Payroll Manager, Centralized Operations (Canada)

Reports To: Director, Payroll & Benefits

Lead Payroll Operations for 5,000+ Employees Across Canada

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to lead the day-to-day operations of a centralized payroll function, supporting over 5,000 employees across multiple provinces, dealerships, and ancillary business entities throughout Canada.

Reporting to the Director of Payroll & Benefits, you will provide direct leadership to a team of 12 Payroll Specialists and play a critical role in ensuring that payroll is delivered accurately, compliantly, and efficiently across the organization.

This is a hands-on leadership role focused on operational execution, team leadership, process improvement, and payroll excellence. While the Director is responsible for strategic direction, governance, and long-term planning, the Payroll Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day payroll operation and ensuring exceptional service delivery across the business.

What You'll Do

Payroll Operations

• Lead end-to-end payroll operations for a Canadian workforce of more than 5,000 employees across multiple provinces and business entities.

• Oversee payroll processing for salaried, hourly, commissioned, incentive, bonus, and executive compensation programs.

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and support to a team of 12 Payroll Specialists.

• Allocate workload, establish service standards, and monitor team productivity and accuracy.

• Ensure compliance with federal and provincial legislation, employment standards, payroll taxes, CPP, EI, workers' compensation requirements, garnishments, and statutory remittances.

• Support year-end payroll activities, including T4 preparation, taxable benefit reporting, reconciliations, and regulatory filings.

• Act as the primary escalation point for complex payroll matters and employee inquiries.

• Coordinate internal and external payroll audits and compliance reviews.

Systems, Process Improvement & Reporting

• Partner with HRIS and internal stakeholders to maintain payroll-related integrations, workflows, and data integrity.

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve payroll efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and the employee experience.

• Maintain payroll documentation, process maps, testing protocols, and control procedures.

• Produce payroll reporting and analytics to support Finance, HR, and operational leaders.

• Monitor payroll controls, reconciliations, and data quality to ensure processing accuracy and regulatory compliance.

Projects & Business Support

• Support payroll-related projects, acquisitions, business integrations, and system enhancements.

• Collaborate with HR, Finance, IT, Operations, and external partners to support payroll initiatives and organizational growth.

• Assist with change management, communication, and training related to payroll processes and systems.

Team Leadership

• Directly manage, coach, mentor, and develop a team of 12 Payroll Specialists.

• Establish performance expectations and support ongoing development and succession planning.

• Ensure appropriate staffing, workload distribution, cross-training, and business continuity planning.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer service excellence.

• Lead team meetings, training initiatives, and knowledge-sharing activities to maintain payroll expertise and legislative compliance.

What You Bring

• PCP (Payroll Compliance Professional) designation.

• Postsecondary education in Business, Finance, Human Resources, Accounting, Information Systems, or a related discipline.

• 7-10 years of progressive Canadian payroll experience within a large, complex organization.

• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing payroll or shared-services teams in a high-volume, multi-entity environment.

• Strong knowledge of Canadian payroll legislation, taxation, year-end processing, compliance requirements, and payroll controls.

• Experience with UKG Pro is considered an asset.

• Advanced Excel skills, including reporting, analytics, reconciliation, and data analysis.

• Experience driving process improvement, automation, and operational efficiency initiatives.

• Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and organizational skills.

Success Profile

The ideal candidate is a hands-on payroll leader with deep Canadian payroll expertise and a proven ability to lead high-volume payroll operations through strong execution, attention to detail, and team development. Working under the Director, Payroll & Benefits, this individual translates departmental strategy into operational excellence, ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll delivery across a national network of dealerships and ancillary businesses.