Senior Payroll Manager

Dudek • Full-time • Encinitas, CA • 2w ago

Who We Are
Dudek is a leading environmental, planning, and engineering firm that help public and private clients plan, design, and build projects that improve communities’ built and natural infrastructure. Founded in 1980, Dudek has grown steadily to more than 800 professionals across the U.S. and received the Top Workplace Award for 2024.

As a 100% employee-owned company, Dudek’s culture rewards smart, productive team members with ownership, professional development, and financial benefits. We seek creative, pragmatic problem-solvers working at the intersection of science, engineering, regulations, and multiple stakeholders’ interest to help clients achieve project goals.
We encourage collaboration, sustainability, and innovation.

At Dudek, we abide by shared values:
Trust: We trust each other to use good judgment.
Respect: We act professionally and treat each other fairly.
Teamwork: We come together, share openly, and apply diverse perspectives.
Fun: We take our work seriously…not ourselves.
Well-Being: We care about each other’s health, safety, and total wellness.

Our culture is the foundation of who we are and how we work. We empower our employee-owners to invest in our local communities and themselves through initiatives that make Dudek a great place to work! Our cultural programs include:

DuGreen: Our sustainability initiative, which works to improve our environmental footprint
DuGood: Our philanthropic initiative, which seeks to support the communities in which we live and work through fundraising challenges, office based giving and opportunity to take a paid volunteer day each year.
eDUcate: Our educational outreach program where we aim to foster interest in our work and careers in the environmental and engineering field by participating in educational events in our communities.
DuWell: Our wellness initiative, aimed at providing education on wellness, benefit resources, and preventive care

At Dudek, we recognize that different perspectives, inclusivity, trust and belonging build a stronger culture and add value to our firm. Dudek's Employee Resource (ERGs) operate as diversity champions within Dudek and create a safe space for underrepresented employees and their allies to support, collaborate, network, and brainstorm ways to make Dudek’s work community more inclusive. We currently have ERGs for:

Women at Dudek
Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) community
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) employees
Disabled employees (all disabilities, seen / unseen)

Learn more about our culture.

About The Job
Dudek is seeking a skilled Payroll and Compliance Manager who will be responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of payroll, and compliance, ensuring that the company accurately and consistently adheres to federal, state, and local payroll tax laws and regulations. The role involves staying up to date with changing payroll laws, assessing the impact on our organization, and implementing necessary changes to maintain compliance. Under the day-to-day supervision of the Controller, the Payroll and Compliance Manager will aid Dudek in its efforts to support a remote and geographically dispersed employee base.

The person in this role should have knowledge of and experience with multi-state payroll, employer taxes, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP), 401(k), and health and welfare benefit plans with the ability to build, iterate and automate processes to ensure efficiency and compliance. The Payroll and Compliance manager is expected to work collaboratively, be responsive, detail oriented and thorough.

This role oversees, leads, coaches, and develops employees within the payroll and compliance function ensuring cross-training and back-up support in this critical area.
This is a permanent full-time exempt position.

Learn more about the projects you will have the opportunity to shape.

Who You Are
To thrive at Dudek, you should be comfortable with accountability, collaboration, flexibility while being a resourceful and independent thinker. We look for curious, solution-focused people who can adapt quickly to an ever-changing industry. There is no single way to solve a problem, so we encourage innovation.

Duties and Responsibilities (may include some or all of the below):

Payroll Compliance: Ensure compliance by registering the company as a business/employer, maintaining various accounts for each state (UI, DOL), filing reports, and facilitating required payments. Responsible for contacting states and municipalities to resolve issues. Responsible for identifying and ensuring the Company’s pay compliance under contracts where prevailing wage laws apply. Reviews and ensures accurate and timely W2 issuance and filings.
Taxation: Manage all payroll tax-related activities, including accurate calculation and submission of payroll taxes, compliance with tax laws, and reconciliation of tax discrepancies. Reconciles quarterly tax filings to ensure accuracy of filings.
Reporting: Prepare and submit periodic payroll reports to relevant government agencies and maintain records as required. Provide information to internal stakeholders.
Audit and Documentation: Audits the payroll to ensure accurate and timely pay for all team members. Support the annual audits, Dudek, 401(k), ESOP and VEBA Captive Health plan audits, for any payroll requested information ensuring all necessary documentation and records are readily available and accurate.
Policy Development: In conjunction with legal, HR and finance leadership, develop and maintain payroll and benefit plan policies and procedures that align with legal requirements, controls, and company guidelines.
Communication: Serve as a subject matter expert on payroll compliance matters and provide guidance to internal teams, answering employee related inquiries.
Continuous Improvement: Stay current with payroll and benefit regulations, industry best practices, and technological advancements to recommend and implement process improvements.
Leadership and Training: Manages and leads the payroll team including the payroll processors and prevailing wage team providing structure and oversight of the process. Provide training and support to HR and Finance staff on payroll compliance topics. Coach, lead, and develop payroll team members.

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent years of experience.
7-10+ years’ experience in processing and overseeing payroll
Proven experience in payroll and compliance, with a minimum of 3-5 years in a managerial or supervisory role.
Certification preferred (Certified Payroll Professional - CPP or Fundamental Payroll Certification - FPC)
Knowledge of benefits
Comfortable with reporting in various systems
Intermediate MS Excel skills
Ability to manage confidential information.
Thorough understanding of federal, state, and local payroll laws and regulations.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex payroll compliance concepts to non-payroll team members.
Strong organizational and project management skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
Experience processing payroll in Ceridian Dayforce 2+ years

* As a federal contractor, successful candidates are required to pass the following pre-employment requirements prior to beginning employment: pre - employment drug test and background check.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry
Experience with Deltek VantagePoint or similar timekeeping, accounting & payroll software
Experience working in a remote environment is preferred.

Physical Requirements
Working Conditions:

This job operates in a remote or office-based environment and this role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, etc.
This job requires occasional project site visits-based outdoors which can include excessive noise, uneven walking surfaces, extreme weather, moving vehicles and equipment.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met in order to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

This job requires working on a computer, sitting or standing for long periods of time in an office or remote office setting.
This job requires attending meetings, both in person and virtually as well as speaking on the phone with peers, clients, etc. Speaking, hearing and listening are required.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Outdoor activity may involve walking/trekking in uneven terrain over long distances in extreme weather conditions for extended periods of time.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Proposed Salary Range: $110,000 - $155,000

*Final agreed upon compensation will be based on a variety of factors including but not limited to an individual’s related experience, education, certifications, skills, and work location.

Perks of Being a Dudekian
At Dudek we will provide you with a competitive salary in an environment that promotes growth, career development, and a flexible work–life balance. Dudek offers an array of benefits, from medical, dental, and vision coverage, to the discretionary bonuses, based on firmwide, divisional, and individual performance.

We also offer a yearly merit review, an employee stock ownership program, and dog friendly offices! To honor our key value of well-being, Dudek provides a generous vacation package. If you’re tired of an overly bureaucratic decision-making process and want to be part of a work culture that puts its employees first, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the great perks of being a Dudekian.

Dudek is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Dudek is a U.S.-based employer. All positions are based in the U.S. and require U.S. work authorization.

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