Payroll Officer ; Unit

Payroll Officer 1

Employee Benefits Unit

Location: Wethersfield, CT

Job Type: Open to Statewide Employees

Salary: $72,758.00 - $91,881.00 per year

Close Date: 12/24/2025 11:59 PM

• Located within the Employee Benefits Unit at DOC's Central Office, 24 Wolcott Hill Road in Wethersfield, CT, may require travel throughout the state.
• The Payroll Unit processes payroll and benefits for approximately 6,300 employees.
• This is a full‑time (40 hours per week) position. Telework privileges may be available after completion of the working test period up to 50% of the work week.

The Benefits Unit Supervisor provides support and supervision for multiple levels of staff within our facilities and Central Office by preparing and maintaining employee benefits and may assist with biweekly regular, overtime and supplemental payrolls and performing various payroll support and supervision activities, especially during holiday and special event pay periods.

The Department of Correction strives to be a leader in progressive correctional practices and partnered re‑entry initiatives to support responsive evidence‑based practices geared toward supporting reintegration and reducing recidivism. Safety and security are a priority, with an unwavering respect for the human dignity of staff, victims, citizens, and offenders.

• Schedule, assign, oversee, and review work of staff.
• Provide staff training and assistance.
• Conduct performance evaluations.
• Determine priorities and plan unit work.
• Establish and maintain unit procedures.
• Develop or make recommendations on policies and standards.
• Act as liaison with other operating units, agencies, and outside officials regarding unit policies and procedures.
• Prepare reports and correspondence.
• Review payroll accuracy, including shift differential payments, annual increases, collective bargaining increases, retirement calculations, workers’ compensation benefits, and revisions for attachments.
• Prepare or closely supervise more complex payroll portions such as retroactive payments or garnishments.
• Supervise reconciliation of payroll deductions and coding of payroll expenditures.
• Supervise maintenance of time records including issuing semi‑annual leave balances.
• Supervise control and distribution of paychecks.
• Answer employee questions related to payroll.
• May compile payroll expenditure data for budget preparation.
• May provide information and process paperwork regarding employee fringe benefits.
• Perform related duties as required.

• Considerable knowledge of relevant agency policies and procedures and ability to apply relevant state and federal laws, statutes, and regulations.
• Knowledge of state payroll policies and procedures; use of office machinery used in accounting work; governmental accounting as it applies to payroll.
• Considerable interpersonal skills.
• Oral communication skills.
• Skill in performing arithmetical computations.
• Supervisory ability.

• Five (5) years of experience in complex clerical work in accounting or payroll.
• Two (2) years of the general experience must have had payroll preparation as the principal responsibility.
• College training may be substituted for the general experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equaling one‑half (½) year of experience to a maximum of two (2) years.

• Experience processing benefits and payroll using People Soft (CORE) software, specifically its Payroll/HR function and other types of payroll software such as UKG Pro.
• Experience compiling and analyzing benefits and payroll data and preparing reports on such findings.
• Experience using Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Word in a professional work setting.
• Experience communicating with diverse groups of people while providing excellent customer service to those in and outside our organization.
• Experience working independently and supervising assigned staff.
  
  Experience problem solving and adapting to ever‑changing work priorities to meet deadlines.

Persons responsible for supervising or observing the behavior of inmates or custodial individuals must possess a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certification by the time of permanent appointment.

This position is an equal opportunity workplace. The Department of Correction is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.