Manager, Payroll id-8216

The City of Fort Collins is a bias-conscious employer. We ask that you please avoid the use of photos when submitting a resume and/or an application for employment. You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check required.

Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?


To learn more about The City of Fort Collins and Our Community, please read Our Community and Our Organization Brochure

Job Summary

The City of Fort Collins is looking for a strategic and service-minded Payroll Manager to join our Finance Department and help shape the future of public service in one of Colorado’s most vibrant communities. The anticipated salary range for this position is $91,000-$113,000 a year!

As our Payroll Manager, you'll be the go-to expert for everything payroll—from managing complex compensation processes to ensuring compliance across local, state, and federal regulations. You’ll lead a dedicated team, streamline systems, and collaborate across departments like HR, Finance, and IT to support the City’s diverse workforce and organizational goals.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the primary functions of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.


  • Payroll Processing & Administration
    • Oversee and manage payroll operations for City staff and affiliated entities utilizing City payroll services as defined by Internal Governmental Agreements.
    • Ensure timely and accurate payroll processing, including salary, overtime, benefits, and deductions.
    • Maintain strong partnerships with Human Resources and various time keeping System Administrators to ensure the timely and accurate creations and maintenance of employee records (new hires, terminations, promotions, employment contracts, applicable benefits, etc).
    • Process wage garnishments, tax withholdings, and retirement contributions.
  • Compliance & Regulations
    • Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal tax laws, labor laws, and government reporting requirements.
    • Stay updated on changes to tax laws, pension regulations, and collective bargaining agreements.
    • Prepare and submit payroll tax filings, W-2s, and other required reports.
    • Coordinate with accounting staff and auditors for payroll-related audits and ensure proper record-keeping.
    • Develop and maintain Payroll policies, processes and procedures.
  • Financial & Budget Management
    • Support the finance department to reconcile payroll accounts and ensure proper fund allocations.
    • Assist in budgeting and forecasting payroll-related expenses.
    • Ensure accurate payroll funding and reporting of expenditures.
  • System Management & Process Improvement
    • Manage payroll software systems, ensuring data integrity and efficiency.
    • Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes and implement best practices.
    • Establish and maintain key performance metrics for throughput, quality and customer satisfaction.
    • Collaborate with Human Resources, Finance Systems Information department and Information Technology services to maintain system security and troubleshoot technical issues.
  • Employee Relations & Customer Service
    • Address employee inquiries related to payroll, benefits, and deductions.
    • Resolve payroll discrepancies and disputes efficiently.
    • Provide payroll training and guidance to City staff and department heads.
  • Team Leadership & Supervision
    • Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains payroll staff, ensuring a skilled and efficient team capable of accurate and timely payroll processing, while fostering a positive and compliant work environment.
    • Supervise payroll staff, assign tasks, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
    • Conduct performance reviews and provide training opportunities for payroll team members.
    • Ensure proper delegation and workflow management within the payroll department.

Management Responsibilities

Yes

City Competencies


  • Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
  • Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
  • A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
  • A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.
  • Experience building teams and implementing practices to lead others well in an inclusive, high-performance organization. Skill in integrating and synthesizing others’ viewpoints to build alignment of diverse perspectives to achieve results.
  • Capable of creating conditions of emotional safety and demonstrates self-awareness and regulation in responding to others.

Required Knowledge Skills And Abilities


  • Excellent analytical, problem solving, and mathematical skills with high attention to detail.
  • Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality; strong knowledge of data privacy and cyber security.
  • Knowledge of relevant tax laws and regulations to ensure accurate tax withholdings and filings.
  • Understanding of relevant labor laws, such as minimum wage, overtime, and discrimination laws.
  • Ability to coach and develop others.
  • Strong proficiency in payroll software and MS Office Suite, particularly Excel.
  • Familiarity with payroll software systems (e.g., JDE, ADP, SAP)
  • Specific knowledge of the automated finance system functions and features and ability to apply those functions to user needs.

MinimumPreferred

Required Education

College degree or equivalent work experience. Some positions may require functionally related certification or advanced degrees Public or Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or a related field required.

Experience Requirements


  • 5 or more years payroll management and/or human capital management systems experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

Certifications/Licenses/Specialized Training


  • CPP preferred
Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...