Payroll Analyst

Overview

This role supports accurate, timely, and compliant payroll administration across a complex multi-state organization. Responsibilities include detailed payroll review and analysis, reconciliation of payroll and benefit-related data, discrepancy research, maintenance of supporting documentation, and coordination with internal stakeholders and external vendors to resolve issues.

This position offers a flexible, hybrid working arrangement.

Responsibilities

• Support end-to-end processing and review of multiple payrolls, including exempt, non-exempt, and partner pay groups with different pay frequencies and deadlines.
• Validate payroll inputs, including new hires, terminations, compensation changes, time and attendance, bonuses, leave adjustments, deductions, imputed income, direct deposit changes, and other one-time or recurring transactions.
• Perform pre-payroll and post-payroll audits to confirm accuracy and completeness of gross-to-net calculations, taxable wages, tax withholding, benefit deductions, employer contributions, net pay, and payroll funding totals.
• Prepare and reconcile payroll reports, including payroll registers, tax liability reports, deduction reports, benefit contribution reports, employee pay collections, and other supporting schedules.
• Prepare payroll journal entries.
• Analyze payroll discrepancies, identify root cause, assess impact across employees and reporting periods, and coordinate corrective action through completion.
• Reconcile retirement plan and health savings account contributions to payroll records and vendor files; investigate rejected, missing, or inconsistent records and support timely correction.
• Review multi-state and local tax withholding for reasonableness and support employee work-location, residence, reciprocity, and jurisdictional setup changes in accordance with established procedures.
• Support quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including payroll tax reconciliations, W-2 validation, taxable fringe benefit reviews, correction processing, and responses to audit or agency inquiries.
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc payroll data for Finance, Benefits, Human Resources, and other stakeholders while applying appropriate confidentiality and data-governance controls.
• Maintain complete audit support, payroll checklists, and reconciliations.
• Support payroll system implementations, upgrades, testing, parallel payroll validation, data conversion, and process redesign, including the transition to Workday.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen controls, reduce manual work, improve reporting, and increase the efficiency and accuracy of payroll operations.
• Respond to employee and stakeholder inquiries clearly and professionally within established service expectations; escalate sensitive or high-risk matters as appropriate.
• Perform other payroll-related responsibilities and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience with Workday Payroll is required.
• Three or more years of progressive payroll experience, preferably in a complex, high-volume, multi-state environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of payroll practices specific to law firms, including partner compensation, bonuses, and multi-state payroll administration.
• Working knowledge of payroll concepts, including gross-to-net calculations, taxable wages, supplemental wages, payroll taxes, deductions, garnishments, benefit contributions, and year-end reporting.
• Demonstrated experience performing payroll audits, reconciliations, variance analysis, and discrepancy research.
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including lookup functions, pivot tables, data validation, filtering, and reconciliation of large data sets.
• Ability to manage confidential information, competing deadlines, and detailed work with sound judgment and a high degree of accuracy.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain payroll matters clearly to employees and business partners.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary Range: $75,000 USD - $95,000 USD
• Full-time position with benefits including 401(k) retirement savings plan, medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Benefits also include a 401(k) match and a generous PTO plan.

Compensation decisions consider factors including experience, education, licensure and/or certifications, geographic location, market demands, other business and organizational needs, and other factors permitted by law. Final salary wages offered may be outside of the stated range based on other reasons and individual circumstances.

Location

• New York City Midtown

Additional Information

• The organization welcomes submissions of candidates for open positions exclusively from recruitment agencies with an active, signed fee agreement and access granted through its dedicated Recruitment Agency Portal. Submissions from recruitment agencies without a current (dated as of 7/1/2024) agreement in place cannot be considered.

• Employment decisions are made based on merit, qualifications, and competence, and are made without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, physical or mental disability, status as a victim of domestic violence, sex offenses, or stalking, past or present service in the uniformed services or application or obligation to serve in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected by law.