Senior Payroll Specialist | Construction

Dahl Consulting; Baxter (MN); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life & AD&D Coverage

401(k) with employer matching

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Job summary

Dahl Consulting is seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist for a construction-focused client in Minnetonka, MN. Hybrid work schedule: 3 days onsite, local candidates preferred.

The role reports as the payroll subject matter expert, overseeing multi-state payroll for ~120 employees across 21 states and driving accuracy and compliance. The position emphasizes payroll compliance, certified payroll reporting, prevailing wage requirements, and strong collaboration with HR, Finance, and Compliance to

Qualifications

• 2+ years of progressive payroll experience.
• Experience processing multi-state payroll across jurisdictions.
• Construction industry experience is required.
• Experience using UKG Ready or a comparable HRIS/payroll platform.
• Strong Excel, auditing, reconciliation, and payroll data reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Process weekly, off-cycle, and adjustment payrolls for salaried, hourly, and variable-hour employees.
• Manage payroll across 21 states ensuring compliance with wage and hour laws.
• Review and validate payroll calculations including overtime, per diem, deductions, and taxable benefits.
• Prepare and support certified payroll reporting and prevailing wage compliance.
• Reconcile payroll data, benefit deductions, and tax information; handle garnishments and related orders.
• Collaborate with Finance and HR on audits, reporting, and year-end activities.
• Support payroll system testing and enhancements within UKG Ready.

Skills

Multi-state payroll

Payroll compliance

Excel

Payroll reporting

Garnishments

Tools

UKG Ready

Job description

Title: Senior Payroll Specialist | Construction

Location: Minnetonka, MN | Hybrid 3 days onsite (local candidates only)

Job Type: Permanent / Direct-Hire

Compensation: $84,750 - $119,750 annually

Industry: Construction

About The Role

Our staffing firm is partnering with a rapidly growing organization in the power, energy, and infrastructure industry to identify a Senior Payroll Specialist. This position will serve as the company's payroll subject matter expert, overseeing complex multi-state payroll operations for approximately 120 employees across 21 states, with continued growth expected.

This is an excellent opportunity for a payroll professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys process improvement, and is comfortable adapting to changing priorities. The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in payroll compliance, certified payroll reporting, prevailing wage requirements, and payroll system administration, with experience using UKG Ready or a similar payroll platform.

Job Description

The Senior Payroll Specialist is responsible for the accurate and timely administration of multi-state payroll while ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations. This role partners closely with Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, and Operations teams to support payroll accuracy, reporting, audits, and continuous process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Process weekly, off-cycle, and adjustment payrolls for salaried, hourly, and variable-hour employees.
• Manage payroll activities across 21 states while ensuring compliance with applicable wage and hour laws.
• Review and validate payroll calculations, including overtime, per diem, prevailing wage rates, deductions, PTO balances, and taxable benefits.
• Maintain labor allocations, job costing data, cost center distributions, and payroll records.
• Prepare and support certified payroll reporting, prevailing wage compliance, Davis-Bacon requirements, and IRA/PWA reporting.
• Reconcile payroll data, benefit deductions, and tax-related information.
• Process garnishments, levies, child support orders, and other required deductions.
• Partner with Finance on quarter-end and year-end payroll activities, tax reporting, and regulatory filings.
• Conduct payroll audits, identify discrepancies, and implement corrective actions.
• Recommend and implement process improvements to enhance payroll efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.
• Support payroll system testing, upgrades, and enhancements within UKG Ready.
• Serve as the primary contact for payroll inquiries and resolve complex payroll issues.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Compliance, and Operations teams to ensure payroll and employee data integrity.
• Maintain confidentiality of payroll and employee information.

Qualifications

Required

• 2+ years of progressive payroll experience.
• Experience processing multi-state payroll across multiple jurisdictions.
• Construction industry experience is required
• Experience using UKG Ready or a comparable HRIS/payroll platform.
• Knowledge of payroll compliance, wage and hour regulations, payroll taxes, and garnishments.
• Experience processing certified payroll and supporting prevailing wage, Davis-Bacon, or similar compliance programs.
• Strong Excel skills with experience auditing, reconciling, and reporting payroll data.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining exceptional accuracy.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and customer service skills.
• Ability to thrive in an evolving environment with changing priorities and business needs.

Preferred

• Experience supporting payroll within the construction, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, or field operations industries.
• Exposure to union payroll administration or union project environments.
• Experience supporting apprenticeship payroll requirements.
• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) and/or Certified Payroll Professional (CPP).
• Experience supporting rapidly growing organizations and scaling payroll processes.

Benefits

• medical, dental, and vision insurance
• life and AD&D coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions
• access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• generous Paid Time Off (PTO)

Equal Opportunity Statement

As an equal opportunity employer, Dahl Consulting welcomes candidates of all backgrounds and experiences to apply. If this position sounds like the right opportunity for you, we encourage you to take the next step and connect with us. We look forward to meeting you!