Manager, Payroll & Accounts Payable

Job Description

The Manager, Payroll & Accounts Payable leads payroll, accounts payable, vendor master-data review, and travel-and-expense operations to ensure accurate, timely, controlled payments and reliable accounting records. The role sets operating priorities, manages and develops the team, owns escalations and control execution, and drives continuous improvement across recurring, deadline-sensitive processes. The Manager partners with Human Resources, Accounting, Legal, Tax, business stakeholders, and external providers to maintain compliance, safeguard confidential data, and reduce operational and fraud risk. 

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING: 

TEAM LEADERSHIP & OPERATING MANAGEMENT

• Lead Payroll and MDM Specialists and Accounts Payable Specialists by setting priorities, allocating work, reviewing quality, coaching performance, building capability, and maintaining coverage for critical deadlines. 

• Establish clear service expectations, escalation paths, process ownership, and operating routines across payroll, accounts payable, master data, travel and expense, and payments. 

PAYROLL GOVERNANCE & COMPLIANCE

• Oversee scheduled and off-cycle payroll processing, including inputs, earnings, deductions, taxes, adjustments, funding, approvals, and final payroll controls. 

• Review payroll registers, variances, exceptions, reconciliations, funding needs, and required approvals; document review results and resolve or escalate material issues. 

• Own payroll compliance operations, tax notices, records, audit support, year-end reporting including W2s, and escalated employee matters in coordination with HR, Tax, Legal, and external providers. 

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, EXPENSE & PAYMENT OPERATIONS

• Oversee invoice validation, coding, approvals, posting, payment scheduling, refunds, employee reimbursements, aging, exceptions, and supplier inquiries to support accurate and timely disbursement. 

• Oversee payment runs, validate payment details and required approvals, coordinate funding, and resolve returned, voided, or exception payments. 

• Manage 1099 activities, unclaimed-property support, period-end requirements, and audit-ready documentation. 

MASTER DATA, CONTROLS & RISK MANAGEMENT

• Oversee vendor master-data controls, including setup and change reviews, tax documentation, sanctions screening, duplicate detection, banking verification and record retention. 

• Maintain effective controls across processing, review, approvals, master data, expenses, and payments, including segregation of duties, data protection, confidentiality, fraud prevention, documentation, and business continuity; identify control gaps and implement corrective action. 

PERFORMANCE, SYSTEMS & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• Monitor service levels, backlogs, errors, deadlines, reconciliations, and team capacity; use data to identify root causes and prioritize corrective action. 

• Coordinate payroll, payables, expense, and master-data issue resolution and testing with process owners, technical support, and external providers. 

• Improve processes, reporting, documentation, automation, and use of approved AI-enabled productivity tools while maintaining human validation, access controls, and protection of confidential information. 

Qualifications

YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES IF YOU HAVE: 

• 5+ years of progressive experience in payroll, accounts payable, accounting operations, or a related field, including substantial hands-on payroll processing and review of registers, payments, reconciliations, controls, and documentation. 

• 2+ years of direct people-management experience (formal or informal), including responsibility for work allocation, quality review, coaching, performance expectations, and deadline coverage. 

• Experience managing multi-state payroll and at least one adjacent operating area such as accounts payable, vendor master data, employee expenses, payment operations, or accounting close support. 

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources, or a related field. 

IT WOULD ALSO BE GREAT IF YOU HAD: 

• Experience leading payroll and accounts-payable operations in a multi-state, multi-entity, or regulated environment. 

• Experience with UKG or a comparable payroll/timekeeping platform; a major ERP such as Intacct, NetSuite, or SAP; and procure-to-pay or expense platforms such as Coupa or Concur. 

• Experience with payroll taxes, wage and hour requirements, incentive compensation, vendor and payment controls, 1099s, unclaimed property, audits, and year-end reporting. 

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP); Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) may be considered with demonstrated management scope. 

Additional Information

IN OFFICE REQUIREMENT:

Relias values collaboration and wants to ensure that our team members have opportunities to work with their teams regularly for professional development opportunities. Our flexible hybrid work environment requires that you live in the state of North Carolina, within a commutable distance to our office (~1-hour commute). You would be expected to work in our Morrisville, NC Headquarters (close to the Raleigh/Durham airport) approximately 30 days/quarter.

Relias is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug-Free workplace. Relias welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities and is happy to make reasonable accommodations in all aspects of the selection process.  If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the job application process, please visit our career page for instructions. 

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address. 

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.
 

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Compensation: 70000 to 110000 (USD) (YEARLY)