Overview
At ACT Your Work Makes a Difference
Education has power – a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we’ve never been more sure of our purpose.
ACT Education Corp. team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing the mission internally, by helping team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.
We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and the company thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) with company contributions, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.
We are seeking a Senior Payroll Manager to help us fulfill that mission. The Senior Payroll Manager will be responsible for overseeing payroll operations, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, and implementing best practices to optimize efficiency using Dayforce HCM, advanced Excel, and specified company finance software. Committed to maintaining accurate and timely payroll and driving process improvements.
The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $85,000 to $110,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. This position is not incentive eligible.
Work Location: Remote (can also be onsite or hybrid if in Iowa City, Iowa area)
What you will be working on:
- Manage all aspects of payroll processing which includes bi-weekly payroll for 700+ employees in almost all the US states.
- Oversee tax reporting for all federal, state, and local jurisdictions (prepared by our payroll service company) to ensure compliance with regulations and filing requirements.
- Responsible for new payroll state registrations to ensure we are qualified to pay employees in states we are not currently operating in and ensure we are closing states where we no longer have employees.
- Collaborate closely with the Talent Strategy team to ensure the accuracy and completeness of every payroll submission, maintaining high standards of payroll management.
- Conduct a review and audit of current processes and practices for all payroll cycles to identify gaps and make recommendations for improvement, as well as ensure compliance.
- Maintain and configure payroll and timekeeping systems as needed; lead all payroll projects and initiatives.
- Support the 401(k) administrative function (processing contributions and ensuring payroll related file feeds are running as expected), and partner with the Talent Strategy team on annual 401k audits.
- Provide payroll and compensation reporting as needed or requested; support other ad hoc projects as assigned.
- Support accounting with payroll related matters as needed, such as reconcile labor so it can be recorded in the general ledger, prepare payroll related journal entries, perform monthly reconciliations of payroll general ledger accounts, and support audit requests.
This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):
- At least 5 years of payroll experience.
- Payroll experience with complex multi-state payrolls.
- Experience processing payrolls through Dayforce HCM.
- Previous experience and demonstrated success leading, managing, and building teams.
- Strong knowledge of federal and state payroll tax requirements and relevant laws associated with employee wage and benefits, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, payroll taxes, employee federal/state income and social security taxes, State Unemployment Insurance, workers compensation, etc.
- Advanced computer skills on MS Office and payroll systems.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across all levels in the organization.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with various stakeholders, inside and outside the organization.
- Ability to prioritize responsibilities and manage to time sensitive deadlines.
- Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality regarding corporate information.
- Skills and knowledge required for success in this position attained through experience, education (Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance), or a combination of both.
It’s a plus if you have:
- Professional certification in payroll management, such as Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) is a plus.
About ACT
When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry—helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life’s transitions.
More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We’re doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we’re all in this together.
We know transformation does not come without challenge. That’s why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.
Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!
ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT values diversity in people and ideas and participates in E-verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.
Application FAQs
