Helps You Succeed

• Make timely decisions using facts and considering risk and business impact.
• Work well when the path is not clear. Identify what is known, what still needs to be learned, and what decision needs to be made.
• Work independently within your responsibilities and involve leaders when needed.
• Take ownership of your work and follow through on commitments.
• Balance priorities by considering deadlines and the impact on the business and employees.
• Explain complex topics in clear, simple language and adapt your communication to your audience.
• Build trust by being open, reliable, and collaborative.
• Ask thoughtful questions when information is incomplete and suggest practical improvements.
• Stay calm in urgent situations and help clarify next steps.
• Learn from experience and use those lessons to improve future decisions and ways of working.

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 t