Senior Payroll Manager

OpenGov; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work from anywhere

Unlimited vacation

Mission-driven colleagues

World-class healthcare

Professional development

Job summary

OpenGov in the United States is seeking a Senior Manager, Payroll to own US payroll end-to-end across all jurisdictions, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.

You will lead the payroll team, collaborate with HR, Accounting, and Legal, drive automation and controls, and potentially expand to equity administration.

The role requires 8+ years US payroll experience, CPP/FPC preferred, and a proven ability to scale payroll operations in a SaaS environment.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll and ADP SmartCompliance.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a record of delivering accurate, complete payroll on tight deadlines, with proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets.
• 8+ years of US payroll experience, including 3+ years managing payroll staff, with in-depth knowledge of federal, state, and local employment requirements and multi-state payroll tax.
• Ability to work in office in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, or Boston.
• Sound judgment and a bias for action: spots issues early, escalates them promptly with a proposed resolution, and drives them to closure.
• Comfortable using AI-native tools to accelerate workflows and improve efficiency.
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, a record of working cross-functionally, and discretion with confidential employee information.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC).
• Experience designing payroll controls and supporting internal or external audits.
• Experience with equity compensation (RSU) payroll tax and reporting.
• Experience improving payroll processes through automation while maintaining accuracy and control.
• Experience in a SaaS or technology company, including integrating payroll for acquired companies.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end US payroll processing across all jurisdictions.
• Ensure payroll accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with tax laws.
• Manage payroll tax reporting: W-2, 1099, 940/941 filings.
• Lead and develop the payroll team; supervise lead payroll specialist.
• Collaborate with HR, Accounting, Legal, and IT on payroll systems and controls.
• Drive automation improvements to scale payroll operations.

Skills

US payroll expertise

Payroll leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Tax compliance knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance

Tools

Workday Payroll

ADP SmartCompliance

Excel/Google Sheets

Job description

• OpenGov powers more effective and accountable government, and our Accounting team builds the operations that let us grow with that mission. The Senior Manager, Payroll owns US payroll end-to-end and is accountable for its accuracy, completeness, and compliance across every jurisdiction where we employ people
• This leader sets the long-term direction for payroll operations: documenting processes, strengthening controls, and improving systems and automation so payroll scales with the business before we add headcount
• The role supervises our lead payroll specialist, works across Finance, Accounting, HR, Enterprise Applications & Engineering and Legal, and may expand over time to include equity administration
• Own end-to-end payroll processing for the United States, ensuring every payroll is accurate, complete, timely, and compliant with federal, state, and local requirements
• Manage payroll tax compliance across all jurisdictions, including resolving compliance issues, processing adjustments and driving audits to completion in a timely manner with federal, state, and local authorities
• Partner with HR on 401(k), HSA, and FSA administration by ensuring employee and employer contributions are calculated correctly and remitted on time, and process all deductions accurately and in compliance with legal requirements
• Provide tax information and withholding calculations for RSU settlements, and over time take on administration of RSU settlement process in partnership with Accounting and Legal
• Manage quarterly and year-end employment tax reporting, including W-2, 1099, Form 940/941 filings, state and local returns
• Own payroll general ledger reconciliations and support month-end close in partnership with Accounting, and oversee payroll-related audits such as 401(k) and workers' compensation
• Design, document, and maintain payroll controls, including review and approval steps, reconciliations, checks for completeness and accuracy across spreadsheets and systems and keep the function ready for internal and external audits
• Improve processes and systems, using automation where it strengthens accuracy and efficiency, so the function scales before headcount is added
• Supervise and develop the lead payroll specialist

Benefits

• Work from anywhere
• Unlimited vacation
• Mission-driven colleagues
• World-class healthcare
• Professional development

• Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll and ADP SmartCompliance
• Exceptional attention to detail and a record of delivering accurate, complete payroll on tight deadlines, with proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets, including complex formulas and analysis of large datasets
• 8+ years of US payroll experience, including 3+ years managing payroll staff, with in-depth knowledge of federal, state, and local employment requirements and multi-state payroll tax
• Ability to work in office in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, or Boston
• Sound judgment and a bias for action: spots issues early, escalates them promptly with a proposed resolution, and drives them to closure
• Comfortable using AI-native tools to accelerate workflows and improve efficiency
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, a record of working cross-functionally, and discretion with confidential employee information
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC)
• Experience designing payroll controls and supporting internal or external audits
• Experience with equity compensation (RSU) payroll tax and reporting
• Experience improving payroll processes through automation while maintaining accuracy and control
• Experience in a SaaS or technology company, including integrating payroll for acquired companies