Payroll Specialist
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Salary: $60,000 – $68,000
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Role Type: Full-time, Salaried Non-Exempt / Hourly
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Location: North Portland – Hybrid flexible role, onsite one day per week
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Professional Exposure: Direct involvement in major HRIS/ERP system conversions, multi-state union payroll compliance, and cross-functional leadership
About the Role
This position serves as a core technical and operational payroll expert for an organization with operations across multiple states. Reporting to accounting and payroll leadership, the Payroll Specialist is responsible for managing corporate and salaried payroll processing, tax reconciliations, and union contract provisions, while taking a lead role in an upcoming enterprise payroll system conversion.
This seat acts as a subject matter expert across multi-company pay rules, auditing hourly and salaried payroll registers, building ad-hoc reports, and mentoring team members. The role collaborates closely with Human Resources, Accounting, and Information Technology to refine internal controls and streamline cross-functional workflows.
Key Responsibilities
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System Conversion & Process Improvement: Support a multi-company payroll system conversion through parallel testing, general ledger mapping, integrations testing, and creation of updated work instructions and SOPs.
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Full-Cycle Payroll Administration: Personally and confidentially process salaried and corporate hourly payrolls, including garnishments, tax withholdings, 401(k) deductions, and multi-state wage adjustments; provide backup coverage for weekly production payrolls.
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Payroll Auditing & Tax Reconciliation: Perform routine payroll audits to catch data discrepancies; manage tax reconciliations, resolve tax notices with vendors, and track employee state transfer tax activities.
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Reporting & Analytics: Generate custom reports, summaries of earnings, tax liabilities, and union audit files utilizing advanced Excel functions (pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, conditional statements).
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Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Serve as an internal consultant and technical lead for HR, Accounting, and IT inquiries; train and mentor payroll support staff.
Requirements
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Minimum of 2 years of payroll processing experience.
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Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
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Hands-on experience working with automated payroll, time and attendance, and HRIS platforms.
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Understanding of multi-state payroll regulations and garnishment rules.
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Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and written/verbal communication skills.
- Ability to pass pre-employment drug/alcohol screenings and a standard background check.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience participating in enterprise payroll software conversions and parallel testing.
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Professional certifications such as Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC).