Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

The Payroll Specialist supports the accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of payroll services across the organization. Reporting through HR, this role partners closely with HR, Commissions, Accounting, and other business stakeholders to process payroll transactions, resolve employee inquiries, validate payroll data, and support continuous improvement across payroll operations. This position requires a dependable, detail-oriented professional who can manage recurring payroll deadlines, maintain confidentiality, collaborate effectively across teams, and identify opportunities to improve accuracy, efficiency, and the overall employee experience. The Payroll Specialist may also support international payroll activities as business needs evolve.

Role Description

• Deliver accurate, reliable, and timely payroll services while adhering to established payroll calendars, processing deadlines, and compliance requirements.
• Perform daily employee maintenance updates and ensure payroll records remain accurate and up to date.
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries with professionalism, discretion, sound judgment, and clear communication.
• Manage payroll workflows to ensure accurate and timely processing of payroll transactions, including proactive follow-up on outstanding items and potential issues.
• Reconcile payroll prior to transmission, validate confirmed reports, and escalate discrepancies with recommended solutions when appropriate.
• Process garnishments and ensure compliance with applicable regulations and requirements.
• Manage accurate and timely year-end reporting activities, including W-2 and W-2c preparation and distribution.
• Load, import, review, and validate files received from HR and other internal partners across all companies, ensuring data accuracy and timely processing.
• Research file-related issues, identify root causes, communicate findings to relevant stakeholders, and recommend process improvements to reduce recurring errors.
• Partner with HR, Commissions, Accounting, and other cross-functional teams on payroll-related matters, including employee data changes, commission payments, manual check processing, ACH rejections, and tax jurisdiction setup.
• Support international payroll activities as needed, including coordination, documentation, and follow-up with internal and external partners.
• Contribute ideas and solutions that improve payroll processes, strengthen controls, increase efficiency, and enhance collaboration across teams.

Behaviors and Competencies

• Professionalism and Resilience: Maintains composure, discretion, and sound judgment in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment, including when handling sensitive or challenging employee inquiries.
• Collaboration: Builds strong partnerships with HR, Commissions, Accounting, and business stakeholders while sharing information clearly and following through on commitments.
• Discretion: Exercises sound judgment and maintains confidentiality when handling sensitive employee and payroll information.
• Communication: Effectively communicates complex information and adapts communication styles to meet the needs of diverse audiences.
• Decision-Making: Evaluates options, considers potential outcomes, and makes informed decisions with an understanding of business impact.
• Problem-Solving and Continuous Improvement: Identifies issues, analyzes root causes, proposes practical solutions, and proactively seeks opportunities to improve processes.
• Analytical Thinking: Applies critical thinking to analyze payroll data, identify patterns, and draw accurate conclusions.
• Organization and Dependability: Effectively prioritizes daily and recurring payroll responsibilities, tracks deliverables, meets deadlines, and demonstrates strong follow-through.
• Multi-Tasking: Successfully manages competing priorities across payroll cycles, employee inquiries, file imports, reconciliations, and cross-functional requests while maintaining accuracy and responsiveness.
• Detail Orientation: Identifies errors or inconsistencies and takes appropriate corrective action to ensure accuracy.
• Prioritization: Determines critical tasks, organizes work effectively, and executes responsibilities with minimal supervision.

Skill Level Requirements

• Proficient in Microsoft Excel for payroll reporting and data analysis, including formulas, functions, pivot tables, reconciliations, and data validation techniques. (Intermediate)
• Working knowledge of payroll accounting concepts and payroll controls, with the ability to partner with Accounting on reconciliations, manual checks, ACH rejections, and tax-related setup activities.
• Experience using payroll systems such as Vantage and ADP for payroll processing, employee data maintenance, reporting, and issue resolution.
• Ability to identify payroll process gaps, recommend efficiency improvements, document procedures, and collaborate with stakeholders to strengthen scalable and repeatable payroll practices. (Intermediate)

Preferred Requirements

• Experience supporting multi-state payroll, complex payroll cycles, and/or high-volume payroll environments preferred.
• Exposure to international payroll processes, global payroll coordination, or payroll vendor management is a plus.
• Prior experience improving payroll processes, creating documentation, or partnering across HR, Commissions, and Accounting functions preferred.

Other Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.
• 2-4 years of payroll experience preferred, ideally in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Demonstrated reliability, accountability, and ability to meet scheduled payroll deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Ability to maintain professionalism and composure when handling time-sensitive issues, escalations, and challenging conversations.
• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), or similar payroll certification preferred.

The base salary range for this position is $60,000 - $90,000. The compensation for this position is dependent on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and market location and, therefore, will vary from individual to individual. Benefits may include, but are not limited to, medical, vision, dental, 401K, and flexible spending.

Equal Employment Opportunity M/F/Disability/Protected Veteran Status