Manager Payroll in Montréal

The Payroll Manager is responsible for leading national payroll operations, strategy, and compliance for over 25,000 employees across Canada. This role oversees the accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of multi-province biweekly and monthly payrolls, manages payroll system enhancements, and leads a dedicated team of payroll professionals. The Payroll Manager serves as a technical subject matter expert and trusted advisor to People & Culture, Finance, and executive leadership, ensuring alignment with federal and provincial regulations, risk & compliance, and corporate objectives.

What you'll do

• Payroll Operations & Execution
  • Lead and oversee full-cycle biweekly and monthly payroll processing for 25,000 salaried and hourly team members across all Canadian provinces and territories.
  • Ensure 100% accuracy and timeliness of payroll calculations, deductions, garnishments, taxable benefits, and expense reimbursements.
  • Manage payroll financial processes, including general ledger postings, journal entries, payroll accruals, account reconciliations, and wire transfers.
  • Oversee year-end processing, including T4/T4A and RL-1 preparation, filing, and distribution, as well as PIER report resolutions.
• Compliance, Audit & Risk Management
  • Ensure strict adherence to Canadian federal and provincial employment standards, tax legislation, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines, and Revenu Québec (MRQ) regulations.
  • Maintain and enforce robust internal controls to comply with corporate governance and audit requirements.
  • Serve as the primary liaison for internal, external, and government regulatory audits, preparing required documentation and reports.
  • Monitor evolving payroll laws and regulations across Canada, proactively implementing required process or system updates.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development
  • Provide direct leadership, mentoring, and performance management for a team of payroll specialists and advisors.
  • Foster a culture of continuous learning, service excellence, and cross-functional collaboration within the payroll team.
  • Establish operational KPIs and benchmarks to monitor payroll accuracy, inquiry response times, and processing efficiency.
• Systems, Strategy & Process Optimization
  • Drive continuous process improvement and automation initiatives to simplify payroll workflows and enhance data integrity.
  • Serve as the functional/business lead for enterprise payroll software and HRIS modules (e.g., SAP SuccessFactors / ECP / SAP Payroll).
  • Partner with IT, HR Operations, and Finance teams to test, configure, and implement payroll system upgrades, interfaces, and tools.
• Stakeholder Partnership & Advisory
  • Act as the primary technical resource and advisor on complex payroll matters for P & C Business Partners, Finance, Total Rewards, and Legal.
  • Manage escalated payroll inquiries and complex compensation scenarios with high confidentiality, discretion, and customer focus.
  • Oversee relationships with third-party payroll vendors, benefit carriers, and tax authorities.

What You'll Bring

• Required Experience & Qualifications
  • Experience: 7–10+ years of progressive payroll management experience in large-scale, multi-province Canadian organizations supporting 20,000+ employees.
  • System Expertise: Deep hands‑on experience with enterprise HRIS/payroll systems (SAP Payroll / SAP SuccessFactors ECP highly preferred) and advanced MS Excel capabilities.
  • Regulatory Knowledge: Thorough understanding of Canadian federal/provincial payroll legislation, CRA, Revenu Québec, statutory remittances, and audit frameworks.
  • Labor Environment: Experience managing payroll within both unionized and non-unionized operating environments.
  • Leadership: Proven track record of leading, coaching, and developing high‑performing payroll operations teams.
• Required Education & Professional Designations
  • Payroll Certification: Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation from the National Payroll Institute (NPI) required; Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) designation considered.
  • Accounting / Finance Designation: CPA designation or post‑secondary degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, or Business Administration preferred.
• Core Competencies & Skills
  • High degree of analytical thinking, detail orientation, and quantitative problem‑solving skills.
  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present complex financial data to non‑finance stakeholders.
  • Strong change management skills with comfort operating in fast‑paced, evolving corporate environments.
  • Bilingualism in English and French (oral and written) is considered a strong asset.
  • Advanced knowledge of English is required because you will most of the time interact in English with external parties (clients, suppliers, candidates, external partners, etc.); interact in English with internal parties (colleagues, internal partners, stakeholders, etc.) as part of this position's main responsibilities given its national scope.