Payroll Manager - Payroll Processing & Taxes

At NRG, we’re bringing the power of energy to people and organizations by putting customers at the center of everything we do. We generate electricity and provide energy solutions and natural gas to millions of customers through our diverse portfolio of retail brands. A Fortune 500 company, operating in the United States and Canada, NRG delivers innovative solutions while advocating for competitive energy markets and customer choice, working towards a sustainable energy future. More information is available at www.nrg.com. Connect with NRG on Facebook, LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.

Job Summary: 

• Manage NRG’s U.S. weekly and bi-weekly payroll processing within SAP and outsourced services to ADP.
• Manage NRG’s Canada bi-weekly employees payroll processing within SAP and outsourced services to ADP.
• Manage a payroll team consisting of multiple payroll administrators and tax specialists including two supervisors
• Manage the payroll team members to provide extraordinary customer service by resolving questions, issues, and requests from other payroll team members, employees, HR, IT, and other parties efficiently and correctly.
• Manage the performance of other payroll tasks including processing of retros, overpays, garnishments, and unemployment claims
• Manage team members who perform NRG’s U.S. payroll tax tasks within SAP and those outsourced to ADP
• Lead tax relationship with ADP for net pay, garnishment, unemployment and taxes
• Lead effort in working with NRG’s HR and IT groups to test and approve all changes within SAP payroll systems
• For Canadian payroll, ensure compliance with Canadian federal and provincial pay and tax laws

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Work with payroll team supervisor and team members to process bi-weekly and weekly payroll through SAP payroll process model, including U.S. and Canadian employees ensure process is followed and all issues resolved
• Perform review tasks related to processing each payroll on time and thoroughly
• Manage the processing of off-cycle checks at least weekly to resolve pay issues as needed
• Lead the resolution of SAP payroll processing errors and any required follow up including all urgent errors and issues
• Mange the process working with ADP to resolve any wage pay, garnishment issues or errors, and unemployment claims
• Ensure entire payroll team provides excellent customer service for employees, IT, other team members, timekeepers, and HR.
• Ensure payroll shared mailbox and the payroll request ticketing system is closely monitored for timely employee resolution.
• Ensure that all payroll tasks are completed as documented including resolution of employee overpayments, escheatment, report production, and review of payroll variance reports for each payroll.
• Ensure team members are fulling trained on their tasks and tasks they backup, all tasks and processes are fully documented, and such documentation is up to date and easy to follow.
• Manage payroll tax team members in monitoring all payroll tax deposits and payments/returns prepared by ADP to ensure compliance and including any returns prepared by NRG
• Manage payroll tax team members to reconcile and research differences for quarter and annual filings including Form W-2’s and T4’s between SAP payroll and ADP
• Ensure payroll tax team members respond to employee questions related to payroll tax withholdings and process daily change report for employee related tax changes
• Ensure equity transactions are processed timely and payroll taxes related to equity transactions are accurate especially for annual vestings.
• Participate and contribute to weekly calls with NRG IT and IS groups to ensure timely completion of payroll related requests and required testing.  Review and approve testing prior to movement into production.
• Lead and approve all payroll system testing including regular planned updates, large implementations, urgent system fixes, and tax rate update testing.
• Lead team to ensure NRG’s payroll business continuity plan is up-to date and ready for execution
• Lead year end and year beginning payroll tasks, including payroll processing of stock compensation vesting
• Ensure work with internal and external auditors to provide requested payroll information for walkthroughs and other requests
• Act as back up to others in the payroll team for key responsibilities
• Validate that team members are completing required controls and keep NRG’s monitoring tool up to date

Working Conditions:

• Hybrid work environment with 3 days in the office
• Overtime required during payroll processing situations, year-end or as special projects arise.
• No travel required

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Experience: A minimum of 6 years current payroll experience on an ERP platform particularly SAP in a multi-state payroll tax environment including managing a payroll team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance is strongly preferred.
• Experience: A minimum of 6 years current payroll experience on an ERP platform particularly SAP PCC in a multi-state payroll tax environment is preferred including managing a payroll team
• Strong knowledge of US payroll
• Some experience with Canadian payroll preferred

Additional Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Must have the ability to lead and motivate payroll team members
• A strong attention to detail

• Ability work in a fast-paced environment where change is frequent
• Must be able to multi-task and handle confidential information in a professional manner
• Proven initiative and a demonstrated ability to learn quickly
• Strong problem-solving skills

• Strong PC skills include Excel, Word, and Outlook
• Must have the ability to take ownership of work and look for ways to improve processes
• Experience working with ADP Services which include Garnishment, Wage Payment, Tax, Unemployment Verification Services a plus

Why NRG is a great place to work:

• Great company culture!! Voted as a BEST employer by Forbes
• A competitive total compensation package, including annual incentive and/or commission
• Stock Purchase Plan 
• Benefits on the first day of employment - Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, and Short Term Disability, Wellness program, etc.   
• Company-paid life insurance and disability insurance
• 401 (k) plan to help save for retirement
• Generous PTO plan, plus 8 company holidays, and 3 floating holidays
• Numerous discounts, including electricity discounts on NRG brands

If you reside in or intend to work remotely from California, Colorado, New York or Washington State, you may contact Careers@nrg.com for compensation information related to this position and other information as required by applicable law. Please include the job title in your request.

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** No Outside Recruiters or Agencies **

You must reside in the United States to be eligible for this position.

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol free workplace.  To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability

EEO is the Law Poster (The poster can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf)

Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills.

Official description on file with Talent.