Senior Payroll Specialist

The Senior Payroll Specialist is a hands-on, detail-driven role responsible for the accurate, timely, and compliant processing of payroll across BHC’s multi-property portfolio. Reporting to the Payroll Manager, this role is the operational engine of the payroll function, covering nearly 1,000 colleagues across multiple properties, pay structures, and tip pooling arrangements. 

This role requires deep fluency in Workday, Evention, and OSV, and a working knowledge of hospitality payroll complexity, including tipped employee pay practices, multi-property timekeeping, and wage and hour compliance. The right candidate brings precision and independence to own day-to-day payroll processing while the Payroll Manager focuses on department growth and strategic needs as BHC continues to scale. 

Duties/Responsibilities:

Payroll Processing 

• Process payroll for approximately 1,000 colleagues across five properties, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws every cycle. 

• Partner with the Payroll Manager to review, validate, and reconcile payroll data prior to submission, including hours, earnings, deductions, and tax withholdings. 

• Process payroll transactions through OSV, troubleshooting discrepancies and escalating issues to the Payroll Manager as needed. 

• Support processing of garnishments, levies, retro pay, bonuses, and other off-cycle payments. 

• Assist with month-end and year-end payroll processes, including W-2 preparation and reconciliation. 

Tip Pool Management 

• Manage tip pool calculations and distributions using Evention, ensuring accurate allocation across all eligible positions and properties each cycle. 

• Maintain working knowledge of federal tip pooling regulations and BHC’s property-specific tip structures, identifying and escalating compliance concerns promptly. 

• Reconcile tip pool data against payroll output to confirm distributions are reflected accurately in colleague earnings. 

Data Integrity and Timekeeping 

• Maintain and update employee payroll records in Workday, including new hires, terminations, transfers, pay changes, and leave adjustments. 

• Audit timekeeping data for accuracy across all properties before each payroll deadline, working with property HR and department leaders to resolve discrepancies. 

• Identify data discrepancies, system errors, or process gaps and escalate with documentation and recommended resolution. 

Colleague Support and Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Respond to colleague payroll inquiries with accuracy, discretion, and a high standard of service. 

• Work cross-functionally with HR, Accounting, and property leadership to ensure payroll data is complete and accurate before each processing deadline. 

• Support the Payroll Manager with audits, reporting, and ad hoc projects as needed. 

Process Improvement and Documentation 

• Maintain and update payroll process documentation and internal controls as the department scales to support new properties and increased headcount. 

• Identify and recommend opportunities to streamline payroll workflows across Workday, Evention, and OSV. 

• Support the onboarding of new properties into existing payroll processes and systems. 

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Minimum of three to five years of payroll processing experience required; multi-property or multi-location experience strongly preferred. 

• Hospitality industry payroll experience strongly preferred, including familiarity with tipped employee pay practices and tip pooling regulations. 

• Experience with Workday preferred; experience with Evention or comparable tip pool management software preferred; experience with OSV or similar payroll processing platforms a plus. 

• Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local wage and hour regulations. 

• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with payroll and HRIS reporting tools. 

• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail when working with large volumes of data under deadline pressure. 

• Excellent discretion and judgment when handling confidential colleague information. 

• Strong communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally with HR, Accounting, and property leadership. 

• Operates independently with a high degree of ownership; does not require continuous oversight to maintain accuracy, meet deadlines, or escalate issues appropriately. 

• Composed and methodical under the pressure of payroll deadlines; does not allow urgency to compromise accuracy. 

• Proactive in identifying problems before they reach colleagues; takes initiative to resolve and document rather than waiting for issues to surface. 

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a colleague to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:  

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer, typically throughout the duration of a standard workday. 

• Ability to operate standard office equipment including a computer, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and telephone with a high degree of speed and accuracy. 

• Ability to read, review, and process written materials, digital reports, and payroll data with sustained concentration and accuracy. 

• Ability to move between workstations, offices, and meeting spaces within the workplace as needed. 

• Occasional lifting or carrying of files, binders, or office supplies up to 15 pounds. 

• Ability to work extended hours during payroll processing periods, month-end, and year-end cycles as needed. 

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.