Payroll Specialist

TARGET CLOSE DATE:
10/09/2026

PAY GRADE:
Grade 18

TYPE:
Full time

JOB SUMMARY:
Individuals working as Payroll Specialists in the Merit System are responsible for tasks related to the preparation, processing, and maintenance of payroll from a jurisdictional level. Incumbents in this job class review and update payroll records to ensure that employees are paid correctly, according to local, state, and federal guidelines. Payroll Specialists may also maintain personnel records, facilitate the new hire process, and process employee payroll deductions, such as taxes, benefits, and garnishments. Incumbents in this job class also may be responsible for reporting and payment of benefit providers and governmental agencies. Payroll Specialists' work is performed in compliance with applicable employment, payroll, benefits, and tax laws and is highly confidential.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
Agencies provide competitive pay and comprehensive benefits packages to include medical and dental insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plan (pension), generous paid holidays, sick and vacation leave, and more.


Applications for this position will be considered for the following Merit System employing agencies. The pay range for this job varies depending upon the Merit System employing agency.


Bessemer $40,060 - $62,171
Birmingham $40,934 - $63,502
Fultondale $44,304 - $68,744
Jefferson County$45,468 - $70,532
Midfield $32,240 - $50,024
Pleasant Grove$43,368 - $67,267
Tarrant $35,297 - $54,745

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

The following are job-related qualifications that are required for employment consideration for this position:

Option A:

• Experience processing payroll for employees including validation and reconciliation of time.

Option B:

• Experience reviewing time and attendance according to wage and hour laws (e.g., Fair Labor Standards Act).
• Experience using payroll or Human Resources Information System software (e.g., Kronos, Workday, Lawson, Evolution).

TYPICAL JOB DUTIES:

• Communicates and collaborates with various parties and organizations (e.g., department heads, employees, citizens, board and council members, vendors, etc.) by responding to inquiries, tracking internal and external communications, and drafting correspondence to disseminate and receive information related to department/organization activity.
• Facilitates the new hire process by requesting registers, processing new hire paperwork, scheduling and delivering new hire orientations, and submitting paperwork to appropriate organization, government agency, or departments to maintain accurate employee records.
• Manages human resources information related to employee pay and benefits by maintaining and updating personnel action data and various documentation using HRIS(s) to ensure the accuracy of information.
• Oversees the completion of payroll processing by entering leave information and reviewing departmental leave reports using human resource information systems (HRIS) in order to finalize payroll and ensure accuracy.
• Prepares payroll tax forms and reports for submission to the appropriate governmental organizations (e.g., IRS, State of Alabama, local entities) by distributing and collecting tax forms to employees and compiling information to be reported to comply with employment tax regulations.
• Manages human resources information related to employee pension benefits by maintaining and updating employee pension-related documents and applications to ensure the accuracy of benefits to be paid.
• Performs payroll reconciliation by reviewing and comparing information in payroll reports and held in the HRIS and making payment corrections to ensure the accuracy of payments to various stakeholders (i.e., employees, vendors, government entities).

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Job is primarily sedentary involving sitting for long periods of time, but may involve occasional walking or standing for brief periods.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Work is conducted almost exclusively indoors in an office setting. Work involves use of standard office equipment, such as computer, phone, copier, etc.

EEO STATEMENT:

The Personnel Board of Jefferson County provides 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. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment with the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Each Merit System member city/agency operates its own equal employment opportunity policies available on the individual city/agency website.

ACCOMMODATION:

To request an accommodation in the application or hiring process due to your own ongoing medical condition or disability, please contact our Accommodations Coordinator at View email address on click.appcast.io or phone at View phone number on click.appcast.io (select option 1) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. The accommodation process is reserved solely for job seekers with disabilities requesting accessibility assistance or accommodation in the job application process.

NOTE:

This job posting may close before, or be extended beyond, the listed Target Close Date based on the employment needs of the Merit System. More detail regarding this job is available by clicking Apply.

DISCLAIMER:

This job posting is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of the job duties, responsibilities, or skills and abilities required for this position and may be changed at the discretion of the Personnel Board at any time.