Payroll Specialist

$56,680 - $85,015/Yr

Guardian - Bethlehem, PA

Full-time - Mid Level

Remote - Bethlehem, PA

Administrative and Support Services

About the position

As a Payroll Specialist at Guardian, you will play a crucial role in ensuring that all payroll administration and accounting processes are evaluated for efficiency and accuracy. Your primary responsibility will be to maintain critical payroll controls and procedures, developing and enforcing standards to guarantee the timely processing of payroll. This includes both manual and automated inputs to the payroll system, as well as managing outputs to other systems. You will prepare payment requests for third-party payroll liabilities, excluding taxes, and execute pre-and post-processing audits to validate payroll accuracy. Any necessary adjustments will be made promptly to ensure that employees and key stakeholders experience an error-free payroll process. In this role, you will also serve as the Tier 3 authority for payroll matters referred by the HR Shared Services Center team (MyHR), ensuring that all inquiries and cases are resolved quickly while providing superior customer service. You will handle various payrolls for active corporate employees, retirees, and those with disabilities, which includes pre-and post-verifications, balancing and reconciliations, general ledger postings, journal entries, and reporting. Maintaining a wide variety of payroll information, files, and records in both written and electronic formats will be essential for providing an up-to-date reference and audit trail for compliance purposes.

Responsibilities

• Maintain all critical payroll controls and procedures to ensure accuracy and timeliness of payroll processing.
• Prepare payment requests for third-party payroll liabilities other than taxes.
• Execute pre-and post-processing audits to validate payroll accuracy and make necessary adjustments.
• Inform key partners regarding errors or corrections as appropriate.
• Enter and release off-cycle, On-Demand payments as needed.
• Serve as the Tier 3 authority for payroll matters referred by the HR Shared Services Center team (MyHR).
• Handle various payrolls for active corporate employees, retirees, and those with disabilities, including pre-and post-verifications, balancing, reconciliations, general ledger postings, and reporting.
• Maintain payroll information, files, and records for compliance and audit purposes.

Requirements

• Minimum of 4 years of demonstrated experience in payroll functions.
• Ability to function as a working payroll lead and cover for team members as needed.
• Strong focus on customer service and ability to work as a supportive escalation expert.
• Ability to manage sensitive information with discretion and confidentiality.
• Highly effective communicator with strong verbal and written skills.
• Accomplished interpersonal and time management skills to prioritize multiple projects.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office applications, particularly MS Word and MS Excel.
• Understanding of federal, state, and local regulatory and compliance obligations related to payroll.
• Strong proficiency with Workday Payroll and HCM modules preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with payroll processing in a hybrid work environment.
• Knowledge of additional payroll software or systems.
• Familiarity with employee benefits administration.

Benefits

• Health care choice of medical plans with prescription drugs, including coverage for fertility and transgender inclusive benefits.
• Dental and vision plans.
• Health care accounts - flexible spending, health reimbursement, and health savings accounts.
• Critical illness insurance.
• Company-paid life and disability insurance plus voluntary supplemental coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match and annual contributions.
• Unlimited paid time off for most roles plus time off for volunteering, jury duty, voting, and bereavement.
• Emotional well-being and mental health resources powered by Spring Health.
• Tuition reimbursement and student loan assistance.
• Commuter benefits in select metropolitan areas.