Lead, Payroll Manager

About the Role

As the Lead Payroll, you will hold primary day-to-day responsibility for the end-to-end payroll operations of a complex, 3,000+ employee organization. Reporting directly to the Leader of Finance Operations, you will manage a dedicated team of 1–2 specialists and serve as a strategic change agent, bridging the gap between routine processing and high-level financial transformation.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Execute and oversee semi-monthly and bi-weekly payroll for 3,000+ employees, ensuring 100% accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Regulatory Expertise: Serve as the resident Subject Matter Expert (SME) for payroll regulations, specifically for New York State and multi-state US jurisdictions.
• Deductions Management: Maintain deep technical knowledge of withholdings, including complex payroll taxes, medical elections, 403(b) contributions, garnishments, and diverse benefit deductions.
• Systems & Integration: Lead the maintenance and optimization of integrations between the HRIS and payroll processing systems.
• Compliance & Audit: Drive the issuance of annual W-2 statements and manage all internal/external audit inquiries.
• Stakeholder Partnership: Act as a critical business partner to Benefits, HR, FP&A, and Accounting. Manage external vendor relationships, including brokers and 403(b) financial advisors.
• Transformation & Innovation: Proactively identify opportunities to automate, optimize, and audit the payroll lifecycle to increase compliance, streamline workflows, and reduce manual overhead.

Qualifications

Education & Certification

• Degree: Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field required.
• Certification: An Active Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) designation is preferred. 

Technical Skills & Experience

• Direct Experience: 8+ years of progressive payroll experience, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or leadership capacity.
• Software Proficiency: Experience with ADP is required; experience with Workday is strongly preferred.
• Excel Mastery: Advanced data manipulation skills, including multi-function formulas, pivot tables, and sophisticated data formatting.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Comprehensive, up-to-date understanding of Federal, State, and Local laws, including FLSA.

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Change Management: Proven ability to act as a "change agent," bringing transformation experience to an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and high-volume environment.
• Communication: Refined emotional intelligence with the ability to influence stakeholders, deliver exceptional internal customer service, and negotiate buy-in across departments.
• Critical Thinking: A hands-on problem solver who can easily balance granular detail with big-picture process improvement.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

At Success Academy, we invest boldly in our Network team with a comprehensive package designed to support your health, financial future, and overall well-being:

• Day-One Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision coverage starting your first day (SA covers 82% of our core medical plan), plus a free One Medical membership and confidential mental health support via EAP/Talkspace.
• Financial Security: 403(b) retirement plan with a 3% employer match, up to $2,400/year in employer HSA contributions, employer-paid life/disability insurance, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility.
• Time to Recharge: Generous paid time off, paid holidays, and paid parental leave.
• Perks & Stipends: A $50/month cellphone stipend ($600/year), pre-tax commuter benefits, backup family care, and performance-based earning incentives.