Head of Payroll Tax Research - Symmetry

Symmetry Software is now part of Gusto. Symmetry is the payroll infrastructure for software & payroll platforms powering the paychecks of over 64 million workers each year. Our fully integrated suite of payroll tax APIs and software tools allows companies to solve tax compliance issues and build applications across the entirety of the payroll process. 

Symmetry Software is looking for a Head of Payroll Tax Research to empower the Tax Research team, partner with industry partners and the Marketing team to establish Symmetry as a thought leader in the industry, and produce research and insights to continuously improve product accuracy and compliance.

The Tax Research team is the leading expert on US and Canadian payroll tax rules, regulations and compliance. Their research generates data and insights that power Symmetry’s products and forward thinking thought leadership, allowing us to serve as a trusted expert and advisor to our clients for building their own products and increasing their payroll tax compliance. 

The perfect candidate is excited about the opportunity to set a new strategy to take our Tax Research team to new heights, execute on key projects yourself by getting in the weeds, building and enriching key industry partnerships, and people development. It’s a unique opportunity to be both a leader at the company and a builder. Your key cross-functional stakeholders are Product, Engineering, Support, and Marketing. You will report to the Head of Symmetry.  

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Strategic direction
• Set short and long term strategy for the Tax Research team
• Partner with Marketing on a content strategy to continue Symmetry’s forward thinking thought leadership
• Develop a deep understanding of industry trends and regulatory changes; translate that into actionable insights for Symmetry and its clients
• Cross-functional execution
• Drive the year-end tax change process, ensuring that our products are up-to-date on accuracy and compliance in a comprehensive and efficient manner
• Enable internal teams (e.g., Support, Engineering) with functional knowledge to build better products and serve client questions/needs
• Identify and implement workflow and process improvements to drive efficiencies and automation for the Tax Research team
• Work in close partnership across a range of stakeholders including Product, Engineering, Support, and Marketing
• Industry partnerships
• Create a strategy to guide our industry partnerships, including state and local agencies
• Build new and manage existing partnerships to grow Symmetry’s influence
• Develop a deep understanding of our partners pain points and needs to inform product roadmap opportunities
• Team and people development
• Lead and build a team of effective and high-performing tax and compliance researchers 
• Establish KPIs to measure success of the team and drive accountability

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Payroll tax expertise: 10+ years of experience related to payroll tax and payroll. Canadian and/or international payroll/tax experience is a plus. You are a Subject Matter Expert with in-depth knowledge of aspects of payroll/payroll tax compliance, processes and procedure

• Certifications: Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)

• Impeccable execution: You have a track record of executing and delivering high quality work against complexities and limited resources. You’re able to partner strongly with cross-functional teams to drive results. Other leaders and teammates love collaborating with you. 

• Strong project management skills: You have impressive time management skills and ability to juggle multiple projects/tasks with multiple stakeholders while hitting deadlines on time with sensitive projects. You’re proactive and have a positive, service-oriented mentality. 

• Communicates effectively: Strong communication and presentation skills, ability to distill complex, technical payroll tax jargon into everyday language to different audiences. You’re able to document business rules and technical processes into logical steps, structures and diagrams
• Management excellence: You have a history of developing the careers of your team members. You’ve developed high-performing, representative talent and inclusive teams

• Strategic thinker: You’re able to combine client and partner feedback, industry opportunities, internal needs to build a compelling and bold tax research vision and strategy for your cross-functional partners and team. An inquis