Payroll Clerk

Overview Placement Type: Temporary Salary: $24.96-27.73 Hourly Start Date: Sep 6, 2026 Aquent is proud to partner with a leading financial services institution dedicated to fostering an engaged and supportive workplace. This organization is committed to ensuring its vast employee base is paid accurately and on time, maintaining compliance across various entities and jurisdictions, and supporting critical financial operations. They are passionate about enhancing the employee experience through innovative self-service tools, automation, and continuous service-level improvements, making a tangible difference in the lives of their employees. Are you a meticulous and driven payroll professional ready to make a significant impact? This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic HR team where your expertise will directly contribute to the financial well-being of thousands. As a key player in Payroll Operations, you will be instrumental in ensuring seamless daily and bi-weekly payroll activities, upholding strict processing deadlines, and fostering a positive employee experience through accurate calculations and clear communication. Your contributions will directly support the company's commitment to its employees and operational excellence, ensuring everyone feels valued and supported. Your Impactful Responsibilities Communicate clearly and professionally with employees, managers, and business partners to resolve payroll questions and provide timely support. Apply strong attention to detail and analytical skills to ensure payroll data, calculations, and corrections are accurate. Support diverse payroll processes, including garnishment backup, ACH reject review, off-cycle payments, and efficient paycheck or payslip distribution. Utilize sound business judgment to understand payroll impacts, identify issues, and determine when escalation to payroll leadership is needed. Research and resolve cases related to earnings, taxes, deductions, timekeeping, and absence. Maintain, analyze, and prepare monthly payroll metrics and reports for review. Contribute to special projects, process improvements, and other payroll duties as assigned. Collaborate effectively as part of a team while also managing individual responsibilities and deadlines. What You'll Bring (Must-Have Qualifications) 3+ years of full-cycle, multi-state payroll processing experience. Proficiency with a major payroll system, timekeeping, or absence management platform. Strong attention to detail with a commitment to accuracy, quality, and timely completion of work. Experience using payroll systems and data query tools to research, analyze, and resolve payroll issues. Advanced Excel skills, including VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, formulas, and data analysis. Comprehensive knowledge of federal and state payroll laws, regulations, and compliance requirements. Demonstrated ability to set priorities, meet performance goals, and deliver high-quality results. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to evaluate information and resolve complex issues. Proven success working effectively in both team-oriented and independent environments. Continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, accuracy, and productivity. Bonus Points (Nice-to-Have Qualifications) Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification. Bachelor's degree in accounting, business, or a closely related field. About Aquent Talent: Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits! Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.