Supervisor of Payroll Services

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Department: Financial Services
Reports to: : Manager of Budget and Performance
Effective Date: July 2026
Positions Supervised: 2
Revised Date: July 2026

POSITION SUMMARY:

Manages and oversees the County’s payroll-related accounting, pension administration, time and attendance support, and payroll-related financial reporting, reconciliations, remittances and compliance requirements. As a subject matter expert and escalation point, the position provides corporate oversight, issue resolution, internal control support, system and process improvement, and guidance to direct reports (payroll staff) and all County departments to ensure accurate, compliant, and effective payroll administration.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Oversees and strategically leads all aspects of payroll administration, including:
Corporate oversight of payroll-related financial processes to ensure compliance with legislation, collective agreements, internal controls, audit requirements, and reporting standards.
Time and attendance and related system functionality, including testing, data integrity, reporting requirements, process improvements, and coordination with internal departments and vendors.
Collaborate with employees to prepare and consolidate the annual salaries budget, including maintenance of budget software. Manages reporting, including determining user needs and design format. Prepares both internal and external payroll financial reports.
Accountable for payroll posting to the General Ledger (GL) and all payroll account reconciliations.
Direct supervisory responsibilities include hiring, leadership, coaching/support, training, mentorship, and performance management for payroll staff. Ensures effective service delivery, compliance, workload planning, issue resolution, and continuity of payroll operations.
Oversees management and legislative compliance of all payroll remittances, reporting documents, audits and internal and external reporting requirements including Pensionable and Insurable Earnings Review (PIER).
Leads management and reconciliation of year-end financial reporting. Calculates year-end payroll accruals for annual financial statements and participates in annual financial statement audit as required. Provides information and reports (including year-end) for use by Finance and other departments.
Oversees the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) accounting administration and transactions relating to pension plan contributions, compliance reporting and annual reconciliation of contributions to remittances.
Manages and sets deadlines for year-end submission of pensionable earnings and service, and determines calculation of OMERS adjustments, T4s, and T4As. Manages year-end processes for issuing T4s and T4As, and reporting/submitting to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Coordinates the tracking of benefits on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) administered cases for accounting, income tax, and year-end T4 and T4A reporting. Compiles and reviews summary of amounts for submission to CRA.
Define, develop, and maintain current and new standard operating procedures, including documentation of key payroll process flow maps.
Develops and recommend improvements and implementation strategies related to payroll and pension, including corporate policies and quality improvement processes.
Ensure that all accounting functions related to payroll, including position management, payroll financials, reconciliation of accounts, pension and government remittance are managed appropriately.
Leads the automation of real-time analysis and variance reporting as it relates to payroll.
Develops and implements strategic plans for payroll-related software and hardware upgrades, including testing. Leads and participates on project teams and liaises with vendors to ensure future enhancements will meet needs.
Plans and organizes resources to meet corporate and departmental strategic plans and develop long-term strategies to achieve specific payroll objectives. Initiates continuous improvement projects and strategic plan actions. Manages, leads, and participates in departmental, client, and corporate projects, working groups, and meetings.
Performs other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Post-secondary education in Business, Finance, Accounting or related discipline with progressively responsible experience in payroll accounting, pension administration, financial reporting, and system administration.
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation and/or a payroll certification or equivalent demonstrated experience in payroll compliance, accounting, and pension administration is preferred.
An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system working in a large, complex, unionized and/or public sector environment, including interpretation of collective agreements, legislation, policies, and payroll-related financial requirements is preferred.
Ability to understand collective agreements, letters, memos, financial information, technical proposals, by-laws, legislation, software manuals, reports, financial bulletins, and professional journals and manuals.
Ability to write clear, concise memos, letters, reports, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other correspondence.
Research, analytical, and continuous improvement skills to identify and resolve payroll issues; determine goals and objectives; make decisions regarding daily administration and operations and organize resources to meet business and strategic plans.
Excellent project management skills and the ability to coordinate complex conflicting priorities.
Ability to multi-task, work independently and in a team that is required to meet inflexible deadlines, potentially involving evening, weekend, and holiday hours.
Valid Ontario drivers’ licence is an asset.
An acceptable Criminal Record Check will be required.

COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS:

Ability to demonstrate the required core and leadership competencies for this position in alignment with Oxford County’s competency framework.
Core competencies include teamwork, communication, innovation, service excellence, accountability and integrity, and inclusivity.
Leadership competencies include strategic thinking, leading people, achieving results, project/process management, and fostering change

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Works in an office or hybrid environment.
Work involves interaction with computer systems requiring considerable attention to detail.
Travel within Oxford County to attend meetings will be required on occasion.