People and Payroll Specialist

Description

The People and Payroll Specialist administers the College's payroll accurately, timely, and confidentially, and provides operational support across the Office of People, Success & Opportunity. The position is a primary resource for faculty, staff, student employees, supervisors, administrators, and job candidates on payroll, employee records, onboarding, benefits, and employment processes.

The role requires exceptional attention to detail, discretion with sensitive information, sound judgment, and the ability to manage recurring deadlines alongside competing priorities.

 Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Payroll processing. Prepares, inputs, transmits, and verifies biweekly payroll and manual checks for faculty, staff, and student employees. Reviews timekeeping, attendance, leave, overtime, stipends, supplemental pay, and deductions for accuracy. Ensures payroll is completed within established deadlines.
• Payroll review and reconciliation. Reviews payroll registers and related reports, reconciles payroll data, and researches and resolves discrepancies. Coordinates payroll reconciliation with the Business Office. Assists with year-end processes, including W-2 preparation, review, distribution, and reconciliation.
• Employee changes and deductions. Processes new hires, salary changes, promotions, transfers, leaves, terminations, and other status changes affecting pay. Administers and tracks garnishments, retirement and TIAA contributions, insurance and HSA deductions, accrued leave, and other payroll-related items, ensuring each is accurately reflected in employee records.
• Faculty and adjunct compensation. Tracks faculty work and allocates it to contract, adjunct, or other applicable compensation categories. Prepares adjunct payroll through a multi-tiered payment process, coordinates payment for independent study courses, and generates contracts for (WOL) undergraduate adjunct faculty following established census dates. Verifies assignments and compensation with academic departments and administrators.
• Onboarding and employment administration. Coordinates and completes onboarding for new faculty, staff, temporary, and student employees, including required forms, deadlines, and orientation to College policies and procedures. Verifies I-9 documentation and submits to E-Verify, reports new hires to the State of Indiana, and enters background check information in the designated system. Monitors outstanding requirements and follows up with employees, supervisors, and departments.
• Recruitment support. Posts College job openings through appropriate recruitment channels, routes application materials to hiring personnel, responds to candidate inquiries about the employment process, and maintains related documentation.
• Employee records and data management. Maintains confidential personnel files and employment records in accordance with College policy and applicable requirements. Supports data integrity across payroll, employee information, timekeeping, and benefits systems, reviewing for completeness and resolving discrepancies.
• Reporting. Prepares routine and specialized reports on employee data, payroll, compensation, benefits, and employment activity for the Office of People, Success & Opportunity and other departments as appropriate.
• Benefits administration support. Inputs, monitors, and tracks benefit elections and deductions; reconciles benefits statements and resolves discrepancies; processes benefit changes; assists with annual enrollment and related communications; answers routine benefit questions and refers complex questions to the appropriate provider or College resource. Supports tracking of applicable leave programs, including FMLA, and assists with Workers' Compensation claims.
• Employee service. Serves as a responsive resource for faculty, staff, student employees, and supervisors on payroll and employment processes. Explains pay statements, deductions, leave balances, timekeeping, benefits, deadlines, and the Employee Self-Service system clearly, and works with employees and supervisors to research and resolve issues. Maintains confidentiality in all interactions.
• Compliance and audit support. Maintains compliance with federal, state, and local payroll, tax, employment, and recordkeeping requirements. Gathers, organizes, and provides documentation for the annual audit, Workers' Compensation audits, Social Security reporting, and other internal and external reviews within established deadlines. Monitors regulatory changes and communicates relevant updates to the Office.
• Policy and performance process support. Provides administrative support for the performance review process, including tracking deadlines, distributing materials, and maintaining documentation. Assists with updates to the staff and faculty handbooks, compensation policies, forms, and employee resources, and supports related employee communications.
• Campus collaboration. Works with the Business Office, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, supervisors, and department leaders to support the payroll and employment needs of all employee classifications. Develops working knowledge of the College's academic calendar, census dates, payroll schedules, and employee classifications. Supports projects and process improvements as assigned.
• Campus mail and package services. Processes incoming and outgoing campus mail and packages. Picks up mail and packages from the local post office and transports them to campus. Sorts and distributes incoming mail and packages to departments across campus, coordinating with campus offices on mail and package needs as they arise.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Other Duties & Responsibilities:

• Work requires tact, discretion and confidentiality
• Able to handle multifunctional tasks
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Capable of working in a fast-paced environment

Supervision: May supervise student workers 

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree in business, accounting, finance, office administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Three or more years of experience in payroll, accounting, employee administration, or a closely related field, including direct payroll processing responsibility.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Strong organizational, time-management, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment with sensitive employee, payroll, and personal information.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize competing responsibilities, and meet recurring deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively with individuals at all levels of the College and with a diverse population of employees and students.
• Ability to learn and navigate payroll, HRIS, timekeeping, and other College software systems.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel locally for mail and package duties.

Preferred Qualifications

• Payroll processing experience in higher education.
• Experience with faculty, adjunct, and student payroll.
• Experience coordinating onboarding, I-9 and E-Verify processes, and employment background checks.
• Experience with an HRIS, payroll, timekeeping, or employee information system.
• Experience with benefits administration and reconciliation.
• Experience supporting FMLA and Workers' Compensation processes.
• Experience with payroll reconciliation, reporting, and audit preparation.
• Knowledge of federal and Indiana payroll and tax requirements.
• Payroll or related professional certification (FPC, CPP, PHR, SHRM-CP, or similar).

Working Conditions:

• Office environment