Senior Payroll Specialist

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world‑class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.

In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student‑centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of the Controller is responsible for the financial operations of Chicago Public Schools, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Internal Accounts, and Corporate Accounting.

Under the direction of the Payroll Manager, the Senior Payroll Specialist performs a wide variety of payroll and timekeeping processing, reporting, validation, and customer support activities to ensure all audits, payments, and payroll processes are accurate and timely in accordance with Payroll policies and procedures. Partners with key stakeholders to troubleshoot and resolve discrepancies. Provide a full scope of timekeeping and payroll system technical support to resolve complex payroll issues.

• Provide tier III support to employees, schools, and departments for payroll and/or timekeeping questions and issues
• Process and validate accuracy of payroll and/or timekeeping system updates such as employee schedules, pay rules, password resets, pay codes, timesheet data, pension, garnishments, transit, union and other general deductions using CPS and vendor systems.
• Partner with stakeholders to research and resolve payroll and/or timekeeping discrepancies and resolve exceptions and ensure accurate and complete payroll records.
• Research issues in HR systems to ensure that data accurately transfers between systems and perform corrections as required.
• Participates in system upgrades and implementations for process improvements.
• May serve as a backup to the payroll manager or team lead, as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

• High school diploma or GED equivalent, required
• Associate degree or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, preferred
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) preferred

• Minimum of five (5) years professional payroll experience in large complex payroll systems as a payroll specialist, payroll administrator, or equivalent
• Experience in a large government organization strongly preferred

• Strong working knowledge of payroll wage and hour laws, tax regulations, and payroll operations
• Strong working knowledge of payroll system functionality and the ability to effectively utilize ERP applications (E.g., People Soft, Oracle, Kronos)
• Advanced spreadsheet skills (VLOOKUP, Pivots, functions, etc.)
• Strong communication skills with the ability to accurately understand and communicate payroll wage and tax information, payroll policies and procedures, and payroll system functionality to all levels of employees
• Ability to maintain a thorough understanding of the payroll cycle
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize tasks and schedules to meet critical deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Demonstrate high levels of instructional expertise, integrity, honesty, credibility, and the courage to make difficult yet necessary decisions
• Ability to define problems, analyze data, and outline valid conclusions and action steps
• Ability to provide superior customer service through all types of interactions by maintaining a positive, friendly, professional and patient attitude at all times.

• 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…