Payroll Manager

About the role

We’re looking for a hands-on, compliance-driven Payroll Manager to take ownership of payroll at a high-growth, billion-dollar energy company in its first year as a publicly traded firm. Payroll is moving from HR into the Finance organization, and you will own that transition and everything that follows: operations, payroll tax compliance, controls, and overall process execution.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end payroll processing in Paylocity for salaried and hourly employees across multiple states, including regular cycles, off-cycle runs, retro adjustments, terminations, and bonus payrolls.
• Process equity-related payroll events, including RSU vesting and associated tax withholding, in coordination with equity administration.
• Administer garnishments, levies, direct deposit, deductions, and benefits-related payroll changes in coordination with HR.
• Own the payroll calendar, cutoffs, and approval workflows; deliver accurate, on-time payroll every cycle.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and escalation for payroll questions from employees and leadership.
• Lead the migration of payroll ownership from HR into Finance with no disruption to employees.
• Build and document end-to-end payroll processes, standard operating procedures, and cycle checklists where little documentation exists today.
• Rebuild and maintain the payroll-to-GL mapping between Paylocity and Oracle Fusion in partnership with payroll accounting.
• Identify and implement automation and process improvements across the payroll lifecycle.
• Own payroll tax compliance across a growing multi-state footprint, including state and local registrations, SUI and SIT accounts, and agency notice resolution.
• Track the state footprint of a distributed workforce and complete registrations timely as employees are hired into new jurisdictions.
• Oversee federal, state, and local payroll tax filings and payments – Forms 941, W-2, state equivalents, and amendments – whether executed through Paylocity tax services or directly.
• Partner with the VP of Tax on payroll tax strategy, worker classification, and jurisdictional exposure.
• Coordinate with Accounts Payable on contractor payments and Form 1099 reporting.
• Design, document, and operate SOX-ready payroll controls, including segregation of duties, system access reviews, change reporting, and approval evidence.
• Support internal and external audit requests, including walkthroughs, PBC items, and control testing.
• Maintain a high standard of confidentiality and data discipline around compensation information.
• Produce payroll, labor cost, and headcount reporting for Finance and company leadership.
• Support month-end close in partnership with payroll accounting: accruals, funding reconciliations, and variance explanations.
• Partner with HR on onboarding, offboarding, benefits, and compensation changes, and with FP&A on labor cost inputs.

Qualifications

This role is for someone who treats payroll as both a controls discipline and a service function – precise under deadline pressure, fluent in multi-state payroll tax, and comfortable building structure where none exists.