Payroll Specialist

Savannah Chatham County Public Schools - Pittsboro, NC

Full-time - Entry Level

Pittsboro, NC

Educational Services

About the position

The Payroll Specialist position at Chatham County Public Schools involves performing technical payroll and fiscal work under general supervision within the Financial Services Division. The primary responsibility of this role is to ensure timely and accurate salary payments to school employees. This position requires a variety of administrative and technical functions, including public contact and office management duties, to support a top-level administrator. The Payroll Specialist will monitor and assist with all district purchase orders from individual schools, departments, and Central Services on a daily basis. In addition to payroll processing, the Payroll Specialist will be responsible for releasing purchase orders, preparing P-Card purchase orders, and reviewing purchase orders for compliance with state and local regulations. The role also includes maintaining department and school requisition files, purchasing items for offices and schools, and managing school vehicle titles and insurance files. The Payroll Specialist will prepare various reports, including the NCEP Participation Report and the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) purchasing report, and will maintain files to support the orderly processing of payrolls and vendor invoices. The position requires the ability to handle payroll information, including direct deposits, leave balances, and compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Payroll Specialist will respond to inquiries from employees regarding payroll matters and will work closely with the Employee Benefits Specialist to determine disability payments. This role is essential in generating reports for the Human Resources Department and maintaining accurate records for payroll deductions and vendor payments. The Payroll Specialist will also perform other related tasks as required by the Chief Finance Officer, ensuring that all responsibilities are met efficiently and accurately.

Responsibilities

• Releases purchase orders for individual schools and departments.
• Prepares P-Card purchase orders for Central Services and individual schools.
• Reviews purchase orders for compliance with state and local regulations.
• Maintains department and school requisition files.
• Purchases items for office and schools as needed.
• Maintains school vehicle titles and insurance files; responsible for filing claims as needed.
• Prepares NCEP Participation Report and Encumbered Statement quarterly.
• Prepares invoices to schools and other agencies.
• Prepares deposit sheet with account code information and amounts daily.
• Prepares the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) purchasing report quarterly.
• Maintains school property insurance files and files claims as needed.
• Sets up and maintains files to support orderly processing of purchase orders and vendor invoices.
• Maintains file of outstanding purchase orders with periodic review along with balancing purchase orders to the general ledger.
• Creates and maintains files in meeting payroll deadlines, checking payrolls, and processing payrolls.
• Responds to requests for payroll information to verify employment and maintains files to support orderly processing of payrolls.
• Prints, sorts, and mails payroll checks including transmitting the direct deposit file and uploading positive pay information where applicable.
• Maintains payroll information on employees including direct deposit and deductions as authorized by employees.
• Maintains leave earned for eligible employees and checks leave balances for absences reported on payroll.
• Reviews payrolls for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and other Federal and State Laws and regulations.
• Responds to inquiries from employees relating to payroll matters and interprets payroll-related policies.
• Works closely with Employee Benefits Specialist to determine disability payments.
• Generates reports as requested by Human Resources Department.
• Maintains deductions, balances, and reconciles deductions and distributes checks written to various payroll vendors.
• Pulls payment vouchers and timesheets as requested by auditors.
• Performs other work-related tasks as required by the Chief Finance Officer.

Requirements

• Minimum of Associate Degree in Business or Accounting or a High School graduate with 3-5 years of experience related to the nature of work, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Thorough knowledge of the operations and activities of the department.
• Thorough knowledge of and ability to use grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation.
• Thorough knowledge of office practices and procedures.
• Considerable knowledge of common word processing, spreadsheet and file maintenance programs.
• Considerable knowledge of the principles of organization and administration.
• General knowledge of the principles of organization and administration.
• General knowledge of computers and peripheral equipment.
• Skills to operate a computer.
• Ability to work independently with little guidance.
• Ability to maintain confidential information.
• Ability to interact and deal with the public in a professional manner.
• Ability to generate correspondence and reports independently.
• Ability to operate common office machines.
• Ability to plan and prepare meeting agendas.
• Ability to sort and distribute documents.
• Ability to maintain complete and accurate records and to develop standard reports from those records.
• Ability to respond to questions based on considerable knowledge of the department.
• Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions.
• Ability to type accurately at a moderate rate of speed.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments.