ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.
As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.
The Payroll Manager will be responsible for managing the payroll team and supporting payroll operations for the US and Canada.
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate an understanding of payroll systems, payroll legislation, reporting requirements and compliance including SOX. The role will report to the Finance Director based in Dublin and involve a significant amount of interaction with both external third parties and internal groups (Human Resources, Finance, Legal, Tax, etc.).
The Payroll Manager will also be required to manage the bi-weekly delivery of accurate payroll payments timely, analyse data, provide reports to management as needed, assist with projects and continually evaluate current processes for areas of improvements.
Responsibilities:
- As manager, create a culture of process improvement with a focus on streamlining our processes adding value to our business and meeting client needs.
- Ensure day-to-day activities of the payroll team are accurate, of a high quality and in line with internal controls.
- Accountable for preparation/provision of bi-weekly payroll instructions to external payroll providers, checking results and approving accuracy.
- Ensure all payroll queries and out of cycle payment requests are dealt with in a timely manner.
- Responsible for all payroll process related audit queries, including the maintenance of SOX documentation.
- Completion of all year-end activities.
- Assist the Finance Director with ad-hoc project work.
- Manage a team of payroll specialists responsible for the delivery of accurate and timely payrolls for US and Canada.
- Manage, coach and mentor team members to ensure they are trained appropriately, understand processes and follow them accordingly.
What you need:
- Demonstrated experience, ideally 3 - 5 years, managing a Team of Payroll Associates.
- Excellent working knowledge of best practices with regard to all aspects of US and Canadian Payroll is an advantage, with experience of implementing/improving controls and driving efficiencies in a fast-moving environment.
- Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills with an emphasis on customer service.
- Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines.
- Excellent administrative skills, including accurate data entry and record keeping.
- Ability to coach and mentor other direct reports and work as part of a team.
- Flexible, willing to take on new challenges.
- Expert user of the Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel
- Experience of working within a shared services environment advantageous
#LI-Hybrid
Employment with ICON is contingent upon having the legal right to work in the country where the role is based.
Rewards & Benefits
ICON offers a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and career development.
Benefits may include:
- Competitive base salary and performance related incentives
- Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
- Retirement and pension plans
- Life assurance and disability coverage
- Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
- Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways
Benefits may vary depending on role and location.
Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.
Inclusion and Accessibility
ICON is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.
If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know or submit a request here.
Are you a current ICON Employee? Please click here to apply
Skills Required
- 3–5 years of experience managing a team of Payroll Associates
- Working knowledge of US and Canadian payroll best practices
- Experience implementing or improving controls and driving process efficiencies
- Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines
- Strong administrative skills, accurate data entry, and record keeping
- Ability to coach and mentor direct reports
- Flexibility and willingness to take on new challenges
- Expertise with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel
- Experience working in a shared services environment
ICON plc Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about ICON plc and has not been reviewed or approved by ICON plc.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits are described as comprehensive, with medical coverage and wellness initiatives highlighted. Larger sites are also associated with added wellness supports such as onsite fitness options and access to an employee assistance program.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off and flexibility provisions are positioned as a meaningful part of the total package, including vacation/annual leave and flexible work scheduling. Flexibility is sometimes cited as helping offset long hours in certain roles.
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Retirement Support — Retirement and savings support is presented as a core component of the benefits package, including offerings such as pension arrangements in some locations and a U.S. 401(k) plan with company match. Financial planning resources are also emphasized as part of broader security benefits.
ICON plc Insights
What We Do
Since our foundation in Dublin, Ireland in 1990, our mission has been to help our clients to accelerate the development of drugs and devices that save lives and improve quality of life. We do this by delivering best in class information, solutions and performance, with an unyielding focus on quality at all times. We offer a full range of consulting, development and commercialisation services from a global network of offices in 53 countries. We focus our innovation on the factors that are critical to our clients – reducing time to market, reducing cost, and increasing quality – and our global team of experts has extensive experience in a broad range of therapeutic areas.








