Senior Manager, Payroll Operations & Accounting

Partnersrural; Berea (KY); Remote; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Partners for Rural Impact (PRI) seeks a Senior Manager, Payroll Operations & Accounting to lead our multi-state payroll for a geographically diverse workforce. This hands-on leadership role ensures accurate processing, compliance with federal/state/local requirements, and a strong focus on the employee experience.

The role oversees payroll accounting for benefits/PEBT, tax setup, and year-end activities, while coordinating with HR, Finance, and our third-party provider to drive controls and

Qualifications

• Experience leading full-cycle payroll for a multi-state workforce.
• Strong expertise in payroll accounting and PEBT
• Ability to coordinate with third-party payroll providers and HR/Finance teams

Responsibilities

• Lead full-cycle payroll operations for a multi-state employee population and a third-party provider.
• Oversee payroll calculations, deductions, taxes, and post-payroll activities.
• Manage payroll accounting for payroll-related expenses and benefits (PEBT).
• Oversee payroll tax administration including state and local requirements and tax notices.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Multi-state payroll

Tax compliance

System configuration

Internal controls

Employee experience

Job description

Partners for Rural Impact's (PRI) work began more than 30 years ago with a place-based partnership in Appalachian Kentucky, where we’ve shown demographics don’t have to determine destiny. Today, we partner with rural leaders and allies across the country to share that work and build local partnerships that put young people on a path to economic mobility.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager, Payroll Operations & Accounting leads the organization’s full-cycle payroll function for a multi-state employee population, ensuring payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements. This is a hands‑on payroll leadership role with direct responsibility for day-to-day execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of payroll operations.

This position requires strong expertise in payroll accounting and payroll-related expenses and benefits (PEBT). The Senior Manager must understand the operational and accounting lifecycle of payroll, from employee-level payroll transactions and system configuration.

The Senior Manager of Payroll Operations & Accounting also provides technical leadership in multi-state payroll taxation, payroll system configuration, benefits and retirement plan deductions and contributions, internal controls, and payroll-related audit activities.

Because payroll processes directly affect employees, the Senior Manager also maintains strong focus on the employee experience. The position periodically interacts directly with employees to resolve complex payroll matters and is expected to consider clarity, accessibility, timeliness, and employee impact when implementing payroll processes, controls, communications, and system changes.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each primary duty satisfactorily. The requirements of the position are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required, with regular and predictable attendance essential. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Payroll Operations and Oversight

• Lead and maintain organizational accountability for full‑cycle payroll operations for a multi-state employee population, including payroll activities performed by the organization’s third‑party payroll provider

• Maintain hands‑on involvement throughout the payroll cycle, including data preparation, payroll calculations, review, processing, reconciliation, and post‑payroll activities

• Serve as the primary operational owner of the relationship with the organization’s third‑party payroll provider

• Coordinate with the payroll provider on system configuration, tax setup, integrations, testing, upgrades, and implementation of regulatory or organizational changes

• Review earnings, deductions, taxes, benefit contributions, retirement plan contributions, garnishments, leave‑related adjustments, and other payroll transactions for accuracy

• Implement systems to calculate and process new hires, terminations, compensation changes, retroactive adjustments, supplemental payments, bonuses, unpaid leave, overpayments, and other non‑routine transactions

• Manage payroll corrections and off‑cycle payments and ensure adjustments are appropriately reflected across payroll, accounting, tax, benefit, and retirement records

• Establish and maintain payroll calendars, procedures, checklists, controls, and supporting documentation

Payroll Accounting and PEBT

• Serve as subject matter expert for the accounting of payroll‑related expenses and benefits (PEBT), ensuring payroll activity is complete, accurate, and appropriately classified

• Reconcile wages, employer payroll taxes, employee deductions, employer benefit costs, and retirement plan contributions

• Reconcile payroll records to benefit invoices, retirement plan funding records, tax reports, vendor reports, and other supporting documentation

Payroll Tax Administration

• Oversee federal, state, and local payroll tax administration for a geographically dispersed workforce, including activities performed by the third‑party payroll provider

• Ensure employee work locations, tax jurisdictions, withholding elections, and applicable state and local tax requirements are accurately established and maintained

• Review payroll tax calculations, deposits, filings, and reports for accuracy, completeness, and reasonableness

• Monitor the payroll provider’s completion of required tax filings and deposits and ensure identified discrepancies are corrected timely

• Research and resolve tax notices, filing discrepancies, registration issues, amendments, and other payroll tax matters in coordination with the payroll provider and taxing authorities

• Monitor changes in payroll tax requirements and coordinate necessary payroll system and process changes

• Lead payroll year‑end activities, including W‑2 reconciliation, taxable fringe benefit reporting, and other required adjustments

Benefits and Retirement Plan Payroll Administration

• Oversee the payroll administration and accounting of employee benefit deductions and employer contributions

• Ensure benefit deductions and contributions are accurately configured, calculated, withheld, funded, and recorded

• Reconcile payroll activity to benefit enrollment records, carrier invoices, and retirement plan records

• Oversee payroll‑related retirement plan activity, including employee deferrals, employer contributions, funding, corrections, and reconciliation

• Partner with Human Resources, Finance/Accounting, payroll and benefit vendors, and retirement plan providers to investigate and resolve deduction, contribution, enrollment, and funding discrepancies

Payroll Operations and Employee Experience

• Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll questions and issues, researching issues thoroughly and communicating resolutions clearly and professionally

• Ensure payroll corrections and employee‑impacting issues are addressed promptly, accurately, and with appropriate communication to affected employees

• Translate complex payroll, tax, deduction, and benefit matters into clear and understandable information for employees and other stakeholders

• Consider the employee experience when developing or modifying payroll procedures, workflows, forms, communications, and system functionality

• Balance operational efficiency and internal control requirements with the need for payroll processes to be understandable, accessible, and practical for employees

• Anticipate the employee impact of payroll system or process changes and partner with Human Resources to develop appropriate communication, guidance, and implementation strategies