Senior Payroll Specialist

SPS is seeking a detail-oriented Senior Payroll Specialist with experience in the construction industry to support accurate and timely payroll processing across multiple heavy/highway and bridge projects. This role works closely with the Payroll Manager and payroll team to support dynamic payroll processes and ensure payroll accuracy and compliance across a unionized workforce.

• Process weekly payroll for approximately 500 office and field employees in a unionized construction environment.
• Manage certified payroll reporting and ensure compliance with state, federal, municipal, and union requirements.
• Maintain accurate employee records, prevailing wage rates, and union wage rates.
• Handle deductions, garnishments, and benefits contributions in coordination with HR.
• Manage employee leave balances and accruals, including processing time-off requests, validating reported hours, reconciling accrual and usage balances, researching discrepancies, and ensuring accurate payroll payments in accordance with company policy and Massachusetts Earned Sick Time requirements.
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries and resolve discrepancies promptly.
• Coordinate payroll tax and union benefit remittances, reconcile payroll liabilities to accounts payable records, and ensure timely and accurate payment processing.
• Support payroll audits, tax filings, and union benefit reporting.
• Reconcile payroll-related general ledger accounts, investigate variances and discrepancies, and work with Payroll and Accounting teams to ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Collaborate with payroll team, project managers, and accountants to obtain accurate labor data and align payroll activity with job costing systems.

• 3–5 years of experience processing high-volume weekly payroll.
• Construction payroll experience, including exposure to union payroll, Davis-Bacon, prevailing wage, and certified payroll requirements, strongly preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of union collective bargaining agreements and their application to payroll calculations, pay rates, premiums, classifications, and location-specific wage requirements.
• Ability to independently reconcile payroll-related accounts, investigate discrepancies, and resolve issues accurately and promptly.
• Proficiency in payroll software (Viewpoint Vista experience preferred).
• Proficiency in Excel is a must; advanced Excel skills are a plus.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing deadlines.
• High attention to detail and confidentiality.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

SPS is an employee-owned company. We are proud to offer eligible employees the opportunity to participate in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Employee-owners benefit from the success of the company and play a critical role in fostering an ownership culture within the organization, emphasizing the importance of employee engagement, and commitment to long-term success.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages, including participation in the ESOP for eligible employees, a collaborative work environment, and opportunities for professional growth within our expanding organization.

It is the policy of SPS New England, Inc. to assure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, national origin, age or disability. Such action shall include: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation;

and selection for training, including apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and/or on-the-job training. It is also the policy of SPS New England, Inc. to take affirmative action to employ and to advance in employment, all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected status, and to base all employment decisions only on valid job requirements.

This policy shall apply to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, recruitment advertising, hiring, upgrading, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, recall, termination, rates of pay, fringe benefits or other forms of…