Overview
The organization is seeking a People Manager to lead a high-performing team of payroll tax experts within Payroll Tax Operations (PTO). This role manages a cross-functional team of Tax Processors responsible for end-to-end resolution of payroll tax issues across four core processes: Notices, Corrections, Amendments, and Pay & File.
This position requires an experienced practitioner who has personally resolved complex State and Federal payroll tax notices, amended tax returns across multiple states, and corrected payroll tax errors at the source—then coached and led others to do the same.
Responsibilities
- Translate PTO vision and values into a team strategy that drives day-to-day priorities and a 1+ year operating plan aligned to department goals.
- Own delivery and quality outcomes for the assigned team, ensuring SLA compliance across all active cases and eliminating backlogs to reduce customer burden.
- Lead Tax Processors through regular Monthly Check-Ins, structured feedback, performance coaching, and career development conversations.
- Serve as the final internal escalation point for the most complex IRS and state agency notices, penalty assessments, cross-jurisdictional discrepancies, and multi-quarter audit inquiries—providing a resolution strategy.
- Drive utilization of lean management practices including Daily Huddles, WIP reviews, and performance board management to surface and solve problems in real time.
- Monitor team WIP daily; identify aging cases, holds, and systemic blockers; enforce intake and closure workflows to ensure no notice, payroll correction, or amended return exceeds agency deadlines without documented action.
- Own SOP and Knowledge Base (KB) governance; direct team in authoring and validating process documentation; translate IRS and state regulatory updates into team briefings and SOP revisions with effective dates.
- Drive hiring, onboarding, and skills calibration for new team members; proactively build succession depth at the team level.
- Continuously assess and improve processes within team scope; identify upstream and downstream dependencies; recommend and implement improvements that eliminate non-value-added work.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams delivering high-quality customer experiences in a high-volume, high-stakes service environment.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of people management experience in a payroll tax operations or related service environment, with a demonstrated track record of developing others’ skills and careers.
- 5+ years of hands-on payroll tax experience focused on notice resolution, amended return preparation, and payroll error correction across multiple states (beyond general payroll administration).
- Proven experience resolving complex IRS and state agency correspondence including penalty assessments and state balance-due and delinquency notices.
- Demonstrated experience preparing and approving amended Federal (Form 941-X, W-2c) and State payroll tax returns across 10+ states, including jurisdictions with complex local requirements such as PA and OH.
- Deep knowledge of federal payroll tax law: FICA, FUTA, FITW, employment tax deposit schedules, and associated penalty and interest structures.
- Multi-state payroll tax expertise including reciprocal agreements, resident and nonresident taxation, SUI account management, and local tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
- Strong analytical skills to identify trends in case data, conduct root-cause analysis, and translate findings into corrective actions and process improvements.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to simplify complex payroll tax issues for processors at all levels and for cross-functional partners.
- Proficiency with at least one enterprise payroll platform and experience with case management systems such as Salesforce. Prior experience at a payroll service bureau, PEO, or multi-client tax operations centers strongly preferred.
- BS/BA in Accounting, Finance, or Business preferred; equivalent experience accepted.
- Possess an active Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) preferred; required within 12 months of hire. Enrolled Agent (EA) designation is a strong differentiator. FPC accepted candidates actively pursuing CPP.
Compensation & Benefits
- The organization provides a competitive compensation package with pay for performance rewards.
- This position may be eligible for a cash bonus, equity rewards, and benefits in accordance with applicable plans and programs.
- Pay offered is based on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and work location.
- Regular comparisons are conducted across categories of ethnicity and gender to support ongoing fair pay.
Location
Work location-based pay may apply; eligibility details are not specified in the provided description.