Payroll & Accounts Payable Specialist; Union Payroll

Sappi North America
Sappi North America, headquartered in Boston with corporate offices in Portland, Maine, is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited, a global renewable resource company that uses every part of the tree to make sustainable woodfiber products. With over 12,000 employees and operations in seven countries, we serve customers worldwide. Our diversified businesses include Packaging, Speciality and Graphic Papers and Dissolving Pulp, offering premium products for various industries.

From cosmetics packaging and food industry barrier papers to textiles and the clothes you wear, Sappi’s solutions are vital to the future of sustainable alternatives to plastic and other fossil fuel-based products.

The Payroll/AP Specialist is a key part of the Corporate Payroll group and supports the processing of all hourly and salary payrolls for all company locations. The position closely interacts with Corporate and Site Human Resources contacts, site Payroll departments and salary and hourly employees and/or their supervisors as necessary to ensure accurate payroll processing. This position requires a high degree of confidentiality, accuracy and urgency with excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills.

The role will also provide support for the Accounts Payable group in the areas of vendor master data maintenance, audit of expense reports and other administrative items.

Responsibilities:

• Process all payroll changes and edit time relating to hourly and non-exempt employees for the accurate processing of all straight time, overtime and holiday pay. Must be knowledgeable regarding company pay policies and labor contracts. Confidentiality is essential.
• Close interaction with Corporate and Site HR, site Payroll departments, external parties and agencies. Will interact with salary and hourly employees. Requires excellent interpersonal and communication skills and discretion.
• Evaluate pay discrepancies and process adjustments accordingly. Determine necessity of canceling or reissuing paychecks and/or direct deposits and prepare corrections to earnings figures. Must be able to explain pay standards and use discretion when working with employee pay problems.
• Prepare and distribute routine reports for use by payroll and other departments. Process weekly and monthly payments for union dues as well as performing the necessary reconciliations, weekly railroad tax payments and weekly garnishment reconciliations.
• Ensures compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and provincial payroll regulations, wage and hour requirements, tax withholding requirements, and company policies.
• Performs payroll audits and reconciliations to verify the accuracy of employee data, earnings, deductions, taxes, and time records prior to payroll processing.
• Identifies opportunities to improve payroll and accounts payable processes, increase efficiency, and strengthen internal controls.
• Support the Accounts Payable group by performing vendor master data updates as needed. The role will also assist with auditing of Concur expense reports and other AP administrative items as needed.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 1-3 years of experience within the payroll function; preferably a manufacturing environment.
• Experience in a union environment and experience with 2500+ employee payroll is preferred
• Bachelor's degree preferred
• Fundamental Payroll Certification a plus
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to perform in a high-demand, time-sensitive and confidential environment
• Possesses strong problem-solving skills and basic accounting skills
• Ability to perform in a high-demand, time-sensitive and confidential environment
• Able to work effectively in a team environment
• Experience with ADP Enterprise a plus
• Has strong computer skills,…