Senior Process Manager – US Payroll
Location: Manila, Philippines (Hybrid)
About the Role
eClerx Philippines is seeking an experienced Senior Process Manager – US Payroll to lead the delivery of high-quality US payroll operations while driving operational excellence, compliance, client satisfaction, and continuous improvement.
This role is ideal for a payroll leader with extensive hands-on US payroll expertise who has successfully managed teams responsible for end-to-end payroll processing. The successful candidate will combine deep technical payroll knowledge with strong people leadership, stakeholder management, and operational governance to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely payroll delivery across multiple payroll cycles and jurisdictions.
Key Responsibilities
Payroll Operations Leadership
- Lead end-to-end US payroll operations across weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly payroll cycles.
- Ensure payroll is processed accurately, compliantly, and within established service level agreements.
- Oversee payroll balancing, reconciliations, audits, and approvals prior to payroll release.
- Provide governance over payroll adjustments, off-cycle payrolls, retroactive payments, bonus payments, and payroll corrections.
- Ensure successful year-end payroll processing, including W-2 reconciliation and reporting.
Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure compliance with all applicable US Federal, State, and Local payroll regulations.
- Maintain strong knowledge of payroll taxation, FICA, Social Security, Medicare, wage and hour regulations, and FLSA requirements.
- Oversee payroll controls, compliance reviews, audit readiness, and risk mitigation activities.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory updates and implement required payroll changes.
People Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Payroll Specialists, Senior Payroll Specialists, Team Leaders, and Process Managers, as applicable.
- Conduct performance reviews, coaching sessions, career development planning, and succession planning.
- Drive employee engagement and foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability and customer service.
- Build technical payroll capability across the team through structured coaching and knowledge sharing.
Client & Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary escalation point for complex payroll issues.
- Partner closely with HR, Finance, Accounting, Benefits, Tax, and business leaders to ensure seamless payroll operations.
- Build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders by providing expert payroll guidance and recommendations.
- Present payroll metrics, operational updates, risks, and improvement initiatives to senior leadership and clients.
Operational Excellence
- Monitor and report key operational metrics, including payroll accuracy, SLA adherence, productivity, quality, compliance, and customer satisfaction.
- Identify opportunities for automation, standardization, and process optimization.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
- Support payroll transitions, process migrations, and system implementations.
Systems & Technology
- Provide functional leadership across enterprise payroll platforms such as:
- Workday Payroll
- UKG Pro
- Oracle Payroll
- ADP Workforce Now
- Ceridian Dayforce
- SAP Payroll
- Partner with HRIS and IT teams on payroll enhancements, testing, integrations, and system upgrades.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
- Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive US payroll experience, including 3–5 years in a people leadership role.
- Proven experience leading in-house end-to-end US payroll operations.
- Strong experience supporting multi-state US payroll.
- Demonstrated experience managing payroll teams within a BPO, shared services, multinational, or large corporate environment.
- Experience supporting large employee populations (1,000+ employees preferred).
Required Technical Expertise
Strong working knowledge of:
- US Payroll Tax
- Federal, State, and Local Payroll Regulations
- FICA
- Social Security & Medicare
- FLSA
- Exempt vs. Non-Exempt classifications
- Payroll Compliance
- W-2 Processing
- Payroll Audits
- Payroll Reconciliations
- Garnishments
- Benefits Administration
- 401(k)
- Payroll Accounting
- Year-End Processing
- Payroll Controls and Governance
Preferred Experience
- Workday Payroll and/or UKG Pro expertise.
- Experience managing payroll operations within Healthcare, BPO, Shared Services, or multinational organizations.
- Experience leading payroll transitions or transformation projects.
- CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) certification is an advantage.
- Lean Six Sigma certification is a plus.
Leadership Competencies
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Strong people leadership and coaching skills.
- Excellent stakeholder and client management capabilities.
- Sound decision-making and problem-solving ability.
- High attention to detail and commitment to compliance.
- Strong analytical and data-driven mindset.
- Ability to lead through change and continuous improvement.
- Excellent communication and executive presentation skills.
- Strong customer-centric approach with a focus on service excellence.
Why Join eClerx
At eClerx, payroll is more than a transactional function—it's a critical business capability. As a Senior Process Manager – US Payroll, you'll lead high-performing teams, influence strategic payroll initiatives, collaborate with global stakeholders, and drive operational excellence using industry-leading payroll technologies. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while growing your leadership career within a dynamic global organization.
