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When you join Sunrise Senior Living, you will be able to use your unique skills to empower residents to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Not only will you build meaningful relationships with residents, their families, and team members alike, you will also gain joy in serving others and deep fulfillment in your work. Explore how you can follow your passions and shed light on meaningful ways to serve, grow, and shine together.
Sunrise Senior Living was again certified as a Great Place to Work® by Activated Insights. This is the 7th time Sunrise has received this top culture and workplace designation, highlighting the special place Sunrise is to be a part of.
COMMUNITY NAME
Community Support Office
Job ID
2025-225549
JOB OVERVIEW
The Senior Manager Payroll provides strategic leadership and oversight for the payroll function, ensuring accurate, timely and compliant payroll processing for U.S. and Canadian team members. This role is responsible for developing and implementing payroll strategies, driving continuous improvement initiatives and ensuring compliance with evolving tax laws, labor regulations and company policies. The Senior Manager Payroll also partners closely with Human Resources (HR), Finance, third-party payroll vendors and executive leadership to align payroll operations with business objectives. Lastly, this role serves as the primary escalation point for complex payroll matters, ensuring effective risk management, strong internal controls and a seamless team member experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES & QUALIFICATIONS
Responsibilities:
As a part of the Sunrise team, supporting our Mission, Principles of Service and Core Values is a fundamental part of this job. Our foundational belief is the sacred value of human life. The unique responsibilities for this role include but are not limited to the essential functions listed as follows:
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of payroll operations, ensuring a proactive approach to payroll management across the U.S. and Canada
• Develop and execute payroll strategies and initiatives to enhance efficiency and drive continuous improvement while also ensuring enterprise-wide compliance with all payroll-related laws, tax regulations, wage & hour laws and company policies
• Identify opportunities to enhance payroll efficiency, automation and accuracy by leveraging technology, standardizing procedures and implementing best practices
• Oversee payroll audits, reconciliations and reporting to ensure data integrity and accuracy
• Lead payroll tax compliance efforts, ensuring accurate tax filings, deductions and reconciliations across multiple jurisdictions
• Conduct risk assessments and ensure strong internal controls, identifying areas for improvement in payroll processes, compliance and financial reporting
• Ensure payroll systems are optimized, maintained and integrated with HRIS and time-tracking systems, supporting system updates and improvements as needed
• Develop and manage relationships with payroll vendors and service providers, ensuring high-quality service delivery, adherence to SLAs and timely issue resolution
• Provide leadership with timely updates concerning new payroll policies, industry trends and regulatory changes to ensure Sunrise is consistently following industry best practices
• Partner with HR, Finance and Legal leadership teams to support cross-functional initiatives, mergers/acquisitions and policy implementations impacting payroll
• Maintain compliance in assigned required training and all training required by state/province or other regulating authorities as applicable to this role to ensure that Sunrise standards are always met
• Perform other duties as assigned
Core Competencies:
• Demonstrated strategic leadership in payroll operations, with the ability to develop and implement payroll strategies that align with business objectives
• Advanced knowledge of payroll systems, tax regulations, and compliance requirements for U.S. and Canadian payrolls, including multi-state/provincial complexities
• Proven ability to lead, mentor and develop a high-performing payroll team, fostering continuous learning and professional growth
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills to resolve complex payroll and compliance issues efficiently
• Strong interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments (e.g., HR, Finance, etc.) and interact professionally with both external vendors and internal stakeholders
• Proven ability to identify opportunities for process optimization and automation within the payroll department to improve operational efficiency, reduce errors and enhance service delivery
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed throughout this job description are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration or related field; Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) preferred
• Minimum of 7-10 years experience managing multi-state/provincial payroll operations across the U.S. and Canada, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role
• At least 3 years of experience with Workday Payroll as part of the overall Workday Human Capital Management suite
• Strong understanding of tax laws, compliance requirements, and payroll best practices in a highly regulated environment
• Demonstrated advanced proficiency in Excel (e.g., pivot tables, XLOOKUPs, macros, etc.) with at least intermediate level proficiency in other Microsoft Office suite applications
• Process improvement mindset, with experience leading payroll transformation initiatives, system implementations, and/or automation projects
• Proven ability to communicate complex payroll policies and procedures effectively across all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, meeting strict deadlines while maintaining the highest levels of accuracy
ABOUT SUNRISE
Ready to take the next step and make a bigger impact than you ever imagined? As part of our team, you will help brighten the future for everyone at Sunrise and beyond. That is why we make it a priority to celebrate the unique ways you bring moments of togetherness and joy to everyone you serve. And when combined with the support, benefits, and growth opportunities we offer, the result is a career that PositivelyShines with everything you need to reach your goals - at work and in your life.
We also offer benefits and other compensation that include:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and Disability Plans
- Retirement Savings Plans
- Employee Assistant Program / Discount Program
- Paid time off (PTO), sick time, and holiday pay
- Daily Pay offered to get paid within hours of a shift (offered in the U.S. only)
- Tuition Reimbursement
- In addition to base compensation, Sunrise may offer discretionary and/or non-discretionary bonuses. The eligibility to receive such a bonus will depend on the employee's position, plan/program offered by Sunrise at the time, and required performance pursuant to the plan/program.
- Some benefits have eligibility requirements
Apply today to learn why Sunrise Senior Living is a certified Great Place to Work®
PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS
Sunrise considers the health and safety of its residents, family members, and team members to be one of its highest priorities. Employment with Sunrise is conditioned on completing and passing a drug test (which does not include marijuana), participating in testing requirements (e.g. Tuberculosis Test, Physical Evaluation). Covid-19 and Influenza vaccination is only required to the extent mandated by applicable federal, state, and local laws and authorities.
COMPENSATION DISCLAIMER
Selected candidates will be offered competitive compensation based on geographic location of community/office, skills, experience, qualifications, and certifications/licenses (where applicable).
