Senior Payroll Manager

About Client

Our client is a well-established, employee-owned union construction company with a strong reputation for stability, quality, and long-term growth. Through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), employees share in the company's success while enjoying a collaborative culture built on integrity, accountability, and teamwork.

This organization offers competitive compensation, bonus opportunities, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work alongside experienced leadership in a fast-paced, project-driven environment.

Summary

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to lead the day-to-day payroll operations for a complex construction organization supporting both union and non-union employees. This leadership role is responsible for ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing while overseeing certified payroll, prevailing wage reporting, payroll tax compliance, and payroll-related general ledger reconciliations.

The Payroll Manager will lead and mentor a small payroll team, partner closely with Accounting and senior leadership, and serve as the organization's subject matter expert for payroll policies, compliance, and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end processing of multiple weekly and biweekly payrolls for union and non-union employees.
• Ensure payroll accuracy, compliance, and timely processing of wages, taxes, deductions, benefits, and union fringe calculations.
• Lead, coach, and develop the payroll team while promoting accountability and continuous improvement.
• Oversee certified payroll and prevailing wage reporting for construction projects.
• Reconcile payroll-related general ledger accounts and partner with Accounting during month-end and year-end close.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, local, and union payroll regulations.
• Serve as the primary contact for payroll audits, agency inquiries, and compliance reporting.
• Resolve complex payroll issues and respond to employee payroll inquiries.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, controls, and operational efficiency.
• Partner with leadership to provide payroll reporting and insights that support business operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of high-volume payroll experience supporting union and non-union employees.
• 2+ years of certified payroll and prevailing wage experience within the construction industry.
• 5-10 years of payroll leadership experience managing and developing staff.
• Strong knowledge of payroll accounting, general ledger reconciliations, and payroll tax compliance.
• Experience with construction payroll systems such as HCSS, VISTA, or similar ERP/payroll platforms.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, and IF functions.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate across Accounting, HR, Operations, and executive leadership.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and confidentiality.

The annual base pay range for this position is $109 - $163k