Total Rewards - Compensation and Payroll Manager

Overview

This role leads accurate, timely, secure, and compliant payroll operations while administering employee benefits and managing core compensation programs and processes. The position supports end-to-end annual merit planning, bonus and sales incentive design and administration, out-of-cycle pay actions, market pricing and pay analysis, compensation tools, and external compensation vendors.

As responsibilities expand, the role will start by managing compensation and payroll process for the US business and grow into managing payroll for both North America and Global operations.

Location

Corporate office in Smyrna, TN or based out of the Auburn Hills, MI Facility. Hybrid or remote work may be considered.

Responsibilities

Payroll Operations and Controls

• Lead end-to-end payroll processing for assigned employee populations and pay cycles, including regular, off-cycle, bonus, commission, correction, and final payrolls.
• Review and approve payroll inputs, time records, earnings, deductions, garnishments, taxes, benefit deductions, paid time off, retroactive changes, and general ledger outputs.
• Maintain payroll calendars, approval workflows, standard operating procedures, segregation of duties, access controls, and documented reconciliations.
• Reconcile payroll registers, tax files, bank funding, direct deposits, benefit deductions, retirement contributions, and payroll-related general ledger accounts.
• Coordinate quarter-end and year-end activities, including Forms W-2 and 1095-C support, amendments, balancing, and employee communications.
• Manage payroll tax registrations, filings, notices, and agency or vendor inquiries across applicable jurisdictions, partnering with qualified in-country providers and internal stakeholders when global requirements apply.
• Coordinate payroll inputs, calendars, funding, reconciliations, controls, and issue resolution with international affiliates and in-country payroll partners, recognizing that local processing and compliance remain subject to applicable country requirements.
• Oversee wage attachments, child support orders, levies, and other required deductions in coordination with internal and external partners.
• Protect confidential payroll and employee data and ensure appropriate retention of payroll records.

Compensation Strategy and Program Management

• Lead the annual merit planning cycle, including budget modeling, planning guides, manager tools, system configuration, approvals, employee data validation, reporting, and implementation in payroll.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to design, document, administer, and evaluate annual bonus programs and sales incentive plans, including eligibility, performance measures, target opportunities, payout curves, governance, costing, approvals, and payroll execution.
• Manage out-of-cycle compensation processes for promotions, market adjustments, retention actions, equity corrections, counteroffers, new-hire exceptions, and other pay changes, ensuring consistent documentation, approval authority, internal equity review, and timely payroll implementation.
• Conduct market pricing and compensation analysis using benchmark surveys, internal pay data, geographic and job-scope differentials, range penetration, compensation ratios, pay compression indicators, and competitive positioning to support hiring, promotion, retention, and workforce planning decisions.
• Maintain job architecture, compensation grades, salary ranges, incentive targets, and related governance; recommend updates based on market movement, organizational changes, internal equity, and compensation philosophy.
• Prepare compensation recommendations, executive summaries, decision models, and recurring analytics for leaders, with clear documentation of assumptions, risk, cost, and employee impact.
• Own compensation tool and vendor management, including survey providers, market-pricing platforms, merit and incentive planning systems, implementation partners, contracts, renewals, budgets, data feeds, user access, service levels, issue resolution, and vendor performance reviews.
• Coordinate compensation data governance, audits, testing, integrations, and security across HRIS, payroll, performance, sales incentive, and compensation platforms.
• Support pay equity and compensation compliance reviews in partnership with HR, Legal, Finance, and qualified advisers, and maintain documentation supporting consistent, job-related compensation decisions.
• Develop manager and employee communications, training, calendars, process documentation, and change-management materials for merit, incentive, market adjustment, and other compensation programs.

Benefits Administration

• Administer health and welfare plans, retirement plan payroll interfaces, life and disability coverage, flexible spending and health savings account deductions, and other company-sponsored benefits.
• Coordinate new-hire enrollments, qualifying life events, status changes, terminations, beneficiary changes, and annual open enrollment activities.
• Validate eligibility and payroll deductions through routine audits of HRIS, payroll, carrier, broker, and vendor records.
• Reconcile carrier invoices and employee deductions; research and resolve variances promptly.
• Support required benefit notices, plan communications, eligibility documentation, COBRA administration, Affordable Care Act data, nondiscrimination testing support, and retirement plan audit requests.
• Serve as an escalation point for employee payroll and benefit questions, providing accurate and respectful service while protecting privacy.
• Partner with brokers and vendors on renewals, implementation, file feeds, service issues, performance metrics, and process improvements.

Leadership, Systems, and Compliance

• Lead, train, coach, and cross-train payroll and benefits team members as assigned.
• Monitor payroll and benefit processes for compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and country-specific requirements and company policy; coordinate with regional HR, Finance, Legal, in-country providers, or external counsel as appropriate.
• Own HRIS/payroll configuration governance, testing, integrations, upgrades, data quality, user access, and issue resolution.
• Prepare management reports, labor and benefit cost analyses, audit schedules, control evidence, and ad hoc reporting.
• Lead process improvement initiatives that increase accuracy, timeliness, automation, documentation, and employee experience.
• Maintain business continuity and backup procedures for critical payroll and benefits activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, human resources, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least 7 years of progressive payroll experience, including multi-state payroll exposure, with at least 2 years in a lead, supervisory, or management capacity.
• Foundational experience supporting international or global payroll operations, including coordination with regional stakeholders, in-country providers, multiple legal entities, or cross-border payroll and benefits processes.
• Hands-on experience administering employee benefits and reconciling benefit deductions and vendor invoices.
• Working knowledge of payroll taxation, wage and hour requirements, payroll accounting, garnishments, leave and deduction coordination, and year-end reporting.
• Advanced spreadsheet skills and proficiency with a modern payroll and HRIS platform.
• Demonstrated ability to manage confidential information, deadlines, audits, and high-volume detail with strong judgment.
• Hands-on experience leading annual merit planning, compensation budgeting, manager planning workflows, approvals, and payroll implementation.
• Experience designing or administering annual bonus and sales incentive programs, including plan documentation, modeling, eligibility, performance measures, payout calculations, governance, and communication.
• Demonstrated experience with market pricing, salary surveys, job matching, salary structures, out-of-cycle compensation analysis, internal equity review, and executive-ready compensation recommendations.
• Experience managing compensation technology and external vendors, including contracts, implementations, data quality, integrations, user access, service delivery, and renewals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC).
• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS), SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, PHR/SPHR, or related credential.
• Experience in a manufacturing, distribution, or multi-location environment.
• Experience with payroll implementations, mergers or acquisitions, shared services, or process centralization.
• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP), or related compensation credential.
• Experience with compensation survey platforms, market-pricing tools, merit planning systems, and sales incentive compensation applications.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified in the provided job description.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The employer is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.