Payroll Support Specialist

Position Description 

Position Title

Payroll Support Specialist 

Secondary Title 

Group / Grade

6

Classification

Classified

Work Location

All Campuses

Overtime Eligible

Non-Exempt

Division

People, Culture, & Safety

Differentials

Department

Human Resources

Reports To

Payroll Manager 

Supervision Received 

Works under the general supervision of the Payroll Manager. Independently plans and completes regular assigned work within established payroll procedures, schedules, controls, and authority, with unusual matters or issues requiring additional interpretation or approval referred for review.

Supervisory Responsibility 

Supervision is not a responsibility of this position. May oversee the work of student employees.

Position Summary 

The Payroll Support Specialist supports accurate and timely payroll operations by performing recurring payroll processing and related payroll services. The position works within established procedures and controls to complete assigned payroll work, resolve routine issues and discrepancies, and provide backup coverage for designated payroll processes. The position also serves as a first point of contact for routine payroll and payroll-system questions and provides limited shared administrative support for HR and Payroll operations.

Payroll Processing & Administration

• Performs assigned monthly payroll processing and validation, including review and processing of payroll data, timekeeping information, source documentation, approvals, and payroll control reports.
• Processes electronic and paper timecards and routine timekeeping transactions, including calculations and authorized corrections involving hours, leave, overtime, and related pay information.
• Calculates and processes assigned manual checks, final pay, vacation payouts, and other routine payroll adjustments.
• Processes assigned garnishments, child support orders, tax levies, and other withholding orders in accordance with established procedures and requirements.
• Processes assigned payroll liabilities and reconciliations. Researches routine variances, determines causes, makes authorized corrections, and verifies resolution.
• Processes routine payroll corrections, overpayments, repayments, and related documentation.
• Provides backup coverage for designated payroll processes. Assigned coverage may include additional reconciliations, more complex manual payroll calculations and checks, and basic administration in PERS, OEBB, or related payroll systems.
• Identifies payroll issues requiring additional interpretation, approval, or specialized review and refers them to appropriate payroll staff. 

Payroll Service, Systems & Administrative Support

• Provides first-line service to employees and supervisors regarding timekeeping, pay statements, deductions, payroll status, established payroll processes, and basic payroll-system use.
• Performs routine administration and user support for assigned payroll and timekeeping systems, including authorized employee-data transactions, registration and access assistance, navigation support, and identification of system or data issues.
• Processes employment verifications and other assigned standardized payroll documentation.
• Maintains payroll records and supporting documentation, including receiving, organizing, scanning, indexing, filing, retrieving, and routing records in accordance with confidentiality, retention, and records-management requirements.
• Provides basic navigation, common document intake, and routing support for shared HR and Payroll services.
• Coordinates with Payroll, Human Resources, Finance/Business Office staff, outside agencies, and payroll-related vendors as needed to complete assigned work.

Other Duties as Assigned

• May participate in College committees as assigned.
• Engages in professional growth opportunities as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Institutional Expectations 

• Demonstrates our core values of integrity, collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion, sustainability, and courage.
• Actively contributes to a culture of respect and inclusivity by collaborating effectively with students, colleagues, and the public from diverse cultural, social, economic, and educational backgrounds.
• Participates in recruitment and retention of students at an individual and institutional level in promotion of student success.
• Embraces and leverages appropriate technology to accomplish job functions.
• Provides high quality, effective service through learning and continuous improvement.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education – An Associate degree in business, accounting, or a related field.
• Experience – Three years of relevant payroll, accounting, bookkeeping, or related financial-processing experience involving automated transaction processing, calculations, reconciliations, records review, and application of established procedures. Relevant experience must include experience performing this type of work in a mid-sized or large organization.

Only degrees received from an accredited institution will be accepted:  accreditation must be recognized by the office of degree authorization, US Department of Education, as required by ORS 348.609. Final candidate will be required to provide official transcripts for required degree.

Any satisfactory equivalent combination of education and experience which ensures the ability to perform the essential functions of the position may substitute for the requirement(s). Please see our Applicant Guide for more information on education/experience equivalency guidelines. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field.
• Experience in benefits administration.
• Experience working in a unionized, public-sector, or similarly regulated environment.
• Experience using ADP Workforce Now or a comparable payroll/HRIS system.
• Payroll-related professional training or certification.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (Core Competencies) 

• Knowledge – Working knowledge of payroll and basic accounting principles, including timekeeping, payroll calculations, deductions, garnishments and levies, manual and final pay, payroll liabilities, reconciliations, and recurring payroll cycles. Knowledge of rules-driven payroll and timekeeping systems; wage and hour requirements as applied through established procedures; collective bargaining and College requirements affecting payroll transactions; confidentiality and records practices; Microsoft Office products, including Excel; and document imaging and records systems.
• Skills – Accurate payroll and financial transaction processing; data entry and spreadsheet use; payroll calculations; reconciliation and discrepancy resolution; clear verbal and written communication; customer service; organization and time management; records and document management; and consistent application of established procedures.
• Abilities – Work accurately under fixed payroll deadlines and frequent interruptions; maintain confidentiality; learn RCC-specific payroll systems and procedures; independently complete assigned work within established procedures and controls; research and resolve routine discrepancies and recognize when additional review or interpretation is required; explain established processes clearly and tactfully; organize and prioritize recurring work; maintain accurate documentation; and adapt to peak payroll, year-end, and other recurring workload cycles.

Other Requirements 

• For assignments requiring operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a valid Oregon Driver’s License or the ability to obtain one within 30-days of employment, and maintenance of an acceptable driving record are required.

Remote Work Options (see AP 7239 Working Remotely for more details)

• This position functions as an in-person work arrangement, working on-campus with either a set schedule or flexibility depending on operational needs.

Physical Demands

The physical demands listed below represent those that must be met by an incumbent to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with qualified disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is primarily performed at a computer workstation and requires extended periods of sitting or standing; continuous use of a keyboard, mouse, and hands/wrists; and sustained mental and visual attention to detailed information. The position occasionally reaches, grasps, and handles documents and office materials and rarely walks, bends, stoops, or lifts ordinary files, records, or office supplies weighing up to 25 pounds. Verbal and written communication are regularly required.

Working Conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is primarily performed indoors in a protected office environment with no regular exposure to hazardous conditions. The position works within recurring payroll and processing deadlines and may occasionally require overtime during payroll processing, year-end, or other peak workload periods.