Payroll and Benefits Accountant

Job Description

Job Description

Every home visit, every family therapy session, and every child who finds steady ground at Children's Community Programs of Connecticut depends on two things you will protect: a team member paid correctly and on time, and a grant dollar that lands exactly where it was promised. If you've built your accounting career in the for-profit world and you're ready for your work to carry more weight, this is where it will.

Why You'll Love Working Here

At CCP, the distance between your desk and the children and families we serve is shorter than it looks. The case managers, clinicians, and drivers who show up for kids across Connecticut count on the payroll you review, and our programs count on the labor-cost reporting you produce to keep grants and contracts on solid footing. Your work here is visible, and it matters.

You'll also join a workplace built to sustain the people who do this work:

•       Leadership that respects your time. Our leaders are organized, accessible, and genuinely committed to work/life balance, so the pace stays sustainable beyond the deadline cycles every payroll/finance role carries.

•       Care for you and the people you love. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans cover team members and their families.

•       Room to recharge. Summer Fridays bring half-day Fridays through the summer months, and quarterly wellness experiences are built into the year.

•       Recognition you can feel. Recognition awards celebrate achievements of all sizes, and culture committees give team members a real voice in how CCP grows.

What You'll Do

You'll serve as Finance's custodian of payroll, benefits, and labor-cost controls, reporting to our Controller. Human Resources handles personnel actions, timekeeping, benefits enrollment, and payroll input and processing. You provide the independent Finance review, accounting, and reconciliation that stand behind it.

Make sure every team member is paid right

•       Review each biweekly payroll preview in ADP before it's finalized, checking new hires, terminations, pay changes, overtime, PTO, and unusual activity against approved documentation, and resolve discrepancies with Human Resources.

•       Confirm that payroll taxes, garnishments, and other withholdings are recorded accurately and remitted to the right taxing authorities and third parties.

•       Reconcile medical, dental, vision, retirement, life, and disability invoices to payroll deductions and employer contributions, working through differences with Human Resources and benefit vendors.

Keep grant and program dollars where they belong

•       Prepare monthly salary and fringe allocations to programs, grants, contracts, and funding sources using approved methodologies.

•       Support grant payroll allocations, fringe calculations, reimbursement schedules, monitoring, and audit documentation.

•       Maintain position control, the system that tracks every authorized position by program, funding source, budgeted FTE, filled or vacant status, and authorized pay, and reconcile it to payroll and HR records.

Give leaders a clear picture

•       Produce labor-cost, FTE, vacancy, and salary budget-to-actual reports that inform budgeting, grant management, and financial planning.

•       Build the salary, payroll tax, and fringe benefit schedules behind the annual organizational and program budget.

Keep the books clean and the controls strong

•       Post biweekly payroll journal entries, prepare monthly accruals, and reconcile payroll-related balance sheet accounts, from payroll clearing and tax liabilities to benefits payable, PTO liability, and team member receivables.

•       Complete quarterly Form 941 reconciliations and support W-2 reconciliation and year-end processes.

•       Serve as Finance's ADP subject matter expert for general ledger mapping, cost-center coding, labor distribution, and payroll interfaces.

•       Process approved expense reimbursements through ADP with accurate program and grant coding.

•       Prepare audit schedules, and write the SOPs and control checklists that keep payroll accounting consistent and audit-ready.

What You'll Bring To The Table

Nonprofit experience is a plus, not a prerequisite. Strong payroll and general ledger skills built in the for-profit sector carry straight over, and you'll build grant accounting expertise on the job.

Required:

•       Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.

•       Three or more years of accounting experience, including payroll and payroll-tax reconciliation.

•       Demonstrated general ledger and account reconciliation experience, including journal entries, accruals, and payroll tax accounting.

•       Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency with payroll and accounting systems.

•       Sound judgment with confidential payroll and personnel information.

•       Patience and persistence with problems: you trace an issue to its source and see it through.

•       Confidence speaking clearly and assertively with vendor representatives, auditors, and taxing authorities.

•       A collaborative, culturally competent approach to working with Human Resources, Finance, and program leadership.

Strongly Preferred:

•       Benefits accounting experience.

•       Labor accounting experience, such as salary and fringe allocations across programs, grants, or funding sources.

Preferred:

•       Experience with ADP Workforce Now or a comparable payroll system.

•       Nonprofit and grant accounting experience.

•       Experience with FTE reporting, position control, ERP/payroll integration, or payroll process documentation.

Compensation: $75,000 – $85,000 annually. This is a full-time, nonexempt position.

Children's Community Programs is a nonprofit organization and does not offer visa sponsorship or relocation assistance. Candidates relocating independently are welcome to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Children’s Community Programs of Connecticut (CCP) is a mission-driven nonprofit focused on helping children and families achieve safety, stability, and independence. We provide hands-on services directly in homes, schools, courts, and community settings across Connecticut.

Each year, CCP staff directly support more than a thousand Connecticut families. Employees work within interdisciplinary teams alongside clinicians, educators, and advocates to address real-world challenges affecting safety, education, and long-term independence.

We believe effective services require supported employees. CCP emphasizes supervision, professional development, and teamwork so staff can perform confidently and sustainably in challenging but meaningful roles.

Company Description

The Children’s Community Programs of Connecticut (CCP) is a mission-driven nonprofit focused on helping children and families achieve safety, stability, and independence. We provide hands-on services directly in homes, schools, courts, and community settings across Connecticut.\r\n\r\nEach year, CCP staff directly support more than a thousand Connecticut families. Employees work within interdisciplinary teams alongside clinicians, educators, and advocates to address real-world challenges affecting safety, education, and long-term independence.\r\n\r\nWe believe effective services require supported employees. CCP emphasizes supervision, professional development, and teamwork so staff can perform confidently and sustainably in challenging but meaningful roles.