Payroll Manager

The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) represents over 117,000 members and nearly 400 locals across the state and employs a full-time staff of over 170. Our members are public school teachers, faculty, professional staff, and education support professionals working at public schools, colleges, and universities. As a member-driven organization and the largest union in New England, our collective power makes MTA an influential voice for educators, students, and their communities. We are proud to be an advocate for social, racial, and economic justice and for a public education system that provides one of the cornerstones of a democratic society.  

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

The Payroll Manager is responsible for overseeing and managing the organization's payroll functions to ensure accurate and timely processing and reporting of employee compensation, including accurate and timely payroll reporting for grant, political and ballot campaign considerations. Key responsibilities are directing and providing guidance and supervision to payroll staff, communicating payroll processing requirements to the MTA user community, maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations, identifying, and implementing efficient payroll processes, systems, and updating procedures.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Oversee the daily workflow of the payroll department.
• Supervise and mentor payroll staff.
• Promote a culture of service and operational excellence.
• Conduct training on payroll systems and compliance standards.
• Demonstrate strong leadership and team-building capabilities.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and train new staff in the department.
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations.

Operations:

• Oversee end-to-end payroll processing, reporting, and payment for weekly, semi-monthly, and annual cycles, including review and approval of each payroll cycle’s reconciliation to associated ADP Payroll Register/Report before transmission, and ensure accurate and complete transaction records and documentation are maintained.
• Review and approve GL Payroll posting entries, along with the supporting schedules, to record ADP payroll system activity to General Ledger.
• Review and approve payroll reconciliations including Accrued Payroll, 401k, Accrued Retirement, Flexible Spending, Long Term Care, Union Dues, MBTA and Vision. Investigate variances. 
• Coordinate with IT and Finance to identify taxable meals and mileage expenses, determine taxability, notify affected employees, prepare ADP upload files, and validate and document updates.
• Coordinate with IT to identify employee expenses reported more than 60 days after they were incurred, review taxability and operational issues, notify affected employees of W-2 and ADP updates, process approved extensions, prepare upload files, and validate and document updates.
• Ensure accuracy of W2 updates for LTD payments, Medical Benefits, Taxable Meals & Mileage, Late Expense Reimbursements, and eligible overtime.
• Oversee employee STD, LTD, and PFML payments to ensure all payments issued by TPA are received and deposited timely.
• Support annual Year-Round Organizing Campaign. Includes review of current year program reporting requirements with the project team to determine if changes are needed to ADP set up. If needed, research options, communicate additional requirements to ADP and project team. Ensure system design allows for accurate and timely reporting. Update current year travel stipend calculation and communicate to project team.
• Support various political reporting initiatives by providing employee compensation and MTA in-kind contributions derived from payroll data.
• Manage salary and retirement contribution payment processes associated with MTA elected leaders (President and Vice President) and salary reimbursements to appropriate school district. Communicate accordingly with Legal, HR, and school districts.

Compliance and Audit:

• Ensure accurate deductions and withholdings for taxes, benefits, and other payroll-related items are paid timely and accurately.
• Review and approve retirement contributions in pension custodian’s system.
• Oversee and review benefit paid time off processes to ensure data is accurately calculated and recorded.
• Ensure the timely preparation and maintenance of accurate payroll transaction records and reports.
• Oversee, verify, and develop in coordination with F & A and HR management SOP for payroll changes, including new hires, terminations, promotions, changes to pay rates, and benefit reporting.
• Review part-time employee payments/hours worked and report to HR when hours exceed threshold.
• Communicate MTA presenter payment policy to MTA Directors. Work with Payroll, AP, HR, and divisions to implement and maintain.
• Conduct periodic audits of payroll data to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Stay updated on industry trends and changes in payroll legislation to ensure ongoing compliance.
• Primary contact for payroll related financial audit questions including payroll expense fluctuation questions, payroll reconciliations, payroll control narrative, and walkthroughs.
• Primary contact for annual 401k Compliance, Worker's Compensation, and Retirement Plan audits.
• Work with HR and Legal to address payroll related audit findings. 
• Ensure timely payment of retirement contributions for pension and 401k plans. Review and approve monthly Pension and 401K remittance schedules for accuracy and timeliness.
• Review annual benefit liability calculation reports for accuracy and completeness, including unit, hire date pay rate and corresponding CBA or employment agreements. Calculate annual change in liability for MTA and subsidiary journal entry preparation. 
• Prepare compensation schedule to support annual income tax filing, including officers, key employees and 5 highest paid employees.
• Review the annual Workers Compensation schedule for accuracy, including job classification and earnings.
• Oversight of the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll earnings and deductions reporting for internal and external users.
• As requested by senior management and auditors, prepare and analyze payroll reports, providing insights and recommendations to senior management.
• Identify and resolve any payroll-related compliance issues.
• Respond to escalated employee inquiries regarding payroll issues and provide resolutions in a timely manner.
• Serve as primary backup for payroll processing.

Systems & Process Improvement:

• Assess payroll systems and processes for efficiency and automation opportunities. Make recommendations regarding software, processes, and procedures.
• Identify root cause of any payroll system or process issues and work collaboratively with payroll provider to remediate and resolve.
• Collaborate with IT to simplify the leave balance reporting within MTA’s activity reporting system. 
• Implement quarterly process to extract employee leave balance data summarized by employee, leave type, and leave amount taken per month. 
• Develop and refine payroll policies and procedures to improve workflows, simplify processing, and reduce errors.
• Manage transition related to payroll interface with the new financial accounting system as applicable.
• Optimizing modules in ADP Payroll and working with ADP to identify opportunities, to track compensation and payroll data to improve reporting from ADP.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience considered.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) preferred. CPA or project management certification helpful.
• Minimum of five years of experience in full-cycle accounting, including accounting and tax compliance, managing audits, and experience with process and people management. Seven years of experience managing payroll. 
• Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll laws and tax regulations.
• Experience in defining and designing payroll reports for both external and internal stakeholders, mining data, and leveraging payroll reporting tools.
• Experience presenting to stakeholders, communicating changes, and training helpful.
• Experience processing payroll in a Union is a plus.
• Knowledge of year-end payroll activities, including reporting, reconciliations, and other year-end processes.
• Experience with financial accounting system implementation and optimization (payroll preferred).
• ADP Workforce Now or other payroll software preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other applications.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills.
• Ability to coach, train, and develop payroll staff, delegate tasks, and maintain high team performance and accountability.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with both external service providers and internal stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail to ensure accurate calculations and compliance.
• Ability to work under pressure, meet tight deadlines, and manage competing priorities.
• Adaptable and flexible; capable of working both independently and under supervision on assigned tasks.

 
 
*MTA reserves the right to waive any qualifications at its discretion*
The MTA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all staff.