We are seeking a highly skilled Payroll Analyst to support complex U.S. payroll operations with sound judgment, technical payroll expertise, and a continuous improvement mindset. Our North American Payroll team supports approximately 5,500 U.S. employees across all 50 states and five Employer Identification Numbers (EINs).
This role is responsible for delivering accurate, compliant payroll while reducing risk, strengthening controls, improving processes, and enhancing the employee experience.
The successful candidate will be curious, analytical, and comfortable partnering across Payroll, HR, Finance, Benefits, Tax, Technology, vendors, and business stakeholders to solve problems, support payroll-related projects and implementations, influence change, and drive meaningful business impact
The best Payroll Analysts do more than process payroll. They improve it by preventing errors, solving root causes, improving controls, reducing manual work, and delivering measurable results.Position Responsibilities: - Payroll Operations, Compliance & Analysis
- Independently process, audit, and validate high-volume payroll accurately and on time across multiple jurisdictions, legal entities, pay groups, and payroll cycles.
- Handle escalated payroll support cases, including complex employee, manager, HR, and vendor inquiries requiring research, judgment, and timely resolution.
- Lead complex payroll activities, including equity compensation, executive payroll, deferred compensation, board payments, mobile employee payroll, relocation, annual compensation, bonus cycles, taxable benefits, and special tax treatment items.
- Lead quarterly and year-end activities, including reconciliations, audits, amended filings, adjustments, taxable benefit reporting, and employee reporting requirements.
- Research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues while applying federal, state, local, and other regulatory requirements.
- Investigate payroll discrepancies, determine root causes, and recommend sustainable solutions.
- Testing, Controls & Continuous Improvement
- Support payroll system, configuration, integration, and process changes through structured end-to-end testing and validation.
- Develop test scripts, scenarios, and validation plans, including regression, integration, parallel, negative, and exception testing.
- Anticipate edge cases and confirm that results align with business requirements.
- Document testing outcomes, defects, risks, and recommendations.
- Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, standardize, and strengthen payroll processes and controls.
- Create and maintain process documentation, job aids, and operating procedures while contributing to projects that reduce risk and support scalable payroll operations.
- Technology & AI Enablement
- Use Workday, ADP GlobalView, SAP-based payroll tools, and related technologies to support payroll delivery, integrations, and issue resolution.
- Support and troubleshoot inbound and outbound payroll integrations, including retirement plans, deferred compensation, benefits, withholding, garnishments, tax filings, and workers' compensation reporting.
- Use approved AI, automation, reporting, and productivity tools to improve research, reconciliations, documentation, testing, analysis, process mapping, and communications.
- Identify practical technology and workflow improvements while protecting confidential data, validating outputs, maintaining human review, and ensuring payroll compliance.
- Partnership & Team Impact
- Build strong partnerships with Benefits, Pension, Compensation, Finance, Tax, Technology, and external vendors.
- Communicate complex payroll concepts in clear, business-friendly language.
- Share knowledge, support teammates, and contribute to a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
- Influence positive change through expertise, credibility, and collaboration.
- Analyze payroll impacts related to benefits programs, including disability, paid family leave, taxable wages, deductions, imputed income, and year-end reporting.
- Identify trends, risks, and opportunities through payroll, benefits, tax, and reporting data.
- Evaluate impacts, risks, and alternatives before recommending changes or corrections.
- Apply sound judgment when navigating ambiguous or non-standard payroll situations.
Required Qualifications: - 5+ years of progressive payroll experience with increasing levels of responsibility.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to independently research and resolve complex payroll, tax, and benefits issues.
- Experience with payroll audits, reconciliations, quarterly and year-end activities, taxable benefit reporting, and employee year-end reporting.
- Experience supporting payroll system or process changes, including documenting requirements and decisions, managing scope, developing test scenarios, and executing positive and negative testing.
- Experience with ADP GlobalView, SAP, or similar enterprise payroll systems.
- Expert-level knowledge of gross-to-net payroll processing, including earnings, deductions, taxable benefits, statutory remittances, employer liabilities, general ledger impacts, payroll funding, and accounting reconciliations.
- Advanced Excel and data analysis skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently with minimal direction, and collaborate effectively within a team environment.
Preferred Qualifications: - CPP, FPC, or similar payroll certification.
- Experience supporting international payroll operations, including expatriate payroll, mobile employees, cross-border taxation, and related compliance requirements across jurisdictions such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.
- Benefits administration or operations experience, particularly where benefits programs affect payroll taxation, disability payments, paid leave, taxable wages, or year-end reporting.
- Experience serving as a lead tester, project contributor, subject matter expert, mentor, or escalation point.
When you join our team: - We'll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
- We'll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well being and inclusion are more than just words.
- As part of our global team, we'll support you in shaping the future you want to see.
#LI Hybrid
#LI-JH
The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.
Referenced Salary LocationBoston, Massachusetts
Working ArrangementHybrid
Salary range is expected to be between$61,875.00 USD - $103,125.00 USD
Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact
[email protected] for the salary range for your location.
Manulife/John Hancock offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in the U.S. includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time (or more where required by law) each year, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.
