Senior Manager, Payroll

Decisive Point; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mental health benefits

Career coaching

Family building benefits

Long-term retirement plans

In-office dining options

Job summary

Asana is seeking a strategic Senior Manager, Payroll to lead the US and Canada payroll function from our San Francisco office in a hybrid setup. You will act as the payroll SME, ensuring compliant, timely payroll processing and scalable processes during a growth phase.

This role emphasizes people development, SOX controls, and cross-functional collaboration with HR, Finance, Tax, and Legal. You will oversee multi-state payroll operations, maintain strong controls, and partner with external

Qualifications

• Experience leading payroll operations and SOX compliance within a publicly traded company.
• Deep expertise in US and Canada multi-state payroll regulations and payroll accounting.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field; CPP is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage US and Canada payroll processing and compliance across states and provinces.
• Serve as payroll SME and point of escalation for complex issues.
• Maintain payroll controls, documentation, and audit readiness; partner with Accounting on close.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and external providers on payroll operations and expansion.

Skills

Payroll leadership

SOX compliance

Multi-state payroll

Cross-functional collaboration

People management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Business

CPP certification (a plus)

Tools

Workday

ADP

NetSuite

Job description

Our Finance team tracks and seeks to understand the factors driving our growth and success. We help our entire organization achieve our operational and financial goals while embodying our company values. We ensure our objectives are feasible and work closely with all teams to ensure they have the resources they need to achieve our ambitious mission enabling all teams to work together effortlessly. We are looking for a strategic and hands‑on Senior Manager, Payroll to lead our US and Canada payroll function. In this role, you will serve as Asana's payroll subject matter expert, ensuring payroll continuity, compliance, and scalable processes during an exciting period of growth while empowering and developing your team.

This role is based in our San Francisco office with an office‑centric hybrid schedule. The standard in‑office days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Most Asanas have the option to work from home on Wednesdays. Working from home on Fridays depends on the type of work you do and the teams with which you partner. If you're interviewing for this role, your recruiter will share more about the in‑office requirements.

What You’ll Achieve

• Lead the accurate and timely processing of multi‑state US and Canada payrolls while ensuring compliance with federal, state, local, and provincial regulations.
• Serve as Asana's primary subject matter expert and resource for complex payroll matters.
• Maintain and strengthen payroll processes, automation, SOX controls, payroll policies, and internal audit readiness.
• Keep comprehensive payroll documentation, procedures, and internal controls current and audit‑ready.
• Partner closely with Accounting on payroll reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, and month‑end close activities.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with HR, Finance, Tax, Legal, and external payroll providers to support seamless operations, M&A activities, and international expansion.
• Manage payroll vendors and external service relationships to maintain operational excellence.
• Empower, mentor, and develop the payroll team through open, compassionate communication and proactive knowledge sharing.

About You

• Demonstrates curiosity about AI tools and emerging technologies, with a willingness to learn and leverage them to enhance productivity, collaboration, or decision‑making.
• Progressive leadership experience in payroll management, including direct people management and team development.
• Deep experience leading payroll operations and SOX compliance within a publicly traded company environment.
• Deep functional expertise in multi‑state US and Canada payroll regulations, payroll accounting, and internal controls.
• Proven track record of operating strategically while remaining close to day‑to‑day execution.
• Exceptional communication skills with a demonstrated ability to build cross‑functional trust and resolve conflict constructively.
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• Experience with enterprise systems such as Workday, ADP, or NetSuite, or a CPP certification is a plus.

At Asana, we're committed to building teams that include a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, as this is critical to helping us achieve our mission.

What We’ll Offer

Our comprehensive compensation package plays a big part in how we recognize you for the impact you have on our path to achieving our mission. We believe that compensation should be reflective of the value you create relative to the market value of your role. To ensure pay is fair and not impacted by biases, we're committed to looking at market value which is why we check ourselves and conduct a yearly pay equity audit.

For this role, the estimated base salary range is between $190,000 - $223,000. The actual base salary will vary based on various factors, including market and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process. The listed range above is a guideline, and the base salary range for this role may be modified.

In addition to base salary, your compensation package may include additional components such as equity, sales incentive pay (for most sales roles), and benefits. If you're interviewing for this role, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the total compensation and benefits for this role.

We strive to provide equitable and competitive benefits packages that support our employees worldwide and include:

• Mental health, wellness & fitness benefits
• Career coaching & support
• Inclusive family building benefits
• Long‑term savings or retirement plans
• In‑office culinary options to cater to your dietary preferences

These are just some of the benefits we offer, and benefits may vary based on role, country, and local regulations. If you're interviewing for this role, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the total compensation and benefits for this role.

About Us

Asana is a leading platform for human + AI collaboration. Millions of teams around the world rely on Asana to achieve their most important goals, faster. Asana has been named to Fortune's Best Workplaces for 7+ years and recognized by Fast Company, Forbes, and Gartner for excellence in workplace culture and innovation. We offer an exceptional office‑centric culture while adopting the best elements of hybrid models to ensure that every one of our global team members can work together effortlessly. With 13+ offices all over the world, we are always looking for individuals who care about building technology that drives positive change in the world and a culture where everyone feels that they belong.

We believe in supporting people to do their best work and thrive. Our goal is to ensure that Asana upholds an environment where all people feel that they are respected and valued, whether they are applying for an open position or working at the company.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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