PAYROLL MANAGER

Payroll Manager

At the University of California, your contributions make a difference. A world leader producing Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients with over 150 years of groundbreaking research transforming the world. Choose a career where you can leverage your knowledge, skills and aspirations to inspire and support some of the greatest minds in the world, and those who will follow in their footsteps. Working at the University of California is being part of a unique institution, and a vibrant and diverse community. The University of California, one of the largest and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning in the world, is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and public service.

The staff at the UCPath Center work in a variety of areas including business operations, customer service, quality management, technology, training, human resources and communications.

The Payroll Manager will work within UCPath, reporting directly to the Assistant Director of Production. The Payroll Manager receives assignments in the form of objectives and determines how to use resources to meet schedules and goals. The Payroll Manager is responsible for providing leadership and expertise to the payroll team, which is comprised primarily of analysts and assistants. The Payroll Manager also manages the implementation and operational workflow of administrative practices and procedures regarding payroll. The incumbent spearheads any actions that entail evaluating salary information and compensation practices to ensure that these are accurate and comply with federal and state legislation. Ultimately, the incumbent of this role serves as a subject matter expert for all payroll matters, providing expertise on complex issues and escalated cases in accordance with established policies and assumes accountability for decisions made by subordinates.

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversees the development of pay methods and procedures on work assignments and provides leadership to the broader Payroll team.
• Provides specialized expertise to identify, evaluate, and develop business process and procedures to meet compliance and processing needs.
• Manages on-cycle, final pay and Accrual management payroll processing.
• Manages and drives business process defects to full resolution via workarounds and incidents.
• Provides counsel to location Human Resources, Academic Personnel, and Payroll on processing practices within UCPath when necessary.
• Leads in the resolution of highly complex and escalated payroll issues and situations; makes final determinations on these issues and acts appropriately.
• Leads efforts on the implementation of payroll operational practices and process improvements.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
• Oversees a variety of complex accounting duties including the preparation, processing, and maintenance of payroll, salary, year-end processing and benefit calculations in order to be compliant with federal and state legislation.
• Manages payroll data on a regular basis in order to support compensation strategies and spend projections.
• Develops new payroll policies and procedures as necessary.
• Ensures continuous process improvement and measures effectiveness of current processes.
• Manages Payroll Department that is comprised of Analysts and Assistants.
• Provides specialized expertise to identify and evaluate business policy and procedures to meet processing needs.
• Accountable for the development and monitoring of policies and procedures for department or payroll operations.
• Implements business processes with adequate business controls and compliance aligned with regulatory requirements.
• Provides direct oversight of Payroll teams to develop and implement mitigating controls and record keeping policy and procedures to ensure the security of UCPath data.
• Ensures that mandated documents and reports as required by federal and state legislation are maintained.
• Leads coordination with IT support and reporting teams to create a variety of complex payroll related reports as mandated by county office, state, and federal regulations.
• Improves operational efficiency by ensuring that processes are adhered to, policies are followed, defects are identified, and accurate reports are generated for leadership.

Experience Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 10 years progressive experience and leadership in payroll, human resources, and/or accounting/finance, and/or an equivalent combination of education and training, including a minimum of 5 years in a supervisory or managerial role.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a shared services center environment with high-volume, multi-functional operations and service delivery.

Skills and Abilities Required Qualifications:

• Experience with Human Capital Management (HCM), Human Resource Information System (HRIS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), or payroll management systems.
• Strong knowledge of modules in PeopleSoft related to Payroll/Accounting Administration.
• Understanding of the system structure and modifications and impacts to operations and business objectives.
• Strong critical thinking, persuasion/negotiation, mentoring, leadership/management, problem solving, human resources policies and procedures relating to management responsibilities.
• Excellent oral and written communication, quantitative and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated skill in supervising staff, managing daily operations, and providing coaching and feedback to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and team accountability.
• Ability to navigate and apply multi-state payroll regulations, resolve tax discrepancies, and maintain compliance across jurisdictions in a fast-paced environment.
• Advanced knowledge of full cycle payroll processes, or equivalent experience in a related financial, HR, or accounting function.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Has a thorough knowledge of modules in PeopleSoft related Human Resources/ Workforce Administration, Benefit Administration, Payroll Administration and General Ledger Modules.
• Understanding of the system structure and modifications and how they impact operations and business objectives.
• Advanced knowledge of business and process analysis functions.
• Strong experience supporting PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Knowledge of business analysis processes, procedures alignment, and compliance with applicable policy and regulation.

Education Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience / training.

Salary Range: $135,000 - $150,000

This position will work a hybrid schedule which includes a combination of working both onsite at the UCPath Center in Riverside and remote in California.

To apply, please attach a cover letter and resume with your application. Job close date for first consideration is June 11, 2026.