MightyRecruiterYou know you need a payroll manager to make sure your employees are paid and take care of their taxes, but you might not be so clear on how to draft a job description that will attract the most qualified candidate looking for work. Taking a look at a payroll manager job description sample could be just the thing you need to spark inspiration and blaze your way through your job description.
Even if you’ve already written your job description, a sample can help put things in perspective and allow you to make sure you’ve got the most salient information in your description. Do yourself a favor and do everything you can to save yourself time and the frustration that comes from a fruitless hiring process.
Payroll Manager Job Summary
As the payroll manager of Remy’s Renovations, you’ll be tasked with ensuring employees are properly compensated. The position also entails gathering payroll information by making sure financial records are properly organized, completing reports and keeping up with payroll preparation. You’ll also be required to ensure the company remains compliant with the most current laws and regulations regarding payroll and taxes.
Payroll Manager Job Responsibilities & Duties
- Oversee the accurate and timely processing of new hires, transfers, temp employees, promotions and terminations.
- Design payroll systems and manage the input, calculation and collection of all necessary financial data.
- Manage the issuance and production of electronic bank transfers or paychecks.
- Review and analyze current benefits, payroll and tax procedures with the goal of making recommendations concerning improvements that can be made to those procedures.
- Resolve discrepancies in payroll.
- Audit payroll balance sheets, W-4s and YTD earnings.
- Oversee scheduled preparation of management reports, which consist of weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly reports regarding payroll, vacation accrual, hours worked, benefits deductions and tax deductions.
- Attend continuing education workshops, training opportunities and classes to remain up-to-date on the latest payroll techniques, practices and technology.
- Work with human resources and benefits professionals in order to implement and align a more advanced benefits and payroll system.
- Update payroll procedures and policies when necessary.
Skills & Qualifications
- Four to five years of experience as a payroll manager
- Thorough knowledge of ReportSmith and ADP
- Proven experience with payroll tax at the local, state and federal levels
- Superior reporting skills
- People management skills
- Ability to understand Union Contracts is highly preferred
- Knowledge of system conversion (or at least a willingness to learn)
Company Profile
Remy’s Renovations was first constructed in 1999 by founder Remy Jarel. Remy started the company with the goal of providing Muscle Shoals home and business owners with a reliable and affordable contractor who could help them bring out the full potential of their property. Each of his renovation and construction technicians is fully licensed and receives regular training on the most current techniques and technologies in the industry. As of 2015, Remy’s Renovations has branched out into landscape renovations to bring out the full beauty in a home or business’s exterior. No matter which service you need, full satisfaction, affordability and quality are guaranteed.
Best Practice for Writing a Job Description
Having a payroll manager job description sample on hand is all well and good, but there’s a chance the above sample does little to help you with your particular situation. Should you ever find yourself in this category, know there are a few common practices that can help you construct the perfect job description that’s sure to attract the right candidates.
DO make sure you include examples of your company culture within your job description. You can do so by listing the reasons for starting your business and describing your work environment.
DON’T neglect the power of bullet points and bullet lists. Nothing makes a job description more appealing than having easily scannable and digestible lines of copy. When you do include a bullet point or list, be sure to start it off with action-based language whenever possible.
DO remember to include a call to action as well as contact information on your job description. Interested candidates like and need to know whom to contact with questions and what they need to do if they’re interested in becoming your payroll manager.
DON’T hesitate to share the traits you aren’t looking for in a payroll manager. While this might seem harsh, it serves to eliminate candidates who are likely unqualified for the position. You can do this by mentioning which qualities, traits and education levels are preferred and which are mandatory.
Payroll Manager Job Responsibilities
Business leaders face a lot of difficulties, but one of the most challenging is finding and keeping the right employees. One way to improve your chances of attracting high quality candidates for any position is to fine tune the job responsibilities section of your payroll manager job description. Once you have created a job description that clearly outlines your expectations and details the tasks the employee will complete each day, you’ll be less likely to have to spend time weeding out unqualified jobseekers.
To ensure success, you should gear your payroll manager job description toward the jobseeker with a focus on candidate “needs,” such as exciting projects, advancement opportunities and comfortable salaries or benefits. Remember that many candidates will spend a minute or less making a decision about the job, so choose between six and eight bullet points to describe selected payroll manager job responsibilities.
Here are a few examples of payroll manager responsibilities to help you get started:
- Design systems to update and maintain payroll information, including insurance coverage, savings and investments, changes in exemptions and reports
- Balance payroll accounts, resolving any discrepancies as they arise
- Answer questions and requests about payroll information
- Ensure compliance with federal, state and local requirements, advising management when changes are necessary
- Update records and prepared reports, referring to data previously gathered from summaries of earnings, taxes, etc.
Payroll Manager Job Specifications
If the job responsibilities section of the payroll manager job description lists the tasks that jobseekers will perform when hired, the specifications list the minimum requirements needed. Many hiring managers make the mistake of skimming quickly past this section, only to find later that they have clogged their candidate pool with overqualified or underqualified jobseekers. Work to avoid this situation by identifying those key payroll manager job specifications that describe the ideal candidate. You may find that this is easier to do by talking to someone who already holds the position.
Another important way to ensure that this section of the payroll manager job description is effective is to categorize requirements as those that are absolutely necessary and those that would enhance the chances of a candidate. List those skills and qualifications in order of importance and organize the information into bullets. The more specific you can be when writing out these requirements, the less time you’ll have to spend reviewing applications and resumes.
Consider some of the following specifications that could improve your payroll manager description:
- Thorough knowledge of compensation and wage structure
- Familiarity with current employment law, as well as federal, state and local payroll tax
- Proficiency with MS Office, specifically Excel
- 5 years of experience managing payroll staff, preferred
