Manager, Payroll

Job Number: 4612 
Job Type: Full-Time
Vacancy Reason: Backfill
Location: 150 Frederick St - Regional Admin Headquarters 
Number of Positions: 1 
Division: Human Resources 
Hours of Work: 35
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday
Union:  Management/Management Support 
Grade: Management/Management Support Grade 08 
Salary Range: $114,860.20 - $143,579.80
About Us!
The Region of Waterloo is a thriving, diverse community committed to fostering opportunities for current and future generations.  Waterloo Region is part of the Dish with One Spoon wampum, a treaty guiding our commitment to:

• Taking only what we need
• Leaving some for others 
• Keeping the dish clean

This agreement underpins our vision, mission, and core value, and reinforces our dedication to meaningful reconciliation and equity.
Waterloo Region is home to over 674,000 residents and expected to grow to nearly one million by 2051.  Guided by our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, “Growing with Care,” we prioritize homes for all, climate aligned growth, equitable services and opportunities and a resilient and future ready organization. Our mission is to provide essential services that enhance the quality of life for all residents, while our core value emphasizes caring for people and the land we share. Join us and be part of a team dedicated to making a meaningful difference in our community.

The Role

Manages payroll and financial aspects of OMERS pension administration per policies, collective agreements, and statutory regulations (approximately $350M/year), and ensures the maintenance of detailed accounting records and payment of withholdings to regulatory agencies.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Supervises Payroll & Pension Specialists and Payroll Coordinators. 
• Manages accurate, timely weekly and bi-weekly payroll, per collective agreements, policy, and legislation (e.g., Employment Standards Act, Income Tax Act). Manages safekeeping and protection of employee personal information (e.g., SIN, garnishees).
• Ensures deductions are recorded, reconciled, and remitted correctly and on time (e.g., income tax, Canada Pension, employment insurance, OMERS, union dues, garnishees, charities).
• Develops and implements strategic plans for payroll-related software and hardware upgrades, including testing. Leads/participates on project teams and liaises with vendor to ensure future enhancements will meet needs. Develops, monitors, and implements quality improvement processes and procedures.
• Plans and organizes resources to meet corporate and departmental strategic plans and develops long-term strategies to achieve specific payroll objectives (e.g. E-T4’s, electronic fund transfers (EFT) for manual payroll payments, standardized calculations). Initiates continuous improvement projects and strategic plan actions. Manages, leads, and participates on departmental, client, and corporate projects, working groups, and meetings, including time and attendance system integration with the human resources information system.
• Manages (including calculations) periodic payments (e.g., union vacation payouts, retroactive contract settlements, job evaluation retroactive pay, market adjustments, clothing allowance). Develops methods for costing and implementation.
• Manages financial aspects related to OMERS pension administration. 
• Reviews data collected and reported to Stats Canada.
• Manages and sets deadlines for year-end submission of pensionable earnings and service, and manages calculation of OMERS adjustments, T4s, and T4As. Manages year-end processes for issuing T4s and T4As, and reporting/submitting to CRA. Manages the tracking of benefits on WSIB-administered cases for accounting, income tax, and year-end T4 and T4A reporting. Compiles and reviews summary of amounts for submission to CRA.
• Calculates year-end payroll accruals for annual financial statements and participates in annual financial statement audit as required. Provides information and reports (including year-end) for use by Finance and other departments.  
• Updates systems (with HR colleagues) per changes to collective agreements and legislation, including vendor reprogramming. Provides CPP, EI, EHT, and federal and provincial tax rates for human resources information systems annually. Approves requests for and implements new pay codes and earning codes.
• Manages quarterly reconciliation of payroll liability accounts in the general ledger.
• Manages reconciliation of family support payments and court-ordered garnishees.  
• Manages reporting, including determining user needs and design format. Prepares reports for the Director and others (e.g., Public Sector Disclosure Report, taxable benefit reports for CRA, earning reports). Manages collection and analysis of data for MBN Canada and payroll advisory groups, and attends meetings.

Additional Duties/Responsibilities

• Manages and audits employee parking deductions and taxable benefits, and determines repayment plans and refunds as required. Plans, manages, and reviews calculation of vehicle taxable benefit and compensation per CRA requirements and corresponds with employees and their supervisors.
• Collaborates with HR colleagues to review and audit final payments for terminated and retiring employees, including accumulated sick leave and vacation pay, and explains options to employees as required.
• Manages payroll processing for special purpose organizations.
• Manages provision of long-term disability reports to insurance carrier for rehabilitation earnings.
• Provides input to the Section’s budget. Has signing authority up to $25,000. Maintains a payroll/T4 printer and sealer in good working condition.
• Discusses deductions, calculations, legislation, payroll processes, and information maintenance with HR colleagues. 
• Communicates with staff across the organization regarding payroll-related difficulties, policies, and procedures. Interacts with HR and ITS regarding system revisions and reporting requirements. Meets with client departments to resolve difficulties with payroll data and concerns related to payroll and OMERS. Resolves under/overpayment issues with impacted staff.
• Contacts agencies (e.g., CRA, OMERS, Ministry of the Attorney General, Human Resources Development Canada, Group RRSP provider, Citizenship and Immigration Canada), other municipalities, MBN Canada, special purpose organizations, and the corporation’s banks to discuss deductions and calculation of benefits, taxes, and payroll transfer deadlines. Provides data to Statistics Canada as required.  
• Participates as a member of the HR management team.  
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge and skills in payroll regulations, generally accepted accounting principles, and compensation accounting are normally acquired through a bachelor’s degree, Level III standing with the Canadian Payroll Association/CPM Certified Payroll Manager from the Canadian Payroll Association, plus progressively responsible related experience in a large, unionized, inhouse computerized payroll information environment.
• Knowledge of and ability to comply with policies, procedures, regulations, and legislation (e.g., OMERS/other public sector pension plans, CRA, employment standards, income tax, WSIB), and collective agreements.
• Research, analytical, and continuous improvement skills to identify and resolve payroll issues;  determine goals and objectives; make decisions regarding daily administration and operations; organize resources to meet business and strategic plans; and manage projects. 
• Leadership skills to supervise, train, develop, motivate, and support staff and organize work. 
• Communication and human relations skills to maintain effective working relationships; present issues, information, and reports to committees and project teams; respond to inquiries and complaints; assist during audits; and participate as an effective team member. 
• Ability to write clear, concise memos, letters, reports, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other correspondence. 
• Ability to understand collective agreements, letters, memos, financial information, technical proposals, by-laws, legislation, software manuals, reports, financial bulletins, and professional journals and manuals. 
• Computer skills with ability to use software such as a human resources information system with payroll (e.g., SAP), Microsoft Office (Excel), computerized financial system (e.g., Oracle), computerized time and attendance system (e.g., UKG), and online banking platforms. 
• Must provide an acceptable criminal record and judicial matters check for bondability.
• Ability to meet inflexible deadlines, potentially involving evening, weekend, holiday hours. 
• Ability to participate in an official standby/on-call rotation to respond to legislated or time-sensitive demands beyond regularly scheduled work hours.
• Ability to travel within and occasionally outside Waterloo Region.
• Ability to support and demonstrate the Region’s values. 

Region of Waterloo is committed to building a workforce through fair, equitable, and accessible hiring practices that allow us to hire qualified staff who reflect the diversity of the community we serve and to promote a respectful, inclusive, and equitable workplace.
We invite all interested individuals to apply and actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:

• First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous peoples;
• members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
• persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
• persons who identify as women; and persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions

For questions or to request accommodations during your recruitment, onboarding or employment, please contact talentmanagement@regionofwaterloo.ca, or by calling our Service First Contact Centre at phone number (519) 575-4400.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process: Region of Waterloo may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance efficiency during the recruitment process. However, applications will also be reviewed by a member of our Talent Acquisition team to ensure a fair and thorough assessment. AI does not make final hiring decisions.  
Please note: candidates will be provided an update on their application.  Please check your spam or junk folder occasionally as some candidates have noticed our emails in those folders (Gmail and Hotmail in particular).