Payroll Specialist

Overview

Element has an opportunity for a Payroll Specialist to join our Finance team. The role involves ensuring the accurate and timely processing of payroll across the United States and Canada while maintaining compliance with federal, state, provincial, and local regulations. The successful candidate will support payroll operations, financial reporting, audits, and continuous process improvement initiatives in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.

Responsibilities

• Process and reconcile payroll for multiple U.S. and Canadian employee groups, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely execution.
• Maintain a strong understanding of federal, state, local, and provincial payroll legislation and ensure payroll practices remain compliant with evolving regulations.
• Support quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including tax reporting, reconciliations, and audit requirements across all payroll groups.
• Partner closely with Finance to complete month-end payroll reconciliations and support payroll-related accounting activities.
• Prepare, analyze, and distribute payroll reports while supporting ad hoc reporting requests from Finance, HR, and business leadership.
• Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies, employee inquiries, and tax-related issues in a timely and professional manner.
• Maintain and continuously improve payroll processes, documentation, and internal controls, including ownership of payroll procedures and playbooks.
• Assist with internal and external audits by providing payroll data, supporting documentation, and compliance reporting.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll efficiency, accuracy, and employee experience through process enhancements and system optimization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field preferred; equivalent payroll experience will also be considered.
• 3-5 years of payroll experience supporting multi-state payroll environments; Canadian payroll experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of payroll tax regulations, wage and hour laws, payroll accounting, and payroll compliance requirements.
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to accuracy, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and reconciliation skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.
• Experience supporting payroll audits and financial reporting activities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Experience with Ceridian Dayforce or similar enterprise payroll systems preferred.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, take ownership of issues, and appropriately escalate concerns when necessary.