5701 - Payroll Specialist (Financial Operations Division)

$46,097 - $46,097/Yr

Pima County - Tucson, AZ

Full-time - Entry Level

Tucson, AZ

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities

About the position

The Pima County Department of Finance and Risk Management is seeking a motivated and skilled professional to join our Payroll team as a Payroll Specialist. This position plays a crucial role in processing a bi-weekly payroll for nearly 8,000 employees. The Payroll Specialist will be responsible for auditing timecards in accordance with federal and state payroll laws, as well as County Merit and Administrative procedures. This includes adjusting leave accruals as necessary, ensuring that employee payouts are accurate, and providing exceptional customer service to both employees and vendors. The ideal candidate will take pride in their work, enjoy challenges, and appreciate a collaborative environment, making this an excellent opportunity to contribute to our team. In this role, the Payroll Specialist will review, analyze, balance, and reconcile the countywide bi-weekly payroll or county records/documents for vendor payment and processing, ensuring compliance with Federal and State laws, wage and hour laws, withholding statutes, tax regulations, and County administrative policies and procedures. The position also involves preparing general journal entries related to payroll or accounts payable activities, maintaining data for monthly, quarterly, or annual reports, and providing technical assistance regarding payroll regulations and the County's financial management system to department coworkers and other users. Additionally, the Payroll Specialist will be responsible for reviewing manual warrant requests for compliance, calculating and posting withholdings for wage assignments, and maintaining files related to child support and tax levies. The role requires monitoring and reconciling transactions related to the Treasurer's Office and liaising with county departments and vendors to address inquiries on invoices and other financial operations matters. The successful candidate will also implement changes to procedures based on new legislation and recommend improvements to reports and processes when appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Review, analyze, balance and reconcile the countywide bi-weekly payroll or county records/documents for vendor payment and processing in compliance with Federal and State laws.
• Prepare general journal entries relative to payroll or accounts payable activities.
• Prepare and maintain data for monthly, quarterly or annual reports.
• Provide technical assistance related to regulations pertaining to payroll or accounts payable activities.
• Review manual warrant requests for compliance with applicable policies and regulations before processing for payment.
• Receive, analyze, calculate and post withholdings for wage assignments, Federal and State levies, or child support garnishments.
• Balance, monitor and maintain child support, wage garnishments, Federal and State tax levy files.
• Prepare, update and maintain fiscal and year-end schedules and documents.
• Implement changes to procedures based on legislation enacted by local, State or Federal government.
• Review, analyze and generate reports from the County's financial management and payroll system and recommend improvements and modifications to reports and processes.
• Monitor, balance and reconcile transactions related to the Treasurer's Office, clearing accounts, petty cash, and change funds to the general ledger.
• Liaison with county departments and vendors by researching and providing responses to inquiries on invoices and other financial operations matters.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting or a closely related field and one year of professional accounting experience.
• Two years of experience with Pima County as a Financial Operations Technician or a Medical Claims Examiner II.
• Three years of experience with Pima County as a Medical Claims Examiner I.

Nice-to-haves

• Minimum two (2) years of experience in payroll including processing electronic time cards and applying human resource policies.
• Minimum two (2) years of experience utilizing an electronic payroll platform (ADP, Kronos, PeopleSoft, etc.).
• Minimum one (1) year of experience utilizing Excel.
• Minimum one (1) year experience in customer service.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Paid holidays
• Flexible scheduling
• Professional development opportunities
• Retirement savings plan (401k)