Payroll Manager at Classic Fire + Life Safety in Toronto, Ontario

Payroll Manager

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Company Description

Thank you so much for considering our company in your career search! Classic Fire + Life Safety is a leader in the fire protection and life safety industry because of our talented, knowledgeable, and motivated staff. We know that it is our people who make the difference, and we are looking to grow our team of passionate professionals. Interested in joining us?

Our goal is to partner with our customers, to ensure their buildings, and the people in them are safe, from new building construction activities, modernization activities, and demand for system upgrades, through to preventative maintenance and service.

Why join the Classic team?

• CFLS is a caring company who values our staff.
• CFLS is local and is part of the community.
• CFLS is a full-service fire protection contractor.
• A great working environment with opportunities for career advancement.
• Comprehensive Group benefits.
• Educational assistance program.
• Employee referral bonus program.
• Social events: Building camaraderie and fostering a sense of community is essential.

Job Description

As we scale our operations and improve our systems and processes, we are seeking a results-focused, collaborative and detail-oriented Payroll Manager. The Payroll Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company's payroll operations across Canada, supporting approximately 850 employees in both field and office-based roles. This includes weekly payroll processing for hourly unionized employees (across multiple collective bargaining agreements), hourly non-union employees, and salaried staff. This role ensures the accurate and timely delivery of payroll while maintaining full compliance with federal and provincial regulations and collective agreements.

This position also plays a critical role in system and process improvement initiatives and leads post-acquisition payroll and HRIS integrations, supporting the company’s continued growth. The ideal candidate combines hands-on payroll expertise with strong systems knowledge and project management capability, and thrives in a dynamic, growing, multi-entity and multi-union environment.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

Payroll Operations

• Manage payroll team to process full-cycle weekly payroll for approximately 850 employees across multiple provinces and business units.
• Ensure accurate application of pay rules, overtime, shift premiums, travel pay, union dues, benefits, and statutory deductions.
• Oversee payroll reconciliations, journal entries, and coordination with Finance for labour costing and GL accuracy.
• Ensure compliance with collective agreements, including wage rate changes and dues remittances.
• Responsible for all employee related tax, benefit and compliance calculations and payments.
• Manage year-end payroll activities including T4/RL-1 preparation, reconciliations, and government filings.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Supervise, coach, and develop payroll team members, fostering a culture of accuracy, accountability, and service.
• Collaborate with HR on employee lifecycle activities, including new hires, terminations, pay changes, and benefits.
• Partner with Finance for payroll reporting, labour cost analysis, and budgeting.
• Build strong relationships with operations leaders and regional managers to ensure payroll accuracy and responsiveness to payroll related queries.

Compliance & Governance

• Maintain compliance with CRA, and provincial employment standards across all jurisdictions.
• Serve as the main contact for payroll-related audits, remittances, and government inquiries.
• Maintain and document payroll policies, procedures, and internal controls to support consistent, audit-ready processes.

Systems, Process Improvement & Implementation

• Partner with HR, Finance, and IT to improve integration between payroll, HRIS, time tracking, and accounting systems.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes, improve accuracy, and enhance reporting capabilities.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and standardized reports to support management decision-making.
• Support the evaluation, selection, and implementation of any potential new payroll system ensuring scalability for continued acquisitions and workforce growth.

Post-Acquisition Integration

• Lead payroll and HRIS integration activities for newly acquired companies across Canada.
• Assess inherited payroll processes and systems, align pay practices, and consolidate into company standards.
• Ensure smooth employee transitions by harmonizing pay frequencies, benefits deductions, and system access.
• Work closely with HR, Finance, and IT on data conversion, onboarding, and compliance.
• Provide communication and training to acquired teams during transition.

Qualifications:

Education & Certification

• Diploma or degree in Accounting, Business Administration, or related field.
• Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) or Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation from the National Payroll Institute (NPI) preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of payroll experience, including at least 2 years in leading a team.
• Experience managing payroll in multi-entity, multi-province organizations with unionized and field-based employees.
• Proven success in HRIS or payroll system implementation.
• Experience with post-acquisition payroll integration in a growing or acquisitive environment preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of major payroll systems and advanced Excel/data analysis skills.
• Experience with Jonas as a payroll system and experience with Bamboo HR as an HRIS is an asset.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Deep knowledge of Canadian payroll legislation, taxation, and unionized pay structures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead system and process transformation initiatives.
• Proven ability to develop, coach and mentor a team.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on process optimization.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across both office and field environments.
• Attention to detail, high integrity and discretion when handling sensitive employee information.

We thank all applicants who apply, but only those candidates who meet the above qualifications will be contacted for an interview.

Salary/Wage placement within the stated range is determined by evaluating the candidate’s relevant experience, skills, and qualifications, along with internal equity and prevailing market conditions. These factors are applied consistently to support transparent and equitable compensation practices in Ontario.

No part of our hiring process uses AI or automated screening technology, all candidate reviews and applications are evaluated manually and hiring decisions are completed by human staff, to ensure a fair and transparent assessment.

Classic Fire + Life Safety is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity. We are also committed to meeting the needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you have any accommodation needs or would like to provide us with your feedback, questions, or concerns, please contact our Human Resources department at aoda@classicfls.com