Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

By joining the San Diego Center for Children, you will empower children and families through transformative mental health care and educational services. Our vision is to inspire a world where children and families live joyful, healthy lives. We serve over 1,000 people every day - are you ready to make an impact?

Join us - and work with purpose!

The Payroll Specialist is responsible for performing all aspects of payroll, including implementing, maintaining, and fully understanding the payroll processing system, interfacing with timekeeping software, and working with our HRIS system provider to troubleshoot any system errors. Additionally, the Payroll Specialist handles processing, reconciling, and auditing of employee benefits.

This role serves as a subject matter expert in payroll processing, compliance, reconciliation, and system optimization. In addition to processing payroll, this position is responsible for ensuring compliance with federal, state, and California labor and hour laws; assisting with payroll audits; improving payroll processes; and providing data analysis and reporting. The Payroll Specialist partners closely with HR and Finance to ensure accurate payroll processing, proper benefit deductions, and alignment with organizational policies and funding requirements.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities:

• Serve as resource for payroll processing, ensuring compliance with all applicable federal, state, and California labor laws, including wage/hour requirements and Wage Order 5
• Ensure the accuracy and timeliness of bi-weekly payroll, including complex items such as retro pay, leave tracking, benefit deductions, and final paychecks
• Interface with all departments to ensure employee data accuracy, including compensation, benefits, and status changes impacting payroll
• Provide guidance and assist managers and staff on payroll processes, timekeeping, and compliance requirements
• Identify and collaborate around process improvements to enhance payroll accuracy, compliance, and efficiency
• Monitor and strengthen internal controls related to payroll processing and reporting
• Complete payroll processing activities, including reviewing timecards, validating adjustments, and submitting payroll accurately and on time
• Audit payroll transactions and employee status changes to ensure data integrity
• Research complex payroll discrepancies and employee inquiries for team review
• Timely process benefit payments and deductions (medical, dental, 403(b), life insurance, etc.)
• Ensure compliance with garnishments, with holdings, and tax reporting requirements
• Lead reconciliation of benefit invoices with payroll records to ensure accurate deductions
• Collaborate on year-end payroll processes, including W-2 preparation and distribution
• Maintain accurate Workers' Compensation codes and support annual audit process

Other

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Supports as necessary with assigned HR related duties, especially when team members are out
• Assist with annual audit by gathering and maintaining necessary documentation and by preparing supporting schedules, confirmations, etc. as related to job requirements
• Analyzes data obtained for evidence of deficiencies in controls, duplication of effort, extravagance, fraud, or lack of compliance with laws, government regulations, and management policies or procedures.
• Other duties as assigned

On The Job Mandatory Ongoing Trainings:

• Complete and stay up-to-date with all mandatory trainings as specified by the San Diego Center for Children, including but not limited to:
  Emergency Management Plan, False Claims, Code of Conduct NIAC Professional Boundaries Privacy & Security (HIPAA), Infection Prevention & Control Plan (IPCP), and Sexual Harassment-Supervisors
• All other trainings as assigned.

Language

Skills:

Ability to read and interpret documents such as payroll regulations, medical and other employee insurance materials, safety rules, instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from employees, supervisors, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to effectively present information to management and employee groups.

Mathematical

Skills:

Ability to accurately calculate figures and amounts. Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as overtime trends, comparison to budgets, variances over time, etc. Ability to apply concepts such as percentage of time worked in multiple departments, Full Time Equivalents (FTE), pay differentials, etc.

Reasoning Ability:

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions. Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving fiscal data bases, accounting, payroll, and billing. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be…