Manager, Payroll & Accounts Payable

About the role

The Manager, Payroll & Accounts Payable leads payroll, accounts payable, vendor master-data review, and travel-and-expense operations to ensure accurate, timely, controlled payments and reliable accounting records. The role sets operating priorities, manages and develops the team, owns escalations and control execution, and drives continuous improvement across recurring, deadline-sensitive processes. The Manager partners with Human Resources, Accounting, Legal, Tax, business stakeholders, and external providers to maintain compliance, safeguard confidential data, and reduce operational and fraud risk.

What You'll Be Doing

Team Leadership & Operating Management

• Lead Payroll and MDM Specialists and Accounts Payable Specialists by setting priorities, allocating work, reviewing quality, coaching performance, building capability, and maintaining coverage for critical deadlines.
• Establish clear service expectations, escalation paths, process ownership, and operating routines across payroll, accounts payable, master data, travel and expense, and payments.

Payroll Governance & Compliance

• Oversee scheduled and off-cycle payroll processing, including inputs, earnings, deductions, taxes, adjustments, funding, approvals, and final payroll controls.
• Review payroll registers, variances, exceptions, reconciliations, funding needs, and required approvals; document review results and resolve or escalate material issues.
• Own payroll compliance operations, tax notices, records, audit support, year-end reporting including W2s, and escalated employee matters in coordination with HR, Tax, Legal, and external providers.

Accounts Payable, Expense & Payment Operations

• Oversee invoice validation, coding, approvals, posting, payment scheduling, refunds, employee reimbursements, aging, exceptions, and supplier inquiries to support accurate and timely disbursement.
• Oversee payment runs, validate payment details and required approvals, coordinate funding, and resolve returned, voided, or exception payments.
• Manage 1099 activities, unclaimed-property support, period-end requirements, and audit-ready documentation.

Master Data, Controls & Risk Management

• Oversee vendor master-data controls, including setup and change reviews, tax documentation, sanctions screening, duplicate detection, banking verification and record retention.
• Maintain effective controls across processing, review, approvals, master data, expenses, and payments, including segregation of duties, data protection, confidentiality, fraud prevention, documentation, and business continuity; identify control gaps and implement corrective action.

Performance, Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor service levels, backlogs, errors, deadlines, reconciliations, and team capacity; use data to identify root causes and prioritize corrective action.
• Coordinate payroll, payables, expense, and master-data issue resolution and testing with process owners, technical support, and external providers.
• Improve processes, reporting, documentation, automation, and use of approved AI-enabled productivity tools while maintaining human validation, access controls, and protection of confidential information.

You Have What IT Takes If You Have

• 5+ years of progressive experience in payroll, accounts payable, accounting operations, or a related field, including substantial hands-on payroll processing and review of registers, payments, reconciliations, controls, and documentation.
• 2+ years of direct people-management experience (formal or informal), including responsibility for work allocation, quality review, coaching, performance expectations, and deadline coverage.
• Experience managing multi-state payroll and at least one adjacent operating area such as accounts payable, vendor master data, employee expenses, payment operations, or accounting close support.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources, or a related field.

IT Would Also Be Great If You Had

• Experience leading payroll and accounts-payable operations in a multi-state, multi-entity, or regulated environment.
• Experience with UKG or a comparable payroll/timekeeping platform; a major ERP such as Intacct, NetSuite, or SAP; and procure-to-pay or expense platforms such as Coupa or Concur.
• Experience with payroll taxes, wage and hour requirements, incentive compensation, vendor and payment controls, 1099s, unclaimed property, audits, and year-end reporting.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP); Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) may be considered with demonstrated management scope.

What Can Relias Offer You?

• Fantastic health and wellness benefits package, including an outstanding 401k match, a flexible PTO program, and a generous and inclusive parental leave policy. Additionally, Relias pays for the employee portion of the monthly healthcare premium!
• Flexible work environment with onsite and work from home options - you choose when you want to come into the office!
• Active Employee Resource Groups open to all employees!
• Comprehensive onboarding program - a great introduction to our company, customers and culture!
• Growth and career advancement opportunities!
• Promotes internal mobility and career growth aligned with evolving business needs
• Multiple development program options - leadership development, professional development curriculums, and Nanodegree options in both technology and data science
• Professional development gained from conference attendance and participation in organizations like NC Tech
• Onsite 321 Coffee Shop providing free coffee and pastries to employees

In Office Requirement

• Relias values collaboration and wants to ensure that our team members have opportunities to work with their teams regularly for professional development opportunities.
• Our flexible hybrid work environment requires that you live in the state of North Carolina, within a commutable distance to our office (~1-hour commute).
• You would be expected to work in our Morrisville, NC Headquarters (close to the Raleigh/Durham airport) approximately 30 days/quarter.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

• Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated.
• The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art.
• 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

• The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.
• You can contact the company's Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.
• Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.
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