People Operations Specialist, Systems & Total Rewards

Description

Brief Benefits Summary:

• Generous PTO starting your first day, plus 11 paid holidays
• Medical & Dental: IV pays 100% of employee-only premiums plus a contribution toward dependents; includes HSA with employer contribution
• Life and Short-Term Disability: 100% employer-paid
• 401(k) with up to 4% match (eligible first of the month after 90 days)
• Voluntary add-on policies available: vision, additional life, accident, pet insurance, LegalShield
• Employee Assistance Program for you and your household

Work Authorization: US Work Authorization required. Inorganic Ventures does not provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Work Location: Christiansburg, VA

FLSA Status: Non- Exempt

Position Summary

The People Operations Specialist, Total Systems & Rewards serves as the primary subject matter expert for People Operations systems, data, payroll, benefits, compensation, leave administration, workplace accommodations, workers' compensation, and People Operations support of workplace safety.

This position is responsible for ensuring that assigned programs are accurate, compliant, efficient, well-documented, and easy for employees and managers to navigate. The Specialist research requirements, identify risks and opportunities, recommends solutions, and supports continuous improvement of assigned processes.

While Total Systems & Rewards is the position's primary area of expertise and accountability, both People Operations Specialists work across functions, projects, and shared employee lifecycle responsibilities based on organizational needs.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Payroll, Benefits & Total Rewards

• Process multi-state payroll, including timecard, deduction, tax, reimbursement, and payroll audits.
• Research and resolve payroll discrepancies and employee questions.
• Administer employee benefits and retirement programs, including enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, Open Enrollment, and employee support.
• Support benefit vendor relationships, including invoice and deduction reconciliations, audits, and reporting.
• Conduct benefit benchmarking and employee feedback analysis and recommend improvements.
• Maintain employee total rewards statements.
• Maintain procedures and provide employee and manager education related to payroll, timekeeping, benefits, and total rewards.
• Partner with Accounting and external vendors on related financial and administrative processes.

Compensation, HRIS & People Systems

• Support compensation administration, market benchmarking, salary ranges, annual compensation reviews, surveys, and reporting.
• Monitor compensation trends, compression, market competitiveness, and internal equity, and provide recommendations to the People Operations Manager.
• Serve as a primary administrator and subject matter expert for the HRIS and related People Operations systems.
• Maintain employee and organizational data, system workflows, configurations, permissions, reporting relationships, and the organizational chart.
• Conduct data audits and develop reports and dashboards to support organizational decision-making.
• Troubleshoot system issues and maintain system documentation and work instructions.
• Identify opportunities to automate, streamline, and appropriately leverage technology and AI.
• Provide employee and manager education and resources related to assigned systems.

Leave, Accommodations & Workers' Compensation

• Administer and track applicable federal, state, and company leave programs and disability-related processes.
• Support medical leave, return-to-work, and applicable insurance carrier processes.
• Facilitate workplace accommodation requests, including the interactive process with employees and managers.
• Maintain required confidential documentation, notices, certifications, and tracking.
• Process workers' compensation claims, reporting, work-status documentation, restrictions, return-to-work, and modified-duty processes.
• Identify situations where leave, disability, workers' compensation, and accommodation requirements overlap and flag for appropriate handling.
• Partner with Engagement & Development when these matters intersect with employee relations, performance, or conduct.
• Research applicable requirements and escalate complex or high-risk matters to the People Operations Manager.

Safety

• Provide People Operations Manager support for safety matters involving employees, accommodations, leave, workers' compensation, or documentation.
• Monitor safety and workers' compensation data for trends and recommend preventative actions.
• Escalate significant employee-related safety concerns or compliance risks appropriately.

Data, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Complete applicable payroll, benefits, compensation, leave, workers' compensation, safety, and workforce reporting and analysis.
• Research applicable requirements and maintain current procedures and documentation.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and data security.
• Identify process gaps, risks, and inefficiencies and recommend solutions.
• Support audits, reporting requirements, and organizational initiatives related to assigned responsibilities.

Team, Project & Backup Responsibilities

Both People Operations Specialists share responsibility for broader employee lifecycle activities, including onboarding, orientation, employee transitions, offboarding, communications, policy implementation, employee education, process improvement, and organizational initiatives.

This Specialist may serve as a Project Lead, Contributor, or Backup based on expertise, workload, development opportunities, department priorities, and company needs. A Project Lead may help coordinate project deliverables and timelines across functional lanes; this role does not create supervisory authority over other staff.

Both Specialists are expected to maintain sufficient cross-training to provide routine coverage for one another. Complex, sensitive, technical, or high-risk matters should remain with the appropriate subject matter expert or be escalated to the People Operations Manager.

The People Operations Manager establishes department priorities, balances workload, assigns or adjusts project leadership, and resolves competing priorities.

Key Measures of Success

• Payroll, benefits, HRIS, and employee data accuracy.
• Timely and compliant leave, accommodation, and workers' compensation administration.
• Audit, reporting, and required deadline completion.
• Effective employee and manager support.
• System, process, and efficiency improvements.
• Successful project and workstream completion.
• Effective cross-training, collaboration, and department coverage.

Salary Range: $25.00–$28.00 per hour

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and directly related experience.
• At least three years of progressively responsible experience in payroll, benefits administration, HRIS administration, People Operations, or a closely related area.
• Hands-on experience processing or significantly supporting payroll, including timecard review, deductions, taxes, reimbursements, audits, and discrepancy resolution.
• Experience administering employee benefits and supporting enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, invoice reconciliation, and employee questions.
• Experience maintaining employee information and completing transactions, audits, reports, or workflows within an HRIS or payroll system.
• Working knowledge of applicable payroll, wage and hour, benefits, leave, accommodation, and workers’ compensation requirements, with the ability to research requirements and recognize when escalation is needed.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills, with demonstrated attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple programs, projects, deadlines, and recurring responsibilities with limited supervision.
• Ability to handle confidential employee, medical, payroll, and compensation information appropriately.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical or complex information clearly to employees and managers.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, and the ability to learn and effectively use People Operations technology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in payroll, benefits, HRIS administration, total rewards, or People Operations.
• Experience independently processing multi-state payroll.
• Experience with Paylocity or a comparable integrated HRIS, payroll, benefits, and applicant-tracking platform.
• Experience with benefit and payroll reconciliations, retirement-plan administration, Open Enrollment, compensation benchmarking, salary-range maintenance, and total rewards statements.
• Experience administering FMLA and other leave programs, workplace accommodations, disability processes, and workers’ compensation claims.
• Experience developing reports, dashboards, system workflows, process documentation, employee resources, or training materials.
• Experience supporting audits, compliance reviews, system implementations, process improvement, automation, or the responsible use of AI.
• Experience working in a manufacturing, laboratory, regulated, or multi-state environment.
• SHRM-CP, PHR, Fundamental Payroll Certification, Certified Payroll Professional, Certified Employee Benefit Specialist, or another relevant professional certification.

Inorganic Ventures reserves the right to modify job duties at any time, and this job description is not designed to cover every responsibility required of the employee. Inorganic Ventures 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, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.