Payroll Manager

We are looking for an experienced Payroll Manager to provide steady leadership for payroll operations in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This Long-term Contract opportunity is ideal for someone who is detail oriented and can guide an established team, protect payroll accuracy and compliance, and act as the business lead for an active ADP Workforce Now implementation. The role requires close collaboration across HR, Finance, Operations, IT, and site leadership while supporting a complex manufacturing environment with diverse employee groups and multi-state requirements.

Responsibilities:
• Direct daily payroll activities by setting priorities for the team, resolving operational challenges, and ensuring consistent execution across locations.
• Provide interim leadership that keeps payroll processing accurate, timely, and compliant while the organization advances its ADP Workforce Now rollout.
• Act as the primary payroll representative on the business side of the implementation, translating operational needs into system decisions and practical solutions.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external implementation resources to align system setup with pay practices, labor rules, accounting needs, and reporting expectations.
• Review payroll structures and business rules, including earnings, deductions, taxes, overtime, union provisions, accruals, and timekeeping inputs, to support reliable processing.
• Lead payroll validation efforts through testing cycles, parallel runs, variance reviews, defect follow-up, and readiness planning for deployment.
• Surface risks that may affect employee pay, regulatory compliance, financial accuracy, or project timelines, and drive timely resolution with stakeholders.
• Support knowledge transfer from current leadership by capturing key decisions, open items, project dependencies, and critical milestones.
• Assist with post-launch stabilization by troubleshooting payroll issues, monitoring results, and refining processes as needed.