Payroll Director

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:
 The City of Cambridge payroll department is a division of the Finance department, responsible for overseeing processing payrolls for approximately 2,500 city employees and the required reporting for both the city and school employees.

ABOUT THE ROLE: 
Reporting to the Assistance Finance Director, the Payroll Director is responsible for managing two payroll positions within the payroll office and several payroll associates within the larger city departments. The Payroll Director oversees the various payroll processes and ensures the State and Federal tax withholding are properly reported and paid. The Payroll Director is also responsible for collaboratively working with the Human Resource department with regards maintaining and testing the HRIS system. In addition to these operational responsibilities, the Payroll Director is tasked with developing and executing a strategic payroll framework that enhances operational efficiency, maintains compliance, and supports the City’s broader fiscal and workforce objectives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 
Under the supervision and direction of the Assistant City Manager of Fiscal Affairs and Assistant Finance Director, the Payroll Director’s duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Manage and oversee multiple types of payroll processes which include weekly, monthly, and quarterly payrolls, and processing of employee withholdings and taxes payable through the accounts payable system.

• Set-up and process employee payroll deductions within the HRIS system and generate and disperse the various deduction payments to the appropriate agencies.

• Oversee the processing of payroll changes (e.g. new hires, terminations, step raises, COLA increases).

• Ensure compliance with relevant Federal and State regulations and internal policies.

• Coordinate with the Treasury division and Financial Reporting teams for payroll funding and g/l posting.

• Responsible for maintaining and updating payroll tables, calendars, and schedules within the HRIS system.

• Supervise and support the Assistant Payroll Manager and Payroll Analyst.

• Coordinate and oversee the year-end processing of both City and School employee W-2’s and 1099Rs.

• Generate and report the quarterly Federal 941 returns and State payroll tax withholding return and resolve any 941 return issues with the IRS.

• Generate and report the annual Federal 945 returns for retirement federal withholding taxes.

• Provide system support for HRIS, including functional testing of tax updates, working with technical support staff to document and resolve issues.

• Collaborate with both the Human Resources and Information Technology departments on the implementation of future technical updates to provide a more efficient processing of both payroll and human resource transactions (i.e. step increases, terminations, benefits changes, withholding changes).

• Develop and implement a long-term payroll strategy that aligns with the City’s long-term business goals, including modernizing systems, and optimizing processes.

• Drive continuous improvement in payroll operations by streamlining workflows, automating where possible within current systems, and collaborating with HR, Finance, and IT departments to enhance accuracy and timeliness of payroll delivery. Oversee the execution of process improvement projects.

• Perform work as required and in the direction of the Assistant Finance Director.
  
   

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related discipline, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience. Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) a plus.

• At least five years of experience as a payroll manager, or at least three years of experience as a payroll director, in an organization of similar size, with diverse payrolls involving a variety of employment classifications. Any equivalent combination of experience and education will be considered.

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