Payroll Administrator

Summary
The Payroll and People Operations Administrator is a critical support role that combines core HR administration with end-to-end payroll and timekeeping. Success in this role means payroll runs on time and without errors, employee records are complete and audit-ready, and departmental processes and workflows are executed flawlessly.

Responsibilities
Payroll & Timekeeping
This role assists with the following duties:
• Verify hours worked and pay adjustments each pay period, and post approved information to payroll records.
• Enter payroll data into the payroll system, and process and issue employee pay and earnings statements.
• Review timesheets, wage computations, and related records to detect and resolve payroll discrepancies before payroll is finalized.
• Process certified payroll for covered employees, and ensure compliance with federal contractor payroll requirements, including the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act, and Prevailing Wages.
• Partner with People Operations on matters affecting employee pay, such as compensation changes, leaves of absence, and earnings and deductions changes.
• Assist employees and managers on the company’s timekeeping system and procedures as needed.
• Stay current on final pay and changes in tax and deduction laws that affect payroll processing per state.

HR Administration & Employee Lifecycle
This role supports the People Operations team with the following duties:
• Perform new hire onboarding tasks as the need arises.
• Conduct reference or background checks on existing employees as directed by customer requirements.
• Facilitate the employee separation process, including the coordination of final pay, equipment collection, and access shut off.
• Partner with the company’s employment verification provider to facilitate requests, completing those that fall outside of the provider’s scope.
• Review and process employee changes in the HRIS, including demographic changes, benefit elections, and process workflows.

Education & Experience Requirements
Required
• Two (2) or more years of combined experience in payroll processing and HR administration, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Experience processing multi-step payroll, including wage and deduction calculations, timekeeping review, and pay adjustments.
• Experience processing certified payroll and working with federal contractor requirements, including but not limited to: Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, and Prevailing Wages.
• Working knowledge of payroll tax and deduction rules and core employment laws (such as FLSA, EEO, and ADA), with the ability to apply them to day-to-day situations.
• Experience using an HRIS, payroll, or timekeeping platform (for example Paylocity, ADP, Workday, UKG/Kronos, or similar) and Microsoft Excel for reconciliation and reporting.
• Strong accuracy and attention to detail, including the ability to spot and resolve numerical discrepancies.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain pay and policy information to people at all levels.
• Able to handle confidential employee and pay information with discretion and in accordance with company data-protection practices.

Preferred
• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, accounting, or a related field. Equivalent experience is fully considered.
• Professional certification such as Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), aPHR, PHR, or SHRM-CP.
• Experience supporting a multi-state workforce or a federal government contractor environment.

Physical Requirements
The physical demands below represent those needed to perform the essential functions of this role. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
• Remaining in a stationary position, typically seated, for extended periods while working at a computer.
• Operating a computer and other standard office equipment, including frequent keyboard and data-entry work.
• Reviewing detailed information on screens and in documents for accuracy.
• Communicating with employees, managers, and external parties daily by phone, email, video conference, and in person.
• A standard 40-hour work week, with occasional periods of heightened workload around payroll deadlines and period-end close.