Payroll Specialist

Overview Job Summary: The Payroll Specialist provides vital HR, benefits, and labor data support to the organization. This role oversees the processing of bi-weekly payroll with our outsourced payroll provider, ensures accurate timesheet management, administers deductions and employee benefits, and maintains data integrity within the HRIS. Working within the Human Resources department, the Payroll Specialist serves as a primary point of contact for employee inquiries and collaborates with the Accounting department to ensure accurate labor allocations and general ledger entries. Responsibilities Coordinate and oversee bi-weekly payroll runs with our outsourced payroll provider. Review, validate, and audit payroll data, including hours worked, deductions, benefits, bonuses, and expense reimbursements. Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll and tax regulations. Partner with the Accounting department to ensure accurate recording of payroll data, including accruals and labor costing. Coordinate the end-of-year processing and distribution of W-2s with the payroll provider. Administer and manage employee benefit deductions, garnishments, employee loans, and other authorized withholdings within the HRIS. Collaborate with the HR team to reflect benefit changes, qualifying life events, and open enrollment updates in payroll. Serve as a primary, high-touch resource for employees regarding payroll discrepancies, tax withholding questions, and benefit deduction inquiries. Maintain and audit digital employee records within Paylocity to ensure data integrity and confidentiality. Monitor and audit employee timesheets for accuracy, completeness, and timely submission. Track and verify accuracy regarding PTO, Vacation, Sick time, Holidays, Bereavement, and other leave scenarios. Work collaboratively with project managers, supervisors, and employees to proactively resolve timesheet discrepancies. Ensure employee labor hours are correctly coded to appropriate projects, jobs, and cost centers. Collaborate with the project accounting team to reconcile payroll data with job cost reports. Support tracking and reporting requirements for multi-state or specialized project environments. Prepare recurring and ad-hoc payroll, labor, and compliance reports for internal HR metrics and external audits. Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and security for all payroll, medical, and personal employee records. Ensure payroll-related tax documentation, payments, and agency filings are maintained and compliant on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Requirements Strong understanding of payroll administration, multi-state regulations, and outsourced payroll workflows. Excellent customer service and communication skills, with the ability to handle sensitive employee situations with empathy, respect, and discretion. Highly proficient in HRIS platforms (Paylocity preferred) and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel. Familiarity with job costing, labor allocations, or project-based environments. Exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills. Ability to work effectively within an HR team and partner across departments (Accounting, Operations, etc.). Education & Experience Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and hands-on experience). 3–5 years of dedicated payroll and benefits administration experience, preferably in a construction, engineering, or project-based corporate environment. Demonstrated familiarity with processing payroll across multiple states with differing tax laws and governances. Experience with ERP systems (Sage preferred) and modern HRIS platforms (Paylocity preferred). Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamentals Payroll Certification (FPC) is a plus. Physical Requirements Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times. #J-18808-Ljbffr