Senior Union Paymaster I

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Union Paymaster I based in Canada.

This is a senior payroll operations role focused on processing complex union payrolls accurately, compliantly, and within defined service-level timelines.

You’ll apply advanced knowledge of collective bargaining agreements, union rules, side letters, and production working conditions to resolve challenging payroll scenarios.

The role combines hands-on payroll expertise with judgment, escalation management, and customer-focused problem solving.

You’ll act as a trusted resource for complex cases while supporting peers through mentoring and knowledge sharing.

You’ll also contribute to stronger processes by identifying recurring issues, improving documentation, and helping refine operational workflows.

The environment is fast-paced and collaborative, with close interaction across payroll, labor relations, customer success, product, engineering, and other teams.

This is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on payroll quality, operational efficiency, and the overall employee and customer experience.

Accountabilities

• Process and review complex union payrolls accurately, compliantly, and within established processing timelines and SLAs.
• Interpret and apply collective bargaining agreements, side letters, union rules, and working conditions across multiple production types.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex payroll scenarios, helping colleagues assess edge cases and determining when formal guidance from Labor Relations or other specialists is required.
• Manually review payroll calculations, identify discrepancies, perform appropriate corrections or overrides, and document the rationale behind decisions.
• Maintain detailed and accurate system notes covering payroll status, decisions, outstanding actions, and next steps.
• Communicate proactively and professionally with customers and internal stakeholders to resolve payroll issues efficiently and completely.
• Build effective working relationships with Labor Relations, Customer Success, Payroll Operations, Tax Operations, Product, Engineering, and other cross-functional teams.
• Mentor and support Union Paymasters by sharing expertise, reviewing complex scenarios, and modeling strong documentation and communication practices.
• Identify recurring issues, process gaps, and opportunities for tooling improvements, and contribute to implementing practical solutions.
• Create, maintain, and promote SOPs and knowledge documentation that reflect current processes, union requirements, and operational learnings.
• Consistently meet or exceed expectations for productivity, accuracy, timeliness, quality, and case resolution.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience processing payroll in a multi-union environment, with demonstrated ability to manage complex payroll requirements.
• Advanced ability to interpret and apply union rules, working conditions, and collective bargaining agreement provisions within a production payroll environment.
• Strong knowledge of entertainment-industry union agreements is preferred, including SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, Teamsters, or similar organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to independently investigate and resolve complex payroll scenarios while recognizing when formal interpretation or escalation is appropriate.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to remain accurate and organized while managing multiple payrolls, deadlines, and competing priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including confidence communicating with customers and cross-functional partners.
• Strong documentation skills, with experience maintaining payroll notes, SOPs, knowledge resources, and clear decision rationales.
• Basic proficiency with spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets and the ability to learn new systems and tools quickly.
• Flexibility to adjust schedules based on workload and client requirements.
• Experience mentoring colleagues, improving workflows, or raising operational quality standards is preferred.
• Experience working in a scaling operations environment with evolving processes, systems, and tools is preferred.

Benefits

• Unlimited paid time off.
• Remote work from anywhere in Canada or the United States.
• Health and dental benefits.
• Up to $1,500 USD / $2,025 CAD toward home IT setup.
• Up to 2% matching RRSP / 401(k) contributions.
• Learning and professional development opportunities.
• Up to $50 USD / $67.50 CAD toward internet or cell phone services.
• A collaborative, inclusive, and harassment- and discrimination-free work environment.
• The opportunity to contribute to meaningful operational improvements within a growing technology-focused organization.