Strategic Payroll Project Manager

Penske Truck Leasing; Reading (Berks County); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Penske Truck Leasing, based in Reading, PA, seeks a Payroll Accounting Project Manager to lead payroll accounting projects, financial analysis, and system enhancements. Partner with Payroll, Finance, HR, IT, Benefits, Legal, and external providers to ensure accurate, compliant processes from planning through implementation.

This role emphasizes controls, analytics, and stakeholder communication, with hybrid work (4 days onsite, 1 day remote) at corporate offices and a focus on cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, project management, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in payroll accounting, accounting, finance, or related function.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects, process improvement initiatives, or system implementations; payroll systems experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close activities, including payroll-related journal entries, accruals, reclasses, reconciliations, variance analyses, and supporting schedules.
• Analyze payroll accounting data to identify trends, discrepancies, root causes, and opportunities to improve accuracy, controls, and efficiency.
• Ensure payroll-related transactions are accurately recorded, reconciled, monitored, and reported within accounting and payroll systems.
• Develop and maintain reporting, analytics, measures, and metrics to support payroll accounting decision-making and process performance.
• Manage payroll accounting and payroll-related projects, including project plans, timelines, resource needs, risks, milestones, deliverables, documentation, implementation, and post-deployment review.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives involving Payroll, HR, Finance, IT, Benefits, Legal, and external vendors.
• Monitor project progress and communicate status, risks, recommendations, and outcomes to stakeholders and leadership.
• Identify and implement opportunities to streamline processes, automate manual activities, strengthen controls, and improve operational efficiency.
• Partner with Payroll Operations and IT to optimize payroll processes, system functionality, interfaces, and integrations.
• Coordinate testing, validation, deployment, implementation, upgrades, and acquisition-related integration activities for payroll system changes.
• Develop and maintain monitoring processes and controls to support payroll accounting accuracy and compliance.
• Ensure payroll accounting processes comply with federal, state, and local payroll regulations, accounting policies, and internal control requirements.
• Assess regulatory, financial, operational, and compliance risks; coordinate needed changes with affected business functions.
• Serve as a key liaison among Payroll, Accounting, Finance, HR, Benefits, IT, Legal, and external vendors.
• Create and maintain project documentation, process flows, standard operating procedures, and training materials.
• Support business users through adoption of new processes, controls, reporting, and system enhancements.

Skills

Advanced Excel

SQL

Data analysis

Problem solving

Communication

Time management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, project management

Job description

Penske Truck Leasing, based in Reading, PA, seeks a Payroll Accounting Project Manager to lead payroll accounting projects, financial analysis, and system enhancements. Partner with Payroll, Finance, HR, IT, Benefits, Legal, and external providers to ensure accurate, compliant processes from planning through implementation.

This role emphasizes controls, analytics, and stakeholder communication, with hybrid work (4 days onsite, 1 day remote) at corporate offices and a focus on cross-functional