Process Operations Manager - Payroll
Job Summary
The Payroll Process Operations Manager is responsible for leading payroll process operations and driving discipline around payroll policies, controls, and time management standards. This role serves as a key operational leader, leveraging data analytics to improve payroll performance, reduce risk, and enable informed decision-making. The role will also support mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities, including payroll integration, process harmonization, and compliance alignment across newly acquired entities. The position also serves as a key liaison across HR Technology, Finance, and HR Operations to lead cross-process and system changes, govern pay-impacting rules, and provide operational analytics that strengthen payroll accuracy and service performance.
Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)
Payroll Process Operations: Lead payroll process operations by ensuring disciplined execution of payroll calendars, cutoffs, and workflow standards. Serve as the primary escalation point for payroll issues and operational risks, driving timely resolution and on-time, accurate pay delivery. Act as the HR Operations expert on wage and hour compliance, payroll policies, and timekeeping processes, overseeing workforce management systems to ensure adherence to federal, state, and local labor laws. Establish and maintain strong internal controls that safeguard payroll accuracy, regulatory compliance, and financial integrity. Drive continuous process improvement through standardization, automation, and audit-ready documentation while supporting payroll transformation, M&A integration activities, and system and policy enhancements that improve scalability and operational effectiveness.
Project Management & System / Implementation Leadership: Lead payroll workstreams for system implementations, upgrades, and configuration changes. Partner with HR Technology, Finance, and IT to assess cross-process impacts, coordinate testing and readiness activities, and manage timelines, risks, and stakeholder communication.
Service Delivery, Ticket Governance & Case Management: Oversee payroll inquiry queues, ticket volumes, and escalation pathways even when direct ticket closure is delegated. Establish SLAs, monitor resolution performance, and drive case-deflection strategies through knowledge resources and process clarity.
Compliance, Controls & Reconciliation: Ensure adherence to payroll tax, statutory, and wage-hour regulations through reconciliations, audits, and validation checks. Maintain documented procedures, segregation of duties, and audit readiness while supporting responses to tax notices or compliance inquiries.
Foundational Pay-Impacting Process Governance: Govern operational rules and standards for upstream workforce processes that directly affect pay outcomes, including time capture, compensation updates, terminations, leave status, and pay codes. Monitor exception trends and partner with HR/HRIS to reduce downstream payroll errors.
Analytics, Dashboards & Reporting: Develop and maintain dashboards and scorecards related to payroll accuracy, ticket volumes, overpayments, and time-and-pay exceptions. Analyze trends and provide actionable insights to leadership and cross-functional partners.
Skills and Minimum Experience Required
Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent
9+ years relevant experience
Deep knowledge of payroll processing (cycles, cutoffs, funding, off-cycles, final pay)
Strong payroll calendar and deadline management discipline
Experience leading payroll projects, system upgrades, and implementations
Working knowledge of payroll systems, HRIS, and Time & Attendance platforms/integrations
Ownership of workforce time rules and standards (pay codes, overtime rules, shift premiums, accrual logic, union/CBA rules where applicable)
Ability to drive time & attendance change management (policy updates, system rule changes, stakeholder communication, training)
Troubleshooting expertise for time capture issues (missed punches, scheduling conflicts, accrual errors, integration defects)
Vendor and SLA management experience
Ticket queue and case management oversight skills
Payroll tax, statutory, and wage-hour compliance knowledge
Reconciliation, audit, and internal controls experience
Understanding of upstream pay-impacting processes (time capture, comp changes, terminations, pay codes)
Ability to build and interpret payroll dashboards and metrics
Strong cross-functional collaboration (Finance, HRIS, IT, Benefits, Vendors)
Clear executive communication and escalation management
Risk identification and structured problem-solving ability
Occasional travel for business
Preferred Experience
CPP or equivalent certification
Experience in outsourced model
Experience with SF/ECP / Workforce
Pay Range
$104,200.00 to $170,000.00
Benefits
Health care, dental coverage, vision plans, 401K benefits, and commissions/incentive compensation depending on the role.
About Acuity Inc.
Acuity Inc. is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light, and more things to come. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) and Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in people’s lives. We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and an audio, video, and control platform. We focus on customer outcomes and drive growth and productivity to increase market share and deliver superior returns. We look to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.
Work Location
This position may be based anywhere in the United States and includes travel as part of the responsibilities.