Payroll and Research Administration Analyst

Department: Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (ICB), UC Santa Barbara

Hybrid work arrangement: 1 remote day per week possible after 6 months

About the Role

Located on the beautiful campus of UC Santa Barbara, the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies is a uniquely interdisciplinary, powerful alliance of Academia, Industry, and the Federal Government. Led by the University of California Santa Barbara, in collaboration with MIT, Caltech, the Federal Government, and Industry partners, the ICB transforms biological inspiration into technological innovation. Within this context, the administrative unit is a fast-paced, dynamic environment that provides a broad set of services. Staff members take pride in providing high-quality service and creating a strong working relationship with our diverse clientele.

Pay

The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $31.37/hour to $39.00/hour. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience; the budget for the position; and the application of fair, equitable, and consistent pay practices at the University. The full salary range for this position is $30.75/hour to $50.45/hour.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Benefits

Full benefits eligibility. Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health benefits are just one of the rewards.

Responsibilities

• Payroll & Personnel Administration (65%)
  • Inputs transactions into campus payroll and personnel systems for all academic and staff personnel in the ICB.
  • Processes new and continuing appointments for staff, academic, and student employment.
  • Verifies the integrity of payroll and benefit information posted to payroll and financial management systems.
  • Maintains personnel information with strict adherence to confidentiality and financial management obligations.
  • Responsible for hiring and onboarding new or returning personnel, including payroll processing, new hire paperwork, training in timekeeping and payroll systems, ensuring compliance with campus- and union-required onboarding documentation, timekeeping, I-9 verifications, and funding changes.
  • Resolves payroll discrepancies in coordination with the Personnel Manager and Financial Unit.
  • Extends, adjusts, or terminates positions as appropriate.
  • Processes off-cycle checks, missed pays, overpayments, final payouts, and other offboarding-related tasks.
  • Serves as department expert on student personnel, employment policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
  • Coordinates with PIs and home academic departments to ensure appropriate compensation and accurate financial projections on funding sources.
  • Issues Written Notices of Appointment (WNAs) and relevant appendices to graduate student researchers; analyzes PI-provided descriptions of work against stated funding for effort purposes and funding allocability, resolving discrepancies with PIs before making payroll commitments.
  • Independently resolves registration, fee, stipend, and remission issues; communicates directly with Graduate Division, the Registrar, Work Study, and the student as appropriate.
  • Manages undergraduate job recruitments and supports summer internship programs.
  • Coordinates student assistant job descriptions and work study requests; analyzes undergraduate student employment eligibility.
  • Works closely with faculty Principal Investigators (PIs) and Personnel Manager to ensure compliance with union contracts.
  • Assesses funding availability for employees with PIs and ICB unit managers; checks budget balances and personnel on awards before initiating funding requests.
  • Ensures accuracy of financial projections on all personnel types in the ICB; maintains timely updates of positions and funding in UCPath and EPM Project Forecasting.
  • Analyzes reports from relevant campus systems (e.g., Cognos, GradPoint, EPM, FinHub) and alerts supervisors to issues impacting budgets.
  • Processes Salary Cost Transfers as directed.
  • Maintains internal record-keeping systems (e.g., databases, spreadsheets, files) for ICB personnel and recommends improvements for tracking and workflows.
  • Tracks employee appointment, visa, and funding end dates; alerts the Personnel Manager, Financial Manager, and PIs of approaching end dates.
  • Resolves monthly payroll ledger irregularities with Personnel Unit and Financial Unit colleagues; investigates issues and recommends actions to mitigate future problems.
• Timekeeper (15%)
  • Serves as department Timekeeper in campus online timekeeping system.
  • Reviews timecards for all ICB staff and academic employees on a biweekly and monthly basis (20-30 employees per biweekly pay period and 50-70 monthly).
  • Adjusts and maintains employee timecard configuration, keeping aware of job, union, and pay cycle changes that may affect time reporting, leave accrual, and payroll.
  • Analyzes FLSA conflicts and takes action to resolve for payroll and timekeeping purposes in concert with appropriate central offices.
  • Trains and regularly communicates with employees and supervisors on accurate completion of timecards to ensure timely, correct paychecks and leave reporting.
  • Keeps apprised of different employee leave options and alerts Personnel Manager to any sensitive issues.
  • Tracks GSR leave balances per individual WNAs and reports carefully, referring to evolving academic personnel policy and the collective bargaining agreement as necessary.
  • Analyzes holiday pay policies for variable non-exempt employees and addresses issues that may impact federal awards (e.g., contract overtime requirements).
  • Corrects hours worked, holiday pay, and leave reporting through historical corrections and missed cycle requests.
  • Works closely with other departments on shared or dual-employed personnel.
  • Independently identifies and initiates corrective actions as required by collective bargaining agreements and Academic Personnel for timecard non-compliance.
• Employment & Award Compliance (10%)
  • Serves as the department’s I-9 verifier and expert in employment eligibility; ensures compliance with federal and state labor laws and University policy for all personnel.
  • Initiates E-verify process as required by specific contracts in the department.
  • Monitors work permit status of existing and future ICB employees; alerts Personnel Manager when visa, work permit, or other immigration status may impact an individual’s employment or ICB funding.
  • Ensures all new and rehired employees complete required hiring actions, including I-9s, UC Patent/Intellectual Property Acknowledgment, UC State Oath of Allegiance, non-exempt overtime election forms, GLACIER (non-resident alien tax compliance system), and others as needed.
  • Oversees the Employment Misconduct Disclosure (SB 791 & AB 810) process for ICB staff and academic personnel.
  • Communicates ICB awards’ contract language that includes specific employment requirements (e.g., E-verify, overtime restraints) to relevant parties.
  • Reviews personnel and location data of covered employees monthly to ensure compliance with AB-119 and other laws/policies governing employee data; updates data as required.
  • Maintains robust records of Written Notices of Appointment, student job descriptions, work study letters, funding checks, and other documentation in personnel files under campus retention records requirements.
• Additional Compensation (5%)
  • Responsible for soliciting requests for additional compensation (summer salary) from PIs associated with the ICB.
  • Accurately computes and verifies funding for summer salary for PIs, adhering to the complex allowability definitions for the UARC contract and other ICB extramural awards.
  • Coordinates with other departments to ensure personnel activity conforms to other affected departments' needs and requirements.
  • Inputs staff, academic, and participant support stipends, and other forms of additional or non-payroll compensation.
  • Stays current on relevant policy and procedures.

Requirements

• Demonstrated communication and interpersonal skills, verbally and in writing.
• Organizational/time management skills and ability to multi-task while balancing a high-volume workload.
• Ability to use sound judgment in responding to issues and concerns.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Attention to detail and proficiency with math.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to function effectively as a member of a team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent combination of experience/training.
• 1-3 years of work experience in a related field.

Special Conditions of Employment

• Satisfactory criminal history background check.
• Position is funded by federal contract/sub-contract and requires E-Verify check.
• UCSB is a Tobacco-Free environment.
• As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer. “Misconduct” includes any violation of policies governing employee conduct, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination.