Finance & Insurance · Accounting & Financial Reporting · Payroll Specialist

Retained Recruitment for Payroll Specialists

Payroll Specialists ensure employees are paid accurately and on time while maintaining compliance with tax and labour regulations. Found through dedicated retained search — not job boards.

Retained Only 21–38 Day Placement 90-Day Guarantee $50,000 – $80,000
Payroll ManagerPayroll AnalystCPPPayroll CoordinatorSenior Payroll Specialist

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🔒 No hard sell · No obligation · Google Meet

290+Finance Placements
21–38Days to Placement
96%1-Year Retention
90-DayGuarantee
4.9★Client Rating
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What Does a Payroll Specialist Do?

Processing bi-weekly or semi-monthly payroll, managing garnishments and deductions, ensuring payroll tax compliance, reconciling payroll accounts, managing employee payroll inquiries, supporting year-end W-2 and 1099 processing, and maintaining payroll system data.

What We Screen For

2–5 years of payroll processing experience, familiarity with payroll platforms (ADP, Paylocity, Ceridian, or Workday), multi-state payroll experience, and strong attention to detail. CPP certification is valued for senior roles.

💡 Hiring Insight

Multi-state payroll experience is genuinely more complex than single-state — the tax registration, wage and hour law differences, and garnishment rules across states create real compliance risk for organisations that don't screen for this specifically.

Typical Compensation
$50,000 – $80,000
CPP-certified payroll specialists and those with multi-state and high-headcount experience command the top of this range.
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Also Known As

Payroll ManagerPayroll AnalystCPPPayroll CoordinatorSenior Payroll Specialist

Ready to start a Payroll Specialist search?

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25 min · Google Meet · No obligation

Every Day Without a Payroll Specialist Has a Real Cost.

Retained recruitment delivers a pre-screened shortlist within 21–38 days. Start with a free 25-minute consultation.

📅 Book a Free Consultation No obligation · 25 minutes · Google Meet · Confidential
Common Questions

Recruiting a Payroll Specialist — FAQ

Most Payroll Specialist searches are completed within 21–38 business days. We provide a realistic timeline at the start of every engagement and weekly progress updates throughout.
2–5 years of payroll processing experience, familiarity with payroll platforms (ADP, Paylocity, Ceridian, or Workday), multi-state payroll experience, and strong attention to detail. CPP certification is valued for senior roles.
Multi-state payroll experience is genuinely more complex than single-state — the tax registration, wage and hour law differences, and garnishment rules across states create real compliance risk for organisations that don't screen for this specifically. A retained search means one dedicated recruiter works exclusively on your role — passive outreach, credential screening, and a curated shortlist.
Every permanent retained placement includes a 90-day guarantee. If the placed professional departs or is released within 90 days for covered reasons, we conduct a full replacement search at no additional fee.
Compensation typically ranges from $50,000 – $80,000. CPP-certified payroll specialists and those with multi-state and high-headcount experience command the top of this range. Every retained search includes real-time compensation benchmarking.
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