Sr. Payroll Tax Specialist (Portland, OR, US)

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization: The Senior Payroll Tax Specialist will provide transactional support for payroll tax, payroll accounting, and related payroll activities across the United States and Canada. This role will complete assigned tasks using established procedures, checklists, and system controls under the direction of experienced team members and management. You will review routine data, prepares standard reconciliations and filings, maintains records, and escalate exceptions or compliance concerns for guidance and resolution. Key Responsibilities: Payroll Tax Compliance & Filing Prepare routine payroll tax filings, payments, and statutory information requests for review and submission in accordance with established schedules and procedures. Complete assigned biweekly, monthly, quarterly, and year-end payroll tax tasks using standard checklists, reports, and documented controls. Compile and validate data used to produce year-end tax documents, including W-2, W-2C, T4, and RL-1 forms, and route exceptions for review. Apply documented payroll tax requirements to routine transactions and seek guidance when requirements or circumstances are unclear. Identify variances, missing information, and out-of-balance conditions through standard reports; document findings and escalate issues to senior team members or management. Maintain payroll tax account records and supporting documentation; assist with preparing responses to routine tax authority notices and inquiries. Coordinate with internal teams and vendors to collect information, track open items, and support timely completion of assigned work. Payroll Accounting & Reconciliation Prepare standard payroll journal entry support, accrual schedules, and general ledger reconciliations using established templates for review and approval. Research routine payroll and accounting variances by following documented steps and escalate unresolved or unusual items. Complete assigned period-end and year-end close tasks and provide supporting documentation to Finance and Accounting. Run standard reports and audit files to support reconciliations, controls, management requests, and compliance reviews. Prepare routine payroll calculations and special payment inputs for review before processing. Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management Review routine employee payroll changes, including new hires, terminations, leaves, wage changes, and transfers, and escalate discrepancies for correction. Maintain organized records and supporting documentation in accordance with retention and control requirements. Prepare routine responses to third-party requests using approved templates and route nonstandard or sensitive matters to the appropriate reviewer. International Payroll & Shadow Payroll Support assigned payroll activities for internationally mobile employees by gathering data, completing standard inputs, and maintaining records under guidance. Assist with routine hypothetical tax, tax equalization, split payroll, and shadow payroll transactions using instructions provided by Global Mobility, external advisors, or senior payroll team members. Maintain shadow payroll data and supporting documentation and escalate missing, inconsistent, or unclear information. Compile data and complete assigned reconciliation steps for internationally mobile employee year-end activities. Provide transactional support for Canadian payroll and timekee