Senior Manager, Payroll
Zum
Accounting & Finance
Redwood City, CA, USA
USD 176k-207k / year + Equity
Posted on Aug 21, 2025
About Zum:
Zum is a rapidly expanding Series E startup backed by industry leaders Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Spark Capital, and GIC, with a bold mission to transform the stagnant school transportation industry. Operating in over 15 states across the United States—with flagship hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle—we are actively extending our reach to the East Coast and Midwest regions. As a technology-driven company, we deploy cutting-edge solutions to manage and operate school district transportation systems while also launching our own charter platform and developing proprietary SaaS offerings. Additionally, we are spearheading a nationwide initiative to electrify school transportation fleets, simultaneously supporting local utilities by feeding much-needed energy back into the grid. We have been recognized as CNBC 50 disruptor, Financial Times 500 fastest growing companies, Fast Company World Changing Ideas.
Who You Are:
As Zūm's Senior Manager of Payroll, you will play a key role in managing payroll operations, ensuring compliance, and optimizing processes to support our growing workforce. Overseeing a team of three (with dotted line oversight of our field Workforce Administrators), you will demonstrate best practices and be excited by the opportunity to lead and mentor members of the team. Reporting directly to the Director of Payroll, you will oversee payroll processing, audits, compliance, and reporting while collaborating with cross-functional teams. This is an exciting opportunity where you will play a major role in developing and executing a vision for the ongoing scale and growth of the existing payroll team.
What You'll Do:
• Manage and mentor the payroll processing team in addition to setting team and individual goals to ensure the team is meeting business goals
• Ensure all union payrolls are processed on time, compliantly, and within our SLAs
• Remove and resolve issues that are escalated internally and externally as it relates to processing payroll
• Oversee payroll tax filings, audits, and reporting, ensuring full compliance with statutory requirements
• Collaborate closely with Finance, HR, and Legal teams to develop and implement efficient payroll processes that align with company objectives
• Identify and drive improvements in payroll systems and procedures to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and scalability
• Ensure compliance with multi-jurisdictional payroll regulations, including local labor laws and tax obligations, as well as adherence to internal policies and procedures
• Prepare and present payroll-related insights and reports to the Payroll Director and or management to support strategic decision-making
• Ensure all Payroll standard operating procedures are well documented, and the team is fully cross trained to allow for redundancy
What You Bring To Zūm:
• A minimum of 10 years overall experience with 4+ years in a union-based payroll industry and 3+ years management experience
• Technologically savvy with advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills. You know how to do things like data visualization, detailed reporting, interpreting large datasets, and using Excel formulas for analysis to ensure data integrity
• Able to handle multiple Union CBA’s (Required)
• Deep systems experience with either ADP Lyric or ADP Workforce Now
• An understanding of prioritization and multitasking in a demanding and complex environment
• Previous experience with SOX Compliance to allow us to adhere to regulatory requirements and internal controls
• Knowledge of Labor Laws and State and Federal Legislation. Specifically staying up to date on FLSA and understanding state-specific regulations
• CPP with a 4 year college degree preferred
The targeted base salary range for this role is listed in the compensation section below. Actual salary may be above or below this range based on factors such as location, skills, and relevant experience. In addition, this position may include additional compensation in the form of equity or commissions. If you are a full-time salaried or hourly worker, we offer the following benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Holidays, Wellness, Vacation, and more. The targeted pay range for this role in US CA is: $176,000 to $207,000
Zum Services, Inc. and all its subsidiaries provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
