Payroll Solutions Operations Manager

Position Summary

Business Enterprise Solutions (BES) team is a part of the Corporate Technology & Innovation department focusing on key enterprise business solutions to support our company business objectives.

The Payroll Solutions Operations Manager leads the team responsible for supporting, maintaining, and continuously improving Southland's payroll technology solutions. This role oversees the day-to-day operation of our Payroll technology portfolio such as COINS ERP Payroll, Time and Attendance, Payroll tax reporting, etc. This role will manage operation activities including system enhancements, upgrades, testing, integrations, vendor releases, and production support, ensuring the Payroll solutions remain stable, secure, compliant, and aligned with business needs. The Payroll Solutions Operations Manager partners closely with the HR & Payroll Innovation team to ensure new capabilities and solutions can be effectively transitioned, supported, and sustained in ongoing operations.

The ideal candidate brings significant construction industry experience and a deep understanding of construction payroll processes, including union payroll, prevailing wage requirements, certified payroll reporting, multi-state payroll processing, labor costing, and workforce management. Serving as a trusted liaison between Corporate Technology & Innovation department, Corporate Payroll, and Divisional Payroll teams, this individual drives operational excellence, fosters strong business partnerships, and leads continuous improvement initiatives that deliver measurable business value.

This position reports to the Director of Business Technology Operations.

Position Details

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Business Analysts responsible for payroll systems support, maintenance, issue resolution, and process improvement in the existing payroll solution.
• Establish team goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with business and technology objectives.
• Provide coaching, professional development, and technical leadership to team members.
• Foster a customer-focused culture centered on partnership, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Oversee team workload management, resource planning, project assignments, and production support activities.

Payroll Systems Ownership

• Own the overall system health, performance, and business alignment of the payroll and payroll-related systems and technologies. Ensure payroll systems operate efficiently, accurately, securely, and in compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with the HR & Payroll Innovation team to create Payroll Systems roadmap to ensure technology capabilities evolve alongside business needs.
• Oversee payroll-related system integrations, reporting solutions, workflows, and data management processes.
• Establish governance processes for payroll system changes, enhancements, priorities, and issue management.

Business Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the primary liaison between Corporate Technology and Innovation, Corporate Payroll, Divisional Payroll.
• Build strong relationships with payroll leaders and field operations teams to understand operational challenges and business priorities.
• Partner with Corporate and Division Payroll teams to identify process inconsistencies, system gaps, and improvement opportunities across the organization.
• Translate business requirements into technology solutions that improve payroll operations and employee experience.
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops, requirements gathering sessions, and solution design discussions.

Continuous Improvement & Business Transformation

• Analyze existing payroll processes and identify opportunities to reduce manual effort, eliminate process bottlenecks, and improve service delivery. Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on improving payroll accuracy, efficiency, scalability, automation, and compliance.
• Partner with the HR & Payroll Innovation team to develop future-state payroll processes and supporting technology capabilities. Support strategic projects involving payroll modernization, workforce management, HR technology, and business process transformation.
• Drive standardization of payroll processes where appropriate while recognizing divisional and regional operational differences.
• Develop metrics and KPIs to measure system performance, operational effectiveness, adoption, and business value realization.

Construction Payroll Expertise

• Serve as a subject matter expert for construction payroll processes and industry-specific payroll requirements.
• Understand and support:
• Union payroll processing
• Prevailing wage compliance
• Certified payroll reporting
• Multi-state payroll requirements
• Project labor agreements (PLAs)
• Davis-Bacon compliance
• Craft labor and field workforce payroll processes
• Job costing and labor allocations
• Complex overtime calculations
• Time collection and workforce management solutions

Reporting, Compliance & Data Governance

• Ensure payroll reporting capabilities meet operational, compliance, audit, and management reporting requirements.
• Partner with Payroll and Finance to improve reporting accuracy, data integrity, and access to actionable information.
• Support compliance audits and internal control requirements through appropriate system controls and documentation.
• Establish standards for payroll-related data governance, reporting, reconciliation, and security.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Construction Management, or related field, or equivalent experience. Relevant construction industry experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum 8+ years of experience supporting payroll systems, HRIS, ERP, workforce management, or related business applications.
• Minimum 3+ years of leadership experience managing analysts, project teams, or functional technology resources.
• Demonstrated experience supporting payroll operations within the construction industry.
• Experience with Workday Payroll, UKG, ADP, Oracle, SAP, Vista, or other enterprise payroll platforms.
• Experience supporting construction-specific payroll and workforce management solutions.
• CPP, Workday, or related certifications preferred
• Proven ability to lead teams and develop high-performing business analysts.
• Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
• Ability to build trust and credibility with business leaders and operational teams.
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to effectively manage competing priorities and organizational expectations.
• Strong understanding of payroll systems, payroll operations, and payroll business processes. Knowledge of payroll integrations, reporting, security, workflow automation, and data management.
• Experience supporting enterprise payroll or workforce management platforms. Experience with business process analysis, solution design, and technology delivery.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Deep understanding of construction industry payroll operations and workforce management practices. Experience supporting large craft labor populations and field operations.
• Knowledge of union environments and labor compliance requirements.
• Ability to relate technology decisions directly to operational payroll challenges faced by construction businesses.
• Understanding of the relationship between payroll processing, labor cost management, project execution, and job profitability.

Benefits

As a 100% employee-owned company, we offer a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family:

• 401(k) plan with 50% company match (no cap) and immediate 100% vesting
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (100% paid for employee)
• Annual bonus program based upon performance, achievement, and company profitability
• Term life, AD&D insurance, and voluntary life insurance
• Disability income protection insurance
• Pre-tax flexible spending plans (health and dependent care)
• Paid parental leave
• Paid holidays, vacation, and personal time
• Training/professional development opportunities and company-paid memberships for professional associations and licenses
• Wellness benefits

About Southland Industries

As one of the nation’s largest MEP companies, Southland Industries is built on the foundation of great people. Since 1949, we have put our people first, enabling growth, professional achievement, and innovation. If you want to join a fast-paced environment where you’re engaged, challenged, and valued, apply now to join our dynamic team.

To learn more about careers at Southland, explore our career opportunities, follow us on social media, and check out our website.

Southland Industries and all its subsidiaries are an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. We are committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing our employees with a safe work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Southland Industries are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, family care or medical leave status, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Southland Industries will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

Pay: Final pay is determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data. For Colorado/New York City/California/Washington/Maryland/Virginia/DC this ranges from $130,000.00 -$175,000.00 plus annual incentive, benefits, and retirement program as outlined above.

Contingent Employment: All employment offers are contingent upon successful drug tests, background checks, and professional reference checks. Roles that include driving as an essential job duty will be required to have a successful Motor Vehicle Record check (MVR). We are not able to offer sponsorship of employment at this time.

External Agency Announcement: Its Southland Industries' policy not to accept candidate submissions from recruiting agencies without an active and authorized work order. Candidate ownership can only be established after a bona fide work order is issued by a member of the Southland Industries Talent Acquisition team and the candidate is appropriately submitted through our Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

Required Skills


Required Experience