Payroll Services Specialist - San Diego, Newport Beach, or Pasadena, CA

Payroll Services Specialist

The Payroll Services Specialist ensures the timely capture, review, and preparation of accurate, payroll-ready time and pay data for craft and administrative employees within assigned business units. This role supports weekly payroll readiness by monitoring timesheet submission, reviewing entries for accuracy and compliance, and aligning data with company policies, union agreements, and wage and hour requirements.

As the primary local, employee-facing payroll resource, the Payroll Services Specialist supports field and office employees with pay-related questions, timekeeping guidance, and routine issue resolution. The role partners closely with Shared Services Payroll, People Practice teams, and regional field leadership to support compliant payroll processing, appropriately escalate complex matters, and deliver a consistent, high-quality payroll experience.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Collect, review, and approve employee time across approved timekeeping systems (e.g., paper, Rhumbix, Smart Sheet), ensuring entries are complete, accurately classified, and submitted by payroll deadlines.
• Support of craft worker attestation process and requirements
• Perform first-pass review of time entries to identify and resolve anomalies, including overtime, double time, and leave hours prior to payroll submission.
• Support craft mobility within established guidelines and policies, including payroll coordination for employee movement between projects or entities.
• Participate in in-person craft meetings or field discussions as needed to provide payroll guidance and reinforce timekeeping expectations.
• Prepare and submit payroll corrections to Shared Services Payroll, including coordination of payroll overpayment repayments as needed.
• Serve as the primary local payroll point of contact for craft, administrative employees and regional field teams, responding to pay-related inquiries and supporting issue resolution.
• Communicate payroll deadlines, requirements, and expectations to field operations and regional leadership to support timely and accurate payroll processing.
• Support of preplanning, early communication and follow-through for non-normal payroll periods around holidays
• Ensure hire completion in CMiC, including tax elections, direct deposit, timekeeping access, and other downstream payroll-related onboarding and offboarding activities.
• Assist employees with payroll-related system access and navigation, including Corpay pay card setup, ADP account access, and retrieval of pay statements and year-end tax documents. Coordinate with IT and other support teams as needed to resolve access issues.
• Partner with the Fleet team to support payroll-related adjustments associated with vehicle assignments.
• Partner with People Practice Events Specialists to ensure timely information exchange and accurate payroll system updates related to employee transfers between the Family of Companies.
• Provide operational payroll support related to union agreements and pay practices, including coordination with union representatives as needed to support accurate time reporting, employee classification and payroll readiness. Escalate interpretation or compliance-related matters as appropriate.
• Ensure compliance with applicable payroll regulations, wage and hour requirements, union rules, and DPR policies and best practices.
• Maintain confidentiality and integrity of payroll information through adherence to established controls and data governance standards.
• Support business continuity, continuous improvement initiatives, and payroll-related projects as assigned.

Additional Requirements:

• Working knowledge of payroll, timekeeping, and wage and hour concepts.
• Familiarity with multi-state payroll environments and unionized workforces preferred.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to identify discrepancies and resolve issues proactively.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook); intermediate Excel skills preferred.
• Experience with construction payroll practices, job costing, or industry-specific systems, a plus.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with field teams and centralized payroll functions.
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, Business Administration, Finance or Related field preferred.
• This role, like all Finance and Accounting roles, will require a background check prior to offer.
• This position is intended to be based in a local office/jobsite within the assigned region to support field and office teams through in-person partnership.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both English and Spanish is strongly preferred.

Work Characteristics:

• Ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Strong customer service mindset with a collaborative, solution-oriented approach.
• Highly organized with a strong commitment to accuracy and follow-through.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment while knowing when to escalate issues appropriately.
• Collaborative team player who values open communication and cross-functional partnership.

Compensation Range - $52,500-$90,000

Anticipated starting pay range:

$25.25- $43.27

Nothing is more important than your health and wellness. DPR offers a variety of medical, dental, vision and wellness benefits to keep you healthy. Read more about eligibility and available benefits programs for skilled craft and labor or experienced professionals and recent graduates.

DPR Construction is a forward-thinking, self-performing general contractor specializing in technically complex and sustainable projects for the advanced technology, life sciences, healthcare, higher education and commercial markets. Founded in 1990, DPR is a great story of entrepreneurial success as a private, employee-owned company that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar family of companies with offices around the world.

Working at DPR, you'll have the chance to try new things, explore unique paths and shape your future. Here, we build opportunity togetherby harnessing our talents, enabling curiosity and pursuing our collective ambition to make the best ideas happen. We are proud to be recognized as a great place to work by our talented teammates and leading news organizations like U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, Fast Company and Newsweek.