Specialist, Payroll

Job Description:

Company

Description:

McDonald's is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald's remains one of the world's leading corporations after almost 70 years.

Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald's, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

Department Overview

The Payroll Operations Specialist is responsible for supporting payroll operations across the United States and Canada, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll processing. This role provides leadership within daily payroll operations, analyzes and resolves payroll exceptions, supports customer escalations, monitors service-level performance, and drives continuous improvements. The position requires strong analytical skills, payroll expertise, customer focus, and the ability to collaborate effectively across multiple stakeholders.

Duties

Key Responsibilities:

Payroll Operations & Processing

-    Process payroll transactions accurately and in accordance with company policies, regulatory requirements, and established procedures.

-    Review payroll data for accuracy and completeness prior to processing.

-    Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and company payroll requirements.

-    Support payroll activities related to employee changes, adjustments, deductions, and special payments.

Exception Management & Analysis

-    Research, analyze, and resolve payroll exceptions and discrepancies.

-    Utilize reporting and analytical tools, including Excel, to identify trends and root causes.

-    Prepare and manipulate payroll-related data for upload into payroll systems.

-    Recommend solutions to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Customer Support & Escalations

-    Investigate and resolve employee and stakeholder payroll inquiries.

-    Handle complex payroll issues and escalations professionally and timely.

-    Partner with Human Resources, Finance, and other business functions to resolve payroll concerns.

-    Ensure a high level of customer service and employee support.

Metrics & Continuous Improvement

-    Monitor payroll performance metrics and service-level agreements (SLAs).

-    Analyze operational data to identify opportunities for process improvements.

-    Participate in continuous improvement initiatives that enhance payroll accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience.

-    Support implementation of process enhancements and standardization efforts.

Team Support & Leadership

-    Lead, guide and support direct and indirect reports.

-    Assist with workflow management and prioritization of payroll activities.

-    Contribute to onboarding, training, and knowledge-sharing efforts.

-    Foster a collaborative, customer-focused team environment.

Qualifications

Required Experience

-    Minimum of 2 years of payroll experience.

-    Experience processing or supporting payroll operations in a high-volume environment.

-    Experience as team or project lead

-    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

-    Experience handling payroll inquiries and issue resolution.

-    Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and payroll systems.

Required Skills

-    Knowledge of U.S. and/or Canadian payroll regulations and practices.

-    Strong verbal and written communication skills.

-    Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

-    Strong attention to detail and commitment to…