Payroll and Benefits Specialist

Key Responsibilities

• Execute bi-weekly and monthly full-cycle payroll for all faculty, staff, substitutes, and extra-curricular employees, ensuring proper calculation of wages, stipends, overtime, leave accruals, and holiday pay.
• Reconcile payroll, taxes, and benefits, and ensure accurate interface of posts to the General Ledger.
• Manage statutory requirements, including quarterly 941 reconciliations, unemployment billings, payroll taxes, garnishments, W-2 reviews, and ACA reporting.
• Serve as the primary power user for the school's HRIS and operational systems (Paycor), configuring workflows, maintaining employee data confidentiality, and troubleshooting system issues.
• Coordinate with banking institutions for stop payments on physical checks and direct deposit reversals as necessary.
• Provide monthly reporting to other departments for payroll related items such as but not limited to annual fund, tuition deductions, garnishments and other reporting as needed.

Benefits & Leave Administration

• Administer and support comprehensive employee benefits programs, including medical, dental, life, long-term/short-term disability, FSA, and other voluntary benefits programs.
• Administrator of the school's 403(b) retirement plan.
• Lead the preparation for and serve as the primary point of contact for annual audits, including the 403(b) audit, the Workers' Compensation audit, 5500, and Form 990.
• Oversee and process unemployment insurance claims and employee verifications.

Compliance, Risk Management & Audits

• Manage all aspects of the workers' compensation program, including the immediate reporting and management of injuries and processing claims.
• Maintain I-9 documentation, ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, and maintain internal controls.

HR & Expatriate Community Support

• Assume responsibility for the preparation of Form 1042-S for our international staff.
• Provide dedicated guidance during onboarding to assist expatriate and visa holding employees with tax treaty exemptions, ensuring accurate setup and compliance within the Paycor payroll system.
• Provide guidance to all employees on payroll and benefits processes with professionalism and a service-oriented approach.