Job Summary
The Senior Payroll Administrator is a hands-on, right-hand role to the Head of Payroll combining full-cycle payroll processing with a more advanced mandate: reconciling and tying together payroll results across every Canadian region, leading year-end sign-off, and playing a lead role in testing and configuring the Company's new, independent Ceridian Dayforce environment ahead of a targeted 2027 go-live. This is a backfill for a departing incumbent, and an opportunity to grow into a trusted, largely autonomous partner to the Head of Payroll once ramped up.
Key Responsibilities
Payroll Processing
- Process full-cycle, bi-weekly payroll for an assigned employee population, ensuring accuracy and compliance with applicable federal and provincial requirements.
- Prepare and issue Records of Employment (ROEs) and T4s as required.
- Process new hires, terminations, leaves of absence and other employee lifecycle changes within the payroll system.
- Support special or off-cycle payroll runs as needed, using sound judgment - off-cycle runs are intentionally rare.
Reconciliation & Compliance
- Tie together and reconcile payroll results across every Canadian region, including cross-provincial employee transfers, to ensure accurate, balanced totals.
- Lead year-end T4 sign-off and reconciliation across the organization.
- Post payroll-related general ledger entries and reconcile related accounts.
- Ensure compliance with employment standards, tax and remittance requirements across all provinces where the Company operates.
Systems & Process Improvement
- Play a lead role in testing and configuring the Company's new, independent Ceridian Dayforce environment ahead of a targeted January 1 go-live.
- Identify and recommend process improvements as the payroll function modernizes its systems.
- Support the Senior Payroll Manager on ad hoc projects related to payroll operations.
Team Support
- Act as a right-hand resource to the Senior Payroll Manager, providing backup and support across the payroll team as needed.
- Provide guidance to Payroll Administrators, particularly on complex or cross-provincial payroll issues.
- Maintain strong working relationships with Finance, HR and store/field operations stakeholders.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
- Minimum 5-7 years of progressive, full-cycle payroll experience, including multi-provincial payroll.
- Post-secondary education in accounting, business or a related field is an asset; a Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) designation is an asset.
- Experience with Ceridian Dayforce or a comparable enterprise payroll/HRIS platform is strongly preferred.
- Experience supporting a payroll system implementation, migration or configuration project is a strong asset.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong analytical skills with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment, particularly around off-cycle and exception scenarios.
- Comfortable operating with ambiguity and adapting to new systems and processes.
- Excellent communication skills and a genuine team-first, “how can I help” attitude.
- Ability to manage confidential and sensitive information with discretion.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary of $85,000–$95,000, commensurate with experience.
- A 50% Discount of company products.
- 100% company-paid extended health and dental benefits, with no premiums for employees or dependents.
- Hands-on training and mentorship from the Senior Payroll Manager, with a genuine path to increased autonomy and hybrid flexibility (two days remote per week) once ramped up.
- The opportunity to play a lead role in a significant payroll systems transformation project.
About the Company
The organization is a well-established, multi-location business with operations across Canada employing more than 3,000 people in total. The Payroll team sits within Finance and is currently modernizing its systems as part of a transition to a new, independent Ceridian Dayforce environment.
