Manager, Strategy Operations - Payroll; opens in tab

At Justworks, you’ll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset — our people.

We’re helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We’re data‑driven and never stop iterating. If you’d like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we’d love to hear from you.

We're united by shared goals and motivations se are best summed up in our company values, which are reflected in our product and in our team.

Reporting to the Head of Payroll, the Manager, Strategy Operations – Payroll is a strategic operator who helps the Payroll business execute effectively as it is being built and scaled. You work at the intersection of strategy, execution, and operating design – translating ambitious goals into clear plans, operating rhythms, and mechanisms that enable Payroll to grow sustainably.

You thrive in creation environments where new products, services, and operating models are still taking shape. You are energized by building something from the ground up, while also bringing enough structure and discipline to ensure progress, learning, and accountability. You are comfortable rolling up your sleeves to drive execution, while keeping an eye on the longer‑term systems and capabilities the Payroll business will need.

You bring strong business acumen, execution rigor, and cross‑functional collaboration skills. You are motivated by helping leaders make better decisions, aligning teams around shared priorities, and building the foundations for a scalable, profitable Payroll business.

• Running Operating Systems (~70%)
• Operate and continuously improve the core execution rhythms for the Payroll business, including planning cycles, prioritization forums, operating cadences, and performance tracking.
• Translate Payroll strategy and business objectives into clear goals, workplans, milestones, and accountability mechanisms.
• Create visibility into priorities, progress, risks, and trade‑offs across Payroll initiatives.
• Support the development of scalable processes, tooling, and services that reduce operational complexity and improve cost‑to‑serve.
• Ensure alignment between Payroll execution and enterprise‑level planning, financial, and operating forums.
• Introduce lightweight structure that enables speed and learning without slowing down innovation.
• Leading Cross‑Functional Work streams & Initiatives (~20%)
• Own defined work streams within high‑priority Payroll initiatives focused on scalability, customer experience, retention, and financial performance.
• Partner closely with Technology, Operations, Product, Finance, and Revenue to coordinate dependencies and drive execution.
• Translate strategic ideas (e.g., new services, product capabilities, monetization approaches) into executable plans.
• Identify gaps, risks, or misalignments in execution and drive resolution through strong collaboration and influence.
• Support experimentation and iteration as Payroll tests and refines new offerings and ways of working.
• Structure, Clarity, & Team Enablement (~10%)
• Bring structure to ambiguous, early‑stage problems by clarifying scope, success criteria, and next steps.
• Develop clear documentation, operating artifacts, and narratives that help teams stay aligned.
• Support leaders in evangelizing Payroll as a business unit by grounding discussions in data, financial impact, and customer outcomes.
• Reinforce a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement as the Payroll organization matures.
• Help teams balance short‑term delivery with longer‑term capability building.

In this role, success looks like:
Payroll executes with increasing clarity and momentum, cross‑functional teams are aligned around shared priorities, and the business builds scalable systems that support growth, retention, and strong financial performance.

Success in this…