Certified Payroll Specialist

About the role

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to join a team in Norfolk, Virginia in a contract-to-permanent capacity. This position is ideal for a detail-oriented payroll specialist who can manage end-to-end payroll operations with accuracy, maintain compliance across multiple jurisdictions, and support employees with timely pay administration. The role requires strong experience handling high-volume payroll activity and working effectively within ADP Workforce Now.

Responsibilities

• Process certified full-cycle payroll for a large employee population, ensuring wages, deductions, and tax withholdings are calculated accurately and submitted on schedule.
• Administer payroll for employees across multiple states while maintaining compliance with applicable wage, tax, and reporting requirements.
• Use ADP Workforce Now to enter, review, audit, and finalize payroll data for regular and special pay cycles.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies and resolve issues related to time records, earnings, deductions, and employee pay inquiries.
• Reconcile payroll reports and validate payroll totals to support accurate recordkeeping and financial reporting.
• Maintain up-to-date employee payroll information, including changes to compensation, tax elections, direct deposit, and benefit deductions.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to support payroll-related documentation, reporting needs, and process improvements.
• Assist with high-volume payroll operations for an organization with more than 500 employees, while meeting deadlines and quality standards.
• Manage certified payroll from data review through final processing and post-payroll reconciliation.

Requirements

• Proven ability to support multi-state payroll while applying relevant tax and wage regulations.
• Hands-on experience using ADP Workforce Now for payroll administration.
• Background processing payroll in a high-volume environment, preferably for workforces exceeding 500 employees.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy when handling sensitive payroll data.
• Ability to prioritize deadlines, solve payroll issues efficiently, and maintain confidentiality.
• Effective communication skills for responding to employee questions and collaborating with internal teams.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, dental, and life and disability insurance.
• Eligibility to enroll in the company 401(k) plan.

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.