Senior Specialist, Payroll & Total Rewards (15 Month Contract)

THE ROLE 
This is an incredible opportunity for an experienced and passionate professional with 3 - 5 years of relevant Payroll experience to join on a 15 month + contract with a high-performing organization and make a significant impact. In addition, this role is an excellent opportunity to grow and build your Total Rewards experience in compensation, benefits, recognition, etc. within a fast-paced and growing environment.  

As the Sr. Specialist, Payroll and Total Rewards, you are a problem solver who is detail-oriented, organized, and has a keen eye for accuracy. Reporting to the Senior Director, Total Rewards, you are an analytical thinker, have an entrepreneurial spirit, open to learning new things and take pride in guiding and mentoring others.

You have related experience in a fast-paced working environment. Ideally, this includes startup and/or new program development initiatives – we’re still building from the ground up at UPP!  Strong communication skills, attention to detail, drive, and care for this important work are keys to success in this role. 

And as an integral member of UPP’s People team, you will lean into and support a culture defined by meaningful work, ample fun, deep employee engagement and strong, inclusive leadership.  Individually, but more importantly together as a team, the UPP will outperform peers as an employer of choice. 

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• You will be responsible for administering payroll and total rewards in an efficient and accurate manner, ensuring compliance with all legislative and regulatory requirements.
• You will lead the payroll function and have accountability on the accuracy of data being processed and submitted. Leading the payroll function includes managing stakeholder relationships, addressing and solving complex questions, and developing ingenuous payroll solutions to find efficiencies and address regulatory changes.
• You will take an entrepreneurial approach to payroll and total rewards administration by proactively providing strategic input/insights and solutions on how to simplify administration and make existing processes more efficient

Payroll Administration and Leadership

• Responsible for managing the full cycle payroll processing including additions (e.g., new hires), changes, terminations, and ad-hoc/off-cycle requests
       o Assist with any setup and maintenance of employee payroll records
       o Responsible for payroll information management (e.g., collecting, calculating and entering data)
• Resolving any payroll discrepancies by collecting and analyzing the information
• Consolidate, analyze, and submit bi-weekly payroll on-time and accurately
• You will lead, manage and assist with year-end reporting and filings (e.g., T4s and related remittances)
• Perform reconciliations of payroll deductions and benefit accounts
• Audits bi-weekly data entries and supports all auditing processes (internal and external)
• Assists with the processing of mass system adjustments whether retroactive or processing pay increases
• Completes and prepares all ad-hoc, periodic and annual reports related to payroll information for internal and external purposes (i.e., vacation, sick leave, etc.)
• Respond to employee inquiries regarding payroll related issues.
• You will engage and communicate directly with key stakeholder groups (e.g., Corporate Finance, Ceridian Dayforce support, divisional leaders, etc.) and will problem-solve complex (and often vague) payroll-related issues/questions that arise. You will proactively provide direction, recommendations, and foresight into those complex issues.
• Provide support on Payroll and HR initiatives/projects
• Protect confidential payroll operation information and maintain employee confidence
• You will stay informed, research, and provide recommendations on all regulatory and legislative changes that impact payroll.
• You will own the payroll processing function within Ceridian Dayforce and will ensure the system is up-to-date and accurate.
• You will lead the payroll Business Continuity Management process.
• Support any other payroll duties as required

Total Rewards Administration

• You will support the new hire benefits enrollment information sessions, as applicable
• Processing all benefit transactions for new hires, transfers, employee changes and terminations
• You will respond to inquiries regarding the benefits program, coverage and policies, as required, and will lead the education pathway to ensure our employees understand their group benefits offering.
• Ensure compensation information in the system is always accurate and up-to-date
• Support the year-end compensation (bonus payout, merit increase) cycle
• Support on compensation initiatives with guidance from the Senior Director, Total Rewards
• Provide analytical and modelling support in developing compensation recommendations
• Support the job evaluation process, facilitate and conduct job evaluations for new roles, maintain job code database/job architecture, and assist with documentation
• Support the total rewards benchmarking processes including environmental scans, survey completion, analysis of benchmark information on an annual and ad-hoc basis
• You will be responsible for ensuring our intranet information is up-to-date and identify any additional information to include that would be relevant and enhance the employee Total Rewards (compensation, benefits, payroll) experience
• Maintenance of employee records and data changes in HRIS system
• Compile reports as required and conduct data audits as required
• Support in the creation and maintenance of staff appreciation and recognition programs
• Support any other Total Rewards duties as required

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Undergraduate degree 
• PCP (Payroll Compliance Practitioner), CPM (Certified Payroll Manager) designation considered an asset
• 3-5 years of payroll administration experience required  
• Experience in a Total Rewards-focused role (e.g., Benefits and Compensation) considered an asset
• Strong mathematical and problem-solving skills considered asset
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Experience in a fast-scaling organization strongly preferred

ATTRIBUTES

• Proven communication, facilitation, and presentation skills to promote ideas persuasively and effectively, obtain buy-in for initiatives, and resolve conflict to ensure operational alignment and high impact execution
• Strong analytical ability and comfort with numbers
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Exceptional collaboration and teamwork skills
• Ability to work well under pressure and remain calm during high volume periods
• High degree of self-motivation and professionalism
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects in a time sensitive manner while maintaining quality of work
• Ability to effectively identify emerging trends and standards that can have a positive impact across the organization 

PERSONALITY TRAITS

• Kind and open
• Adaptable
• Optimistic
• Empathetic
• Inspiring
• Collaborative
• Self-driven
• Personable
• Confident
• Pro-active problem solver
• Ownership mindset
• Continuous learner

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters.We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:

• Defined benefit pension plan
• Flexible hybrid work model
• Work from abroad up to eight weeks/year
• Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision etc.
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process, so if you require accommodation at any point during the process, please let us know so that we can make the appropriate arrangements.  It would be our honor to work with you to adapt our processes to ensure that you can meaningfully participate.