Payroll Analyst

The Dufresne Group is looking for a Payroll Analyst within our Home Office located at 147 Commerce Drive in Winnipeg, MB.

In this role, you’ll analyze complex payroll data, investigate discrepancies, build reliable reports, and improve repeatable processes. You’ll also process assigned bi-weekly payrolls and partner with Payroll, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Financial Reporting.

This hands-on role calls for strong analytical skills, sound judgment, and attention to detail. You’ll connect payroll rules, system data, and financial impacts, explain your findings clearly, and follow issues through to resolution.

The Dufresne Group is committed to investing in our team members; we offer:

• Market competitive salary;
• Comprehensive benefits plan and excellent employee discounts;
• Employer Sponsored Retirement Savings Plan;
• Career growth and continuous development;
• Respectful and family-oriented working environment with strong company values;
• The opportunity to work for one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

As the Payroll Analyst you will:

• Analyze complex payroll issues using payroll systems, registers, source data, and historical records. Identify root causes, quantify impacts, and recommend corrective action.

• Build, maintain, and run payroll and workforce reports. Reconcile results to source data and document report logic, definitions, filters, and dependencies.

• Create advanced Excel reconciliations and models to validate payroll, commissions, benefits, statutory pay, deductions, and general ledger activity.

• Develop repeatable controls, exception reports, checklists, and automated workflows that reduce manual work and help identify errors early.

• Plan and document scenario-based testing for payroll reports, calculations, and system changes, retaining evidence to support controlled releases.

• Process assigned bi-weekly payrolls from data collection through verification and submission, including time and attendance, employee changes, earnings, statutory holiday pay, vacation, commissions, bonuses, and deductions.

• Reconcile payroll registers, source deductions, benefit and third-party deductions, journal entries, and related general ledger balances. Investigate and document variances.

• Prepare payroll dashboards, reports, reconciliations, and trend analyses for stakeholders.

• Investigate discrepancies, overpayments, reporting gaps, duplicate or missing transactions, deposit reversals, and adjustments. Resolve issues or escalate them promptly.

• Support final pay, Records of Employment, statutory remittances, year-end activities, and audits as assigned.

• Maintain procedures, report specifications, calculation files, change logs, and reconciliation evidence.

• Share technical knowledge with payroll colleagues, support training, and provide backup coordination when required.

As a successful candidate you will have the following:

• At least three years of progressive payroll experience, including ownership of complex reconciliations, reporting, and discrepancy investigations in a multi-entity or similarly complex environment.

• Experience building and validating payroll and workforce management reports. UKG Pro or UKG WFM reporting experience is strongly preferred.

• Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas and lookups, pivot tables, data cleansing, and reconciliation. Power Query and automation experience are strong assets.

• Working knowledge of payroll accounting, general ledger reconciliation, source deductions, statutory pay, commissions, and payroll-related payments.

• Experience documenting controls, report logic, testing evidence, and procedures, and partnering with HR, Finance, and IT to resolve data or system issues.

• A Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) designation from the National Payroll Institute, or the ability to complete it within an agreed timeframe.

• Post-secondary education in payroll, accounting, finance, business analytics, or a related field is preferred.

• Criminal Record Check required.

The role may include other duties as business needs change. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for individuals with disabilities.

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