Payroll Specialist

Title: Payroll Specialist

Department: People, Payroll

Reports to: Payroll Manager

Status: Nonexempt

Date: December 2025

Broad Responsibilities: The Payroll Specialist supports accurate, timely payroll execution for a multi-state workforce. This role owns end to end biweekly payroll processing, ensures compliance with federal, state, and local requirements, and partners closely with HR, Finance, and field leaders to resolve payroll issues quickly and professionally. The ideal candidate brings strong UKG experience, working knowledge of ADP is a plus, a can-do mindset, and a collaborative, service-oriented approach.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

• Process biweekly payrolls for a multi-state employee population, including pay calculations, validations, audits, and finalization
• Maintain payroll accuracy for earnings, deductions, garnishments, taxes, retro adjustments, leave pay, and off cycle payments as needed
• Perform payroll reconciliations, resolve variances, and partner with Finance on payroll related reporting and balancing
• Support payroll tax and compliance activities by researching state and local wage and hour rules, reciprocal agreements, new withholding requirements, and agency updates, then translating changes into system setup and process updates
• Execute strong pre payroll and post payroll audits, including timecard review, exception reporting, pay rate checks, and termination pay compliance by state
• Partner with HR, Benefits, and field teams to resolve employee payroll questions with urgency, professionalism, and clear communication
• Maintain employee payroll data integrity, including job changes, rate changes, cost centers, and organizational changes, ensuring accurate system records and downstream reporting
• Create and enhance payroll reports and dashboards to support operational needs, trend analysis, and leadership requests
• Assist with continuous improvement initiatives that streamline payroll workflows, improve controls, and strengthen the employee experience
• Support system enhancements, testing, and implementations, including upgrades, configuration changes, process documentation, and user support
• Maintain documentation, SOPs, and internal controls aligned to company policy and audit expectations
• Participate in yearend activities including W 2 support, audits, and payroll calendar planning

Skills and Qualifications

• 3 to 5 years of hands-on payroll processing experience, including weekly and biweekly payrolls
• Multi state payroll experience with proven ability to research and apply changing payroll laws and regulations
• UKG experience required (timekeeping and payroll, or strong payroll module experience)
• Strong Excel skills, including lookups, pivots, and data validation
• High attention to detail, strong sense of ownership, and commitment to accuracy and confidentiality
• Collaborative style with a service mindset and comfort working cross functionally
• ADP experience preferred
• Experience supporting payroll system changes, testing, reporting, or configuration improvements
• CPP or FPC certification preferred
• Experience in high volume hourly environments, hospitality, retail, or multi location operations
• Can do attitude, solutions oriented, calm under deadline
• Strong judgment with confidential data
• Clear, friendly communicator, able to explain payroll topics in plain language
• Organized, able to manage competing priorities and payroll cutoff timelines
• Continuous improvement mindset, comfortable learning new tools and processes
• Must be comfortable with peak workload periods around payroll close, month end, and year end
• Hybrid schedule may require periodic in person time for collaboration, audits, or system

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to stand for long periods of time, use hands and fingers, communicate verbally, and hear. The associate is frequently required to reach with hands and arms, climb, balance, taste, and smell. The associate is also occasionally required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and either lift or move up to 35 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus.