Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

Reporting to the Payroll Manager, the Payroll Specialist assists the Payroll team in reviewing the way we process payroll for employees and ensuring payments are accurate and timely. The Payroll Specialist reviews payroll data and notes any errors, validates amounts, hours worked, rate of pay, and deductions, and ensures payments are made on time. This is a full-time, exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

The Payroll Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Provide Tier II support for employee questions
• Review timesheets and attendance records for accuracy, making corrections as necessary
• Review compensation-related data including wages, retroactive payments, bonuses, and benefits
• Assist the payroll team in reviewing payroll transactions and running and/or reviewing related exception reports to ensure anomalies are researched, explained, and/or resolved
• Assist with researching and resolving pension and benefit-related issues
• Assist with audits of payroll procedures and records
• Assist with making improvements to business processes and systems
• Other duties as assigned

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Payroll Specialist must possess the following qualifications:

• Education Required:
  
  High school diploma or GED equivalent is required. Associate or Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is preferred.
• Experience
  
  Required:
  
  Minimum of five (5) years of related professional work experience, including the following, is required:
  Minimum of three (3) years of payroll experience. Minimum of one (1) year of experience utilizing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) payroll application and working with customer service management (CRM) systems to ticket and track call volume. Payroll experience in a large government organization is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  Knowledge of payroll processes. Knowledge of state and federal payroll related laws and regulations including tax regulations. Ability to create and use spreadsheets to view data and validate calculations. Proven ability to use payroll applications such as People Soft, Oracle and Kronos Timekeeping systems. Ability to ensure data accuracy, and identify and document any issues. Able to write and clearly explain payroll procedures and policies.
  
  Ability to provide superior customer service through all types of interactions by maintaining a positive, friendly, professional, and patient attitude at all times. Ability to plan, organize, prioritize tasks, and schedule to meet critical deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits:
Health & Wellness:
Your Care, Your Choice CPS is committed to providing comprehensive health coverage to our employees and their eligible dependents. You'll have access to a variety of choices to best fit your needs:
Medical Plan Options Pharmacy Dental Vision Behavioral Health & EAP Employee Wellness Program Financial Security:
Planning for Today and Tomorrow We understand the importance of financial stability, which is why CPS offers strong retirement and savings options:
Basic Life Insurance Life and Disability Insurance Pension Plans Supplemental Retirement Plans (403(b) and 457(b)) Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) Spot Pet Insurance Work-Life Balance:
Supporting Your Personal and Professional Life CPS values the well-being of its employees and offers competitive paid time off policies:
Paid Leave Sick Leave Vacation Days Parental Leaves Short-Term Disability Religious Holidays Leaves

Conditions of Employment As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:
Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions; however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.