Payroll and HR Manager

Who We Are:

Seaward Marine Services, LLC is a mission‑driven marine services company dedicated to supporting the operational readiness, longevity, and performance of vessels that serve our nation and global maritime industries. As a leader in underwater hull cleaning, ship husbandry, inspection, and maintenance, we deliver highly technical, safety‑focused services that protect critical assets and ensure vessels remain prepared for the demands of their missions.

For decades, our commitment to quality, innovation, environmental responsibility, and uncompromising safety has shaped our reputation for excellence. Our success is built on the expertise and integrity of our people—professionals who bring skill, dedication, and pride to every project. We foster a workplace culture grounded in teamwork, continuous improvement, and professional growth, recognizing that our employees are the foundation of our success and the driving force behind our continued leadership in the maritime industry.

Position Summary:

The Payroll & Human Resources Manager is responsible for leading and executing all payroll and HR functions for a workforce of approximately 130 employees. This role oversees the full employee lifecycle—including recruiting, onboarding, performance processes, compliance, payroll administration, and benefits management—while ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and adherence to all federal, state, local, and federal contract requirements, including SCA and Wage Determinations.

The manager provides hands-on leadership and supervision to two direct reports—the Payroll Administrator and the Benefits Accountant—offering guidance, development, and technical expertise. In addition to managing daily operations, the role supports initiatives related to compensation, benefits administration, HR policy development, process improvement, and organizational planning.

Employment Type: Full-Time
Pay Range: $108,000-$116,000, annual bonus eligible

Location: Norfolk, VA

Essential Functions and Major Responsibilities:

• The Payroll & HR Manager owns and directs all programs across the employee lifecycle—including recruiting, onboarding, leadership development, learning, employee engagement, separation, and off‑boarding—ensuring processes are compliant, documented, implemented, and continually improved.
• Holds full accountability for the end‑to‑end payroll process, ensuring accurate, timely payroll execution for all employees and maintaining strict compliance with federal, state, local, SCA, and wage determination requirements.
• Leads, develops, and is responsible for the performance of the Payroll Administrator and Benefits Accountant, providing ongoing coaching, direction, and technical expertise.
• Oversee the company’s performance appraisal and goal‑setting processes, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and timely completion across all departments.
• Serves as the primary authority for all payroll changes, including new hires, terminations, compensation updates, and employee data integrity in all HRIS and timekeeping systems.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll laws, including tax withholding, wage and hour regulations, SCA, and other reporting requirements.
• Owns the local administration of company sponsored benefit programs including health, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, long term care, critical illness, accident, retirement plans, and wellness initiatives.
• Responsible for the local execution of annual benefit open enrollment, ensuring accurate employee elections and plan setup.
• Responsible for timely resolution of escalated items for employee payroll, benefits and HR inquiries, ensuring timely resolution.
• Oversee the administration of leave programs and company-specific leave policies.
• Maintain accurate payroll and benefit records and oversee regular internal audits to ensure data integrity.
• Responsible for the preparation and delivery payroll and benefit reports for management, finance, and compliance needs.
• Leads all annual compliance processes, including 401(k) audits, workers’ compensation audits, ACA reporting, and year‑end payroll filings such as W‑2s.
• Collaborate with HR and Finance leadership, and senior management on compensation, benefits planning, budgeting and policy updates.
• Support the development and maintenance of payroll and HR procedures to improve efficiency and ensure consistent practices.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• The role supervises two direct reports, namely; Payroll Administrator and Benefits Accountant. The role involves a mixture of hands-on supervision as well as providing oversight and technical support to other employees within the company.
• The role will require regular interaction with key management personnel across the company to represent and articulate company policy and/or issues as they arise.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Human Resources, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• 15+ years of professional payroll and HR experience.
• 5+ years of supervisory or team lead experience.
• Advanced Excel and large dataset management skills, including Power Query, Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, and complex logical formulas, with a proven ability to extract, clean, and consolidate large, multi-source payroll and financial datasets from HRIS and timekeeping systems.
• Experience processing multi-state payroll for variable-rate employees.
• Experience managing in-house, full-cycle payroll.
• Experience with third-party HRIS/payroll systems such as ADP, Paylocity, or Paychex.
• Experience with federal contracts, Service Contract Act (SCA), Health & Welfare (H&W) Fringe, and Wage Determination compliance.
• Strong understanding of federal and state payroll regulations, tax laws, FMLA, ACA, COBRA, EEO, HIPAA, OSHA, and other applicable compliance requirements.
• High attention to detail with strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and meet deadlines with accuracy and professionalism.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex payroll and benefits topics clearly to employees.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, professionalism, and accuracy in all work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification.
• HR certification such as PHR or SHRM-CP.
• Experience with Sage 300 CRE.

What We Offer:

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Company-paid life and disability insurance
• Retirement plan with employer contributions
• Generous paid time off and holiday schedule
• Supportive team-oriented environment with opportunities for process improvement and leadership growth

Seaward Marine Services LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.