Sr. Payroll Analyst - Denver, CO

Position Overview

The Senior Payroll Analyst is responsible for ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll operations for the U.S. and Canada (outside Quebec), with a strong focus on Workday Payroll configuration, testing, reporting, and data integrity. This position plays a key role in maintaining payroll compliance, supporting tax and year-end activities, strengthening internal controls, and driving process improvements. The Senior Payroll Analyst also provides strategic oversight of the outsourced payroll provider, serving as the primary escalation point and partnering to improve accuracy, responsiveness, and overall service delivery.

Primary Responsibilities:

Workday / HRIS (Configuration, Testing & Reporting)

• Serve as the Workday Payroll (US & Canada) subject matter expert, managing configuration for earnings, deductions, garnishments, tax setup, retro rules, and pay group requirements.
• Lead Workday regression testing and release validation, including documenting testing steps, analyzing outcomes, and ensuring accurate deployment of changes.
• Maintain Workday payroll configuration documentation, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and related process materials to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Develop and maintain advanced Workday payroll reports and dashboards (calculated fields, composite reports) to support operational monitoring, reconciliations, and leadership insights.
• Implement and monitor audit controls, validation checks, and data quality routines to ensure payroll accuracy and compliance with internal standards.
• Partner with HRIS and internal stakeholders to identify and deliver system enhancements, automation opportunities, and improvements to overall payroll processes.

Outsourced Payroll Vendor Oversight (Strategic)

• Partner with the outsourced payroll provider to ensure payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in accordance with company standards and regulatory requirements.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for payroll vendor issues requiring technical analysis, investigation, or troubleshooting.
• Monitor vendor performance, accuracy, and responsiveness; hold the vendor accountable to service expectations and documented standards.
• Participate in vendor performance reviews, audit discussions, and issue-resolution meetings; ensure clear tracking, ownership, and closure of open items.
• Work collaboratively with the vendor and HRIS to identify root causes, strengthen controls, and implement process and system improvements.

Payroll Processing, Compliance & Tax (U.S. & Canada)

• Support payroll activities involving multistate U.S. and Canadian (nonQuebec) pay practices, supplemental/offcycle processing, taxable fringe benefits, retroactive adjustments, leaverelated pay scenarios, supplemental pay calculations for LOA, and Canadian vacation pay trueups.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, local, and Canadian federal/provincial payroll tax regulations; research and resolve complex tax questions, including jurisdictional issues, reciprocity rules, and state/provincial workers' compensation reporting and premium payment requirements.
• Lead yearend activities, ensuring accurate preparation and reconciliation of W2/W2c and T4 tax forms; validate taxable wages, imputed income, deferred compensation, benefitrelated reporting, and WC audit support data.
• Manage payroll tax account maintenance (registrations, updates, closures) and respond to tax notices; provide documentation and partner with Finance and the vendor on adjustments.
• Support internal and external audits by providing payroll data, reconciliations, SOPs, and system documentation.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Support

• Collaborate with HRIS, Finance, Legal, Risk, Benefits, and Shared Services to ensure payroll configuration, compliance, and system changes align with business needs.
• Serve as a technical escalation point for complex payroll inquiries, conducting root-cause analysis, and updating SOPs to strengthen future processes.
• Communicate payroll impacts on regulatory changes, enhancements, and system updates to relevant stakeholders.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of progressive payroll experience with significant Workday Payroll configuration, testing, and reporting experience.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. federal/state/local and Canadian (non-Quebec) payroll tax regulations and year-end requirements (W-2/W-2c, T4).
• Experience managing or overseeing outsourced payroll vendors, including escalations, performance monitoring, and process improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain complex Workday reports, including calculated fields and composite reports.
• Strong analytical skills with expertise in payroll reconciliations, tax issue resolution, and data validation.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, formulas; Power Query preferred).
• Excellent communication, documentation, and organizational skills; ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, HR/Information Systems, or related field
• CPP or equivalent certification strongly preferred.

Key Skills:

• Advanced Workday Payroll configuration and testing (with documented testing steps)
• SOP development and maintenance
• Payroll tax compliance (U.S. & Canada)
• Vendor oversight and accountability
• Analytical problem-solving and root-cause investigation
• Strong documentation, communication, and cross-functional partnership skills
• High attention to detail and accuracy in payroll and tax processing

Compensation & Benefits:

• In compliance with all states and cities requiring transparency of pay, the base compensation for this position ranges from $92,400 - $123,220. Note that salary may vary based on location, skills, and experience.
• This position is eligible for an annual discretionary bonus and vacation, holidays, health, dental, vision, mental health, and retirement plan participation, including an employer contribution of up to 7% into your 401(k). Follow this link for more information regarding Wilbur-Ellis employee benefits: https://mywebenefits.com/