Senior Payroll Specialist

Vaco Recruiter Services; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco Recruiter Services is seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist in Louisville, Kentucky to manage payroll operations for a multi-state workforce. This role is essential for ensuring that employees are accurately compensated while adhering to regulatory guidelines.

The successful candidate will possess extensive payroll processing experience, strong knowledge of tax compliance, and the ability to generate insightful payroll reports. Advanced Excel skills and experience with payroll systems such as ADP are highly desirable.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of payroll processing experience, including multi-state payroll administration.
• Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax regulations, and compliance standards.

Responsibilities

• Process payroll for a multi-state workforce ensuring compliance.
• Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies and employee inquiries.
• Prepare and submit payroll tax filings and year-end reporting.

Skills

Payroll processing

Attention to detail

Problem-solving skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Microsoft Excel (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPs)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Tools

ADP Workforce Now

UKG/Kronos

Workday

SAP SuccessFactors

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Payroll Specialist is responsible for processing and overseeing payroll operations for a multi-state workforce, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while maintaining compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. This role serves as a subject matter expert for payroll processes, tax compliance, audits, reporting, and payroll system administration.

Key Responsibilities

• Process weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly payrolls for employees across multiple states.
• Review payroll data for accuracy, including hours worked, earnings, deductions, garnishments, bonuses, commissions, and benefit elections.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations.
• Reconcile payroll registers, tax filings, benefit deductions, and general ledger accounts.
• Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies, employee inquiries, and payroll-related issues.
• Manage payroll adjustments, off-cycle payments, retroactive pay, and final paychecks.
• Administer wage garnishments, child support orders, tax levies, and other involuntary deductions.
• Coordinate payroll-related activities for new hires, terminations, promotions, and employee status changes.
• Prepare and submit payroll tax filings and year-end reporting, including W-2s and other required documentation.
• Partner with HR, Benefits, Accounting, and Finance teams to ensure accurate employee and payroll data.
• Support internal and external audits by providing payroll records and documentation.
• Maintain payroll records in accordance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Generate payroll reports and analyze payroll metrics for management review.
• Assist with payroll system upgrades, implementations, testing, and process improvements.
• Train and mentor junior payroll staff and provide guidance on payroll best practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of payroll processing experience, including multi-state payroll administration.
• Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax regulations, wage and hour requirements, and compliance standards.
• Experience with payroll systems such as ADP Workforce Now, ADP Vantage, UKG/Kronos, Workday, Ceridian Dayforce, or SAP SuccessFactors.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPs, and data analysis.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage confidential information.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.