Manager, Payroll

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• Lead and manage a payroll team, oversee task assignments and workloads, and create a collaborative atmosphere to support professional growth and meet payroll deadlines efficiently.
• Review and process bi-weekly, full-cycle payrolls using ADP, including garnishments, benefits, taxes, and off-cycle requests. Ensure compliance with tax regulations.
• Ensure the accuracy of payroll data, including base pay, bonuses, stock compensation, commissions, payroll taxes, employee changes, new hires, 401(k) contributions, ESPP, garnishments, PTO, and other deductions.
• Respond to auditing/regulator inquiries as they relate to payroll audit and compliance, providing information/documentation for audit requests.
• Design and conduct internal reviews to identify and address potential audit risks and ensure adherence to compliance requirements.
• Partner with our HR Team on all matters involving employee compensation, as well as benefits and disability payments, including 401(k) contributions, ESPP, and funding.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and compliance in payroll operations.
• Lead payroll-related projects, develop and document procedures and policies, and provide training to support payroll initiatives.
• Follow, develop, and maintain internal control policies, procedures, and compliance concerning the payroll process.
• Assist with HR and accounting duties as needed, contributing to the broader success of the organization.

• The preferred location is Santa Barbara, California, ideally with a minimum of three days in the office. The ability to help educate and train while building relationships and the trust and confidence of the business is imperative to the success of the Finance organization and AppFolio culture.

• Building and Fostering Teams | Creates team values and goals, as well as evaluates team performance alongside individual performance; fosters teamwork and trust, encourages collaboration, and drives high performance of the team through development and coaching.

• Customer Focused | Understands the interrelationships across the business and Finance and maintains the internal customer perspective in all decisions. Collaborative and passionate, when faced with obstacles. 
• Connector | Earns trust and maintains confidence across and between dedicated team members and AppFolio. Establishes collaborative working relationships with stakeholders to accomplish objectives.
• Acumen & Analysis | Maintains a deep understanding of financials and Payroll expertise. Grasps complexities and connections among problems or issues to make the right business decisions that will drive AppFolio's success. Structures and processes quantitative and qualitative data, draws insightful conclusions and drives outcomes. 
• Process Management | Figures out the process necessary to get things done. Knows how to organize people and activities. Sees opportunities for synergy and integration where others can't, and simplifies complex processes. Is willing to re-engineer processes from scratch.
• Project Management | Effectively manages multiple projects and deliverables simultaneously while demonstrating strong organizational skills. Leverages project team members and drives the team to meet milestones representing the voice of Payroll and Finance. 
• Communication | Written and verbal communication are both vital to align cross-functional teams and present team performance and issues in a clear, articulate way across all levels, internally.
• Resourceful & Action-Oriented | Possesses a proactive sense of urgency and knows how to overcome obstacles to get things done in a timely fashion.
• Discretion & Confidentiality | Exercises discretion, judgment, tact, and poise in handling highly sensitive and confidential information.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; or equivalent professional experience.
• Certified Payroll Professional designation preferred.
• 7-10+ years of experience processing payroll (inclusive of payroll processing across multiple states/sites and business units).
• Ability to manage payroll processes in ADP.
• Workday experience is a plus.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise extreme discretion.
• Excellent problem-solving/judgment skills, and keen of attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, and the ability to work under pressure.

• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute multiple tasks in a high-pressure environment. 

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