Payroll and Benefits Coordinator

About the University

Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

About the Department

Human Resources supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

About the Position

The Payroll and Benefits Coordinator performs technical payroll work supporting accurate and timely university payroll processing. The position enters, audits, reconciles, and corrects payroll and employee data; administers payroll deductions and benefit-related transactions; researches discrepancies across interconnected systems; and provides clear guidance to employees and departments. The position applies established laws, rules, collective bargaining agreements, policies, and procedures to varied payroll situations and coordinates complex issues with payroll, benefits, HR, finance, agencies, and service providers.

Responsibilities

Payroll Processing and Technical Support

• Perform assigned components of the university's regular payroll cycle for employees across multiple employee groups and bargaining units, following established schedules, procedures, contracts, and regulatory requirements.
• Enter, retrieve, audit, reconcile, and validate employee, timekeeping, leave, deduction, and payroll data in HR, payroll, financial, document-management, and external agency systems.
• Review source documents, calculations, reports, system messages, and rejected transactions; identify errors, determine appropriate corrections within established authority, and coordinate complex adjustments with the appropriate subject-matter expert.
• Process and maintain voluntary and involuntary payroll deductions, including benefit and retirement deductions, union dues, garnishments, supplemental retirement changes, and other authorized withholdings.
• Research payroll discrepancies by tracing transactions across systems and pay periods; reconcile records and explain the effect of corrections to employees and departments.
• Maintain accurate payroll records and documentation; support recurring audits, reconciliations, reporting, records retention, and compliance activities.
• Provide backup and collaborative support for payroll processing functions to maintain continuity during deadlines and peak workload periods.

Benefits and Retirement Support

• Process and validate benefit and retirement enrollment, eligibility, coverage-change, qualifying-life-event, and deduction transactions that affect payroll.
• Reconcile internal payroll and HR records with benefit, retirement, and provider systems; research and resolve eligibility, enrollment, coverage, and deduction discrepancies.
• Explain established eligibility requirements, deadlines, documentation, payroll impacts, and available next steps to employees; refer plan interpretation or advisory questions to the appropriate benefits or retirement specialist.
• Support new employee enrollment, open enrollment, leave transfers, retirement consultation follow-up, pre- and post-payroll benefit processing, and recurring eligibility reports.
• Maintain accurate and confidential records and apply established requirements, including applicable PEBB, retirement, COBRA, HIPAA, and ACA procedures.

Employee Service, Outreach, and Cross-Functional Support

• Provide timely, accurate, and approachable assistance to employees and departments by phone, email, virtual meeting, and in person.
• Explain payroll, benefits, and retirement processes in clear language and connect employees with appropriate resources or subject-matter experts when needed.
• Support employee outreach through orientations, presentations, open enrollment activities, informational materials, and other education efforts.
• Develop and deliver informative training sessions and presentations to campus groups on key topics such as payroll processes, benefit enrollment, timekeeping and employee self-service tools.
• Provide cross-functional support and perform related duties as assigned, including participation in special projects, process improvements, and compliance-related tasks to support the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the HR department.
• Participate in system testing, process documentation, cross-training, special projects, compliance work, and continuous improvement activities supporting payroll and HR operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting or related field OR equivalent education/work experience
• 1-3 years of experience in payroll, benefits administration, or a related HR support role
• Familiarity with payroll and HRIS systems
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to handle confidential information with integrity and discretion

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a fast-paced organization
• Experience working in higher education or public sector
• Basic understanding of accounting principles related to payroll
• Strong knowledge of federal and state payroll and benefits regulations

Conditions of Employment

All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations.

Pay

$4,652 - $6,257/month depending on qualifications and experience

Benefits

Benefits Overview for Classified Positions

Bargaining Unit

This position is part of bargaining unit A and is covered by the collective bargaining agreement with Washington Federation of State Employees.

Closing Date

Position closes 11/02/2026 at 11:55 pm.