Payroll Administrator

Job Description

The Department of Culture & Talent is seeking a highly organized, detail-oriented, and data-driven HR Administrator with strong administrative, analytical, interpersonal, and financial skills. In addition to managing payroll processing, tax compliance, and employee benefits administration, this role will contribute to policy development, foster employee engagement initiatives, and ensure clear, professional communication across the organization.

This position also leverages HR data to inform decisions, generate insights on workforce trends, and enhance HR processes and outcomes. The HR Administrator serves as the primary contact for payroll-related questions, leave management, and retirement plan processing, while supporting compliance and driving a positive workplace culture.

Responsibilities

• Payroll Processing: Administer semi-monthly payroll, review timesheets, process pay adjustments, garnishments, and maintain employee payroll benefit elections.
• Tax Compliance: Manage quarterly and annual employer tax filings (IRS, state, and local), create new tax accounts as needed, reconcile withholdings, prepare W-2s, and 1099s as needed.
• Audits & Reporting: Provide payroll documentation for internal and external audits, prevailing wage reporting; compile and analyze HR-related data from systems such as Dayforce or Power BI to support reporting and compliance.
• Retirement Plans: Process contributions, enrollments, distributions, rollovers, and perform compliance testing (402(g) and Form 5500).
• Leave, Disability and State Program Management: Coordinate paid leave, disability, and unemployment claims, ensure compliance with overlapping leave policies, and support employees with forms and return-to-work requirements.
• Benefits Administration: Oversee benefit programs including tuition reimbursement, travel fund programs, charitable giving, and other company-supported programs; conduct benefit audits and reconciliations. Health benefit administration may also be included in this position at a later date.
• Employee Support: Respond to payroll-related inquiries and provide resources and communication regarding pay, benefits, and tax matters.
• Onboarding & Offboarding: Process payroll-related documentation for new hires and separating employees, including final paychecks, direct deposits, and termination recordkeeping.
• Policy Development: Draft, update, and maintain HR policies and procedures to ensure compliance and clarity across the organization.
• Employee Engagement: Support initiatives that promote a positive workplace culture, including recognition programs and engagement activities; analyze engagement data and feedback to identify trends and recommend improvements.
• Staff Communication: Create clear, professional communications regarding HR policies, benefits, and organizational updates.
• HR Data Analysis & Insights: Collect, structure, and interpret HR data to identify trends, support decision-making, and improve HR processes and strategic outcomes.

Qualifications & Skills

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business, or related field preferred (or equivalent experience).
• 2-3+ years of payroll administration experience; multi-state payroll, tax filing, and prevailing wage experience preferred.
• Experience in policy writing and HR documentation.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to craft clear, professional messaging, collaborate across teams, and present data insights to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proficiency with payroll software (Dayforce, ADP, Paylocity, or similar) and HRIS platforms.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, formulas, and data analysis; experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI) is a plus.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll, labor, and tax regulations; experience with retirement plan administration (401(k), 5500 compliance) is a plus.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, including the ability to identify trends and translate complex data into actionable insights.
• Ability to troubleshoot payroll discrepancies and reconcile complex data accurately.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with a high level of attention to detail.
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality and integrity when handling sensitive information.
• Proactive mindset with a willingness to learn, improve processes, and leverage data to drive continuous improvement.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties, or responsibilities required for this role. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Physical Demand Requirements

Work Environment
This role operates primarily in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing systems.

Physical Demands
This is largely a sedentary role with occasional travel required. The position may require the ability to walk stairs and enter, travel in, and exit vehicles and airplanes.