Payroll Manager - UKG

Drive Payroll Excellence in a Complex Manufacturing Environment

Our client is seeking a strategic and hands-on Payroll Manager to lead payroll operations across a dynamic, multi-site manufacturing organization. This is an opportunity to step into a highly visible leadership role where you will oversee complex unionized payrolls, strengthen controls and compliance, and help modernize payroll operations through process improvement and UKG optimization.

This role is ideal for a payroll leader who thrives in fast-paced operational environments and enjoys solving complex challenges. You will play a critical role in ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll delivery across multiple jurisdictions, including Québec, while partnering closely with HR, Finance, Labour Relations, Operations, and IT.

The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in Canadian payroll legislation, unionized environments, and UKG Pro Payroll and Workforce Management and hold a payroll designation (PCP required and CPM considered an asset). Beyond operational leadership, this role offers the opportunity to influence process transformation, strengthen governance and audit readiness, improve the employee experience, and mentor a high-performing payroll team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a payroll professional who wants to make a measurable impact within a growing organization that values operational excellence, continuous improvement, and strong cross-functional collaboration.

Job Title: Payroll Manager

Department: Human Resources / Finance

Reports to: Director, HR Operations / Controller

Location: Mississauga – Hybrid 2days/week

Type: Full-time

Position Summary

The Payroll Manager is accountable for end-to-end payroll operations across multiple payrolls within the same organization, ensuring accurate and compliant processing for salaried and hourly employees in a unionized manufacturing environment. This role requires deep expertise in multi-jurisdiction Canadian payroll, strong competency in Québec payroll rules, and experience administering payroll across multiple collective agreements.

The successful candidate will bring hands-on experience with UKG Pro (Payroll) and UKG Workforce Management (Time & Attendance) and will play a key role in strengthening payroll process efficiency, controls, and audit readiness, while partnering cross-functionally to support operational excellence. Bilingual English/French is a strong asset.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Operations & Delivery

• Lead the full-cycle processing of multiple payrolls (weekly, bi-weekly; hourly, salaried; union and non-union) across multiple sites and jurisdictions.
• Manage complex pay scenarios including overtime, shift premiums, statutory holidays, retroactive pay, multiple earnings codes, and off-cycle payrolls.
• Administer payroll in accordance with multiple collective agreements, ensuring accurate application of wage grids, premiums, entitlements, and negotiated changes.
• Establish and enforce strong payroll governance including calendars, cut-offs, approvals, and exception protocols.

UKG Systems & Time Management

• Serve as payroll system lead for UKG Pro Payroll, ensuring accurate configuration, processing, and reporting.
• Oversee and optimize UKG Workforce Management (Time & Attendance), including scheduling rules, pay codes, shift differentials, and union-specific configurations.
• Ensure seamless integration between time capture and payroll systems to minimize errors and manual intervention.
• Partner with HRIS and IT teams on system enhancements, upgrades, and troubleshooting.

Compliance (Federal & Provincial), with Québec Expertise

• Ensure compliance with all applicable payroll legislation and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.
• Lead and ensure accuracy of Québec payroll processing, including remittances, statutory obligations, and year-end requirements (e.g., RL-1).
• Oversee Records of Employment (ROEs), WSIB/CNESST coordination, and third-party remittances.
• Lead year-end processing (T4s, RL-1s), reconciliations, and government reporting.

Payroll Controls, Audit & Risk Management

• Design, implement, and monitor strong internal payroll controls to safeguard data integrity and prevent errors or fraud.
• Lead payroll audits (internal and external), ensuring documentation, traceability, and compliance with audit standards.
• Perform regular reconciliations, variance analysis, and exception reporting to ensure payroll accuracy.
• Maintain and continuously improve payroll policies, procedures, and documentation.

Process Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and implement payroll process improvements to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience.
• Drive automation and standardization across payroll and timekeeping processes.
• Analyze workflows and recommend system or process enhancements (particularly within UKG Pro and Workforce Management).
• Reduce manual interventions through improved upstream data accuracy and controls.

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead, mentor, and develop payroll team members, ensuring high performance and cross-functional capability.
• Partner with HR, Labour Relations, and Operations to implement collective agreement changes and resolve pay issues.
• Collaborate with Finance on payroll accounting, general ledger reconciliation, and labour costing.
• Act as escalation point for complex payroll issues and employee concerns.

Manufacturing / Food Processing Environment Support

• Support payroll processes aligned with manufacturing operations (shift work, seasonal peaks, multi-department structures).
• Understand time capture realities in plant environments and ensure alignment between operations and payroll.
• Support high-volume hourly payroll with a strong customer-service mindset.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years progressive payroll experience, including leadership responsibility.
• Proven experience managing multiple payrolls across a multi-site organization.
• Extensive experience in a unionized environment, ideally managing multiple collective agreements.
• Demonstrated expertise in Québec payroll processing and compliance.
• Hands-on experience with UKG Pro Payroll.
• Strong experience with UKG Workforce Management (Time & Attendance) modules.
• Experience implementing and managing payroll controls, audits, and compliance frameworks.
• Proven track record in payroll process optimization and continuous improvement.
• Advanced Excel and payroll systems proficiency.

Preferred Qualifications / Assets

• Experience in manufacturing, preferably food processing.
• Bilingual (English/French).
• CPA/CPM/PCP designation or equivalent certification.
• Experience supporting system implementations, integrations, or payroll transformations.
• Knowledge of labour costing and complex scheduling/timekeeping environments.

Key Competencies

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in complex environments
• Deep understanding of union agreements and pay rule interpretation
• Systems thinking and process optimization mindset
• Strong compliance and audit orientation
• Leadership and team development
• Effective stakeholder communication
• High degree of integrity and confidentiality

Success Measures (First 6–12 Months)

• Consistent, accurate, and timely delivery of all payrolls with minimal corrections.
• Improved payroll efficiency through process optimization and enhanced system utilization (UKG).
• Strengthened payroll controls and successful audit outcomes.
• Reduced payroll-related inquiries through improved timekeeping accuracy and training.
• Effective implementation of union agreement changes with no disruption to payroll accuracy.

Please apply directly to licinia@thinkstrategictalent.com