Manager, Pay, Benefits

Location: 24 Colonnade Road, Ottawa ON
Schedule: Daytime, Monday to Friday
Starting Salary: $98,349/year

Commissionaires Ottawa is seeking an experienced and detail-driven Manager, Pay, Benefits & Regulatory Compliance to oversee payroll delivery, benefits administration, and HR legislative compliance across Ontario and Quebec. This leadership role ensures the accuracy, timeliness, and integrity of all pay and benefits activities, while supporting audit readiness, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement across systems, processes, and controls.

Reporting to the CHRO, this role is ideal for a leader who combines strong payroll and benefits expertise with a deep understanding of compliance, audit readiness, internal controls, and system governance. In addition to overseeing high-volume pay operations, the Manager drives process improvements, monitors legislation, enhances data integrity, and ensures organizational alignment with provincial and federal requirements.

What you will be doing…

This role provides both strategic and hands‑on leadership for Commissionaires Ottawa’s payroll and benefits operations, ensuring full legislative compliance, system accuracy, and uncompromising data integrity. It is well‑suited to someone who thrives in high‑volume, deadline‑driven payroll environments and enjoys guiding teams through complex, time‑sensitive deliverables. You will oversee a small, dedicated team, collaborate closely with HR, Finance, and IT partners, stay ahead of emerging legislation, and play a key role in strengthening the organization’s compliance, audit readiness, and internal control framework.

Some of your responsibilities include…

- Providing leadership, coaching, and development to the Payroll Supervisor and Benefits Administrator, overseeing workload planning, cross‑training, and service excellence across payroll and benefits operations

- Leading the accurate and timely execution of payroll cycles for Ontario and Quebec, including reconciliations, year‑end reporting (T4/T4A/RL‑1), remittances, and adherence to collective agreement pay provisions

- Ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and regulatory requirements (ESA, AODA, Pay Equity Act, CNESST, QPP, CRA/RQ), and updating internal processes, documentation, and communication to maintain organizational readiness

- Acting as the organization’s subject‑matter expert for regulatory interpretation, compliance risk assessment, and the development or refinement of payroll and benefits policies, procedures, and controls

- Overseeing data integrity and system governance across HRIS, payroll, and financial systems, including configuration changes, integrations, upgrades, defect resolution, and validating changes through structured testing

- Collaborate closely with HRIS, Finance, and IT teams to support integrations, reconciliations, system upgrades, and data integrity across payroll and benefits

- Producing recurring and ad hoc reporting on payroll accuracy, remittances, benefits utilization, workforce costs, compliance trends, and audit outcomes to inform decision‑making across HR and Finance

- Maintaining audit‑ready documentation and coordinating responses for internal and external audits, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with control requirements and statutory obligations

- Identifying operational inefficiencies and enhancing internal controls, SOPs, workflows, and reference tools in alignment with National Payroll Institute (NPI) best practices and organizational standards

- Investigating and resolving payroll discrepancies, compliance issues, data anomalies, and escalated employee or manager inquiries in collaboration with HR, Finance, IT, and external vendors

- Providing strategic oversight of benefits administration, including eligibility accuracy, carrier coordination, and alignment with collective agreement entitlements and provincial regulations

What’s in it for you?

- Work for a reputable and nationally known company

- Work in a challenging and rewarding work environment

- Generous paid time off, holidays and sick days

- Retirement plans with company matching of employee contributions

- Free parking

- Employee discount programs, social outings and holiday gatherings

What You Bring

Education & Credentials

- Undergraduate degree in HR, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or related field

- Possession of the Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) designation (required)

- Payroll Leadership Professional (PLP) designation (preferred)

- Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered

Experience

- Minimum 7 years of progressive payroll and benefits experience, including team leadership

- Demonstrated experience managing multi‑jurisdictional payroll (Ontario & Quebec)

- Strong familiarity with HRIS/payroll systems

Knowledge

- In‑depth knowledge of provincial legislation (Ontario ESA, Pay Equity Act, AODA; Quebec CNESST, Pay Equity Act, QPP)

- Strong understanding of CRA and Revenu Québec payroll taxation requirements

- Working knowledge of collective agreement pay provisions

- Expertise in T4/T4A/RL‑1 year‑end processes and statutory deadlines

- Knowledge of internal controls, audit practices, and compliance frameworks

- Advanced Excel skills and comfort with data analysis tools

Skills & Abilities

- Strong leadership, coaching, team development, and stakeholder engagement abilities

- Exceptional accuracy, attention to detail, analytical thinking, and data integrity focus

- Proven ability to manage high‑volume, deadline‑driven workflows and competing priorities

- Ability to interpret legislation, collective agreements, and policy frameworks

- Strong organizational and problem‑solving skills

- High professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment when handling confidential information

Other Requirements

- Must be eligible for and able to obtain and maintain a Government of Canada Secret security clearance

NOTE: Only those candidates that meet the specified requirements will be considered for this position. Candidates that do not meet the requirements may be considered for similar opportunities.

Commissionaires’ values the diversity of our workforce and respects its employees as individuals, regardless of race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender and age.

In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Commissionaires’ Policies on Accommodation, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of Commissionaires’ hiring process.

Commissionaires‑Ottawa does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, assess, or select applicants. However, please be aware that some third‑party tools we utilize in our recruiting and selection process may incorporate AI technology.

We appreciate all who apply, however we will only be contacting candidates of interest.

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