Senior NAM Payroll Specialist

Senior Payroll Specialist (North America). Work Schedule: Aligned to US Eastern business hours on an ongoing basis (approximately 6:30 PM–3:30 AM IST, adjusted for US daylight saving time). Role Summary We are seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist (North America). to join our in-house North America (NAM) payroll team. This is a high-impact, hybrid role that owns the most complex payroll processing, escalations, and systems and compliance initiatives, while overseeing and reviewing the day-to-day transactional work delivered by the Payroll Specialist team. As part of Toast’s internal payroll organization—not a third-party payroll bureau or outsourced provider—you will act as a subject-matter expert across payroll operations, compliance, and systems; mentor Payroll Specialists and help prepare them for advancement; and serve as a key backup to the Payroll Team Lead. Based in India, this position supports payroll for employees in the NAM region; it does not involve India payroll processing. Key Responsibilities • Payroll Operations & Volume: Oversee accurate and timely processing of bi-weekly multi-state payrolls for more than 5,700 employees across the US, Canada, and Mexico, with day-to-day transaction processing primarily executed by the Payroll Specialist team. Personally owns and processes the most complex, escalated, and Mexico payroll cycles. • Complex Transactions & Global Mobility: Own complex and escalated payroll transactions that fall outside standard Specialist-level processing, including benefits-in-kind processing and overpayment calculations and repayments. Coordinate with third-party consultants and Global Mobility to input transferred employees’ payroll information accurately and in a timely manner. • Employee Ticketing & Tier 2 Support: Support internal and external customers with payroll inquiries. Manage and respond to ServiceNow tickets accurately on the first instance. Proactively ensure errors and issues are resolved in line with the Service Level Agreement (SLA). • System & Data Management: Ensure Workday is maintained as the primary source of data integrity. Responsible for Workday EIB (Enterprise Interface Builder) mass data uploads, global mobility transactions, and serving as lead tester for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and semi-annual Workday system releases. • Reporting & General Ledger: Review and analyze payroll and data analysis reports, including those generated by the Payroll Specialist team, to ensure audits are completed accurately and on time. Maintain and reconcile General Ledger accounts, ensuring accounts are balanced. Create content for dashboards and metrics as needed. • Compliance, SOX & Audits: Work with the Payroll Team Lead on quarterly reviews of the SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) payroll process and support Internal Audit requirements. Manage audits for 401K (US retirement savings plans), ESPP, Workers’ Compensation, and review/approve monthly, quarterly, and annual equity audits. Review annual tax statements (W-2s, T4s) for all expatriate personnel to ensure accuracy. • Vendor Management & Tax Filings: Coordinate with ADP SmartCompliance and CloudPay on tax filings, notice resolutions, and reconciliations. Own ADP tax-registration administration, including applying for new SIT, SUI, and local tax IDs and maintaining accurate payroll tax records. Process Prior Quarter/Prior Year Tax adjustments as needed. Manage responses to all tax agency inquiries through ADP Tax Service and CloudPay. • Process Improvement & Troubleshooting: Audit current processes to reduce payroll-related errors. Determine root causes of payroll errors by collecting and analyzing information under strict deadlines. Assist with development and final review of payroll policies, workflows, knowledge bases, and contingency plans. Maintain and update Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documentation, which is under the care of the Specialist. • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Accounting to assist with complex variance queries and balance sheet reconciliations, using supporting data and documentation prepared by the Payroll Specialist team. Partner with Total Rewards to ensure smooth integration of payroll with other HR functions. • Leadership & Mentorship: Assist the Payroll Team Lead with training and mentoring the payroll team, including onboarding, upskilling, and preparing Payroll Specialists for advancement into the Senior Payroll Specialist role. Serve as a primary backup for Payroll Specialists. What you'll need to thrive (Requirements) • Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical payroll experience preferred. US payroll certifications such as FPC (Fundamental Payroll Certification) or CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) are a plus. • Experience: 8+ years of hands-on payroll processing experience, including 4+ years working directly in Workday, and ownership of complex, high-volume payroll cycles across multiple jurisdictions. • US Workday Payroll & Absence Proficiency (Hard Requirement): Demonstrated hands-on experience processing US payroll and absence management in Workday is required. This must include executing EIB data loads, release and regression testing, and troubleshooting configuration or calculation issues. Report-viewing access alone does not meet this requirement. • Regional Expertise: In-depth working knowledge of NAM payrolls (US, Canada, and Mexico), including multi-jurisdiction statutory and year-end requirements. • In-House / Corporate Payroll Environment: Demonstrated experience operating within an in-house or corporate payroll function, as opposed to a third-party payroll bureau or BPO, including direct partnership with internal stakeholders (HR, Total Rewards, Accounting) and end-to-end ownership of the payroll process. • Work Environment & Soft Skills: Ability to work independently as part of a team in a fast-paced environment and deliver results against deadlines, including performing effectively under susta