Job Summary

The Payroll Specialist II is responsible for providing end-to-end payroll administration and support for a manufacturing workforce of approximately 1,500 or more employees, including administrative professionals, engineers, technicians, and production operators.

This position manages payroll activities throughout the payroll lifecycle, including time and attendance review, payroll processing, deductions, taxes, corrections, reconciliations, reporting, and post-payroll activities. The Payroll Specialist II also monitors compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage and tax requirements and processes necessary payroll amendments and corrections to maintain compliance with internal policies, accounting standards, and external regulatory requirements.

In addition to payroll administration, this role supports accounting and reconciliation activities associated with payroll, employee benefits, staffing and recruiting expenses, payroll and HR system fees, and other employment-related costs.

Responsibilities

• Provide end-to-end payroll processing and administration for a workforce of 1,500+ employees
• Review and validate employee time and attendance records, including regular hours, overtime, shift differentials, premiums, paid time off, leaves, and other payroll-related transactions.
• Validate payroll changes including new hires, terminations, compensation changes, bonuses, deductions, garnishments, retroactive adjustments, and other employee data changes.
• Conduct pre-payroll audits to identify discrepancies and ensure payroll accuracy prior to final processing.
• Review post-payroll results, payroll registers, exception reports, and related documentation to identify and resolve payroll discrepancies.
• Research and process payroll corrections, off-cycle payments, overpayment or underpayment adjustments, retroactive payments, and other payroll amendments as necessary.
• Monitor payroll practices for compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage and hour, payroll tax, and withholding requirements.
• Coordinate payroll tax corrections and amendments, including adjustments involving employee taxable wages, tax withholding, and payroll reporting records.
• Support year-end payroll activities, including W-2 reconciliation, tax reporting validation, and correction processes.
• Maintain accurate payroll records and documentation in accordance with company record-retention requirements, internal controls, and applicable legal requirements.
• Reconcile payroll-related general ledger accounts and investigate discrepancies between payroll records, financial systems, invoices, and accounting records.
• Prepare, review, and reconcile accounting transactions associated with payroll expenses, payroll liabilities, employer taxes, and employee deductions.
• Support accounting and invoice reconciliation for employee benefit programs, staffing agency fees, recruiting expenses, payroll service fees, HR system fees, and other workforce-related costs.
• Review vendor invoices and supporting documentation to validate charges, headcount, service periods, rates, and contractual requirements before payment processing.
• Partner with Accounting, Finance, HR, Benefits, Recruiting, and external vendors to resolve payroll and employment-related financial discrepancies.
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc payroll reports, reconciliations, audit documentation, and management reports.
• Support internal and external payroll, financial, tax, and compliance audits by providing requested records and explanations.
• Identify payroll process gaps, recurring errors, and control weaknesses and recommend corrective or preventive actions.
• Assist with payroll system testing, implementation, upgrades, configuration changes, and process improvements.
• Respond to employee and management payroll inquiries and provide clear explanations regarding pay, deductions, taxes, timekeeping, and payroll adjustments.
• Protect confidential payroll, compensation, tax, and employee information in accordance with company policies and applicable privacy requirements.
• Develop and maintain payroll procedures, work instructions, audit controls, and process documentation.
• Provide guidance and technical support to Payroll Specialist I, HR coordinators, managers, and other users involved in payroll and timekeeping processes.
• Perform other payroll, accounting, HR operations, and compliance-related responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3+ years of payroll administration or payroll processing experience.
• Experience supporting payroll for a mid-size or large employee population.
• Working knowledge of payroll processing, wage and hour requirements, payroll taxes, deductions, garnishments, and payroll reconciliation.
• Experience researching and correcting payroll discrepancies and processing retroactive adjustments or payroll amendments.
• Experience performing payroll-related accounting reconciliations or financial analysis.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables, and reconciliation of large data sets.
• Experience working with payroll, HRIS, and/or time and attendance systems.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage payroll deadlines in a high-volume environment.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive employee, payroll, compensation, and financial information.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience supporting payroll for 1,000+ employees.
• Payroll experience in a manufacturing, production, distribution, or other 24/7 operating environment.
• Experience supporting hourly and salaried employee populations with multiple shifts, overtime, premiums, and differential pay structures.
• Experience with ADP, Workday, UKG, SAP, Oracle, or comparable payroll and HR systems.
• Experience with payroll tax amendments, W-2 corrections, multi-state payroll, and year-end payroll activities.
• Experience with payroll accounting, general ledger reconciliation, vendor invoice reconciliation, or employee benefit accounting.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced understanding of end-to-end payroll processes and payroll controls.
• Working knowledge of federal and state wage and hour and payroll tax requirements.
• Ability to identify payroll compliance risks and independently research discrepancies.
• Strong reconciliation and financial analytical skills.
• Ability to interpret payroll reports, tax records, employee records, invoices, and accounting transactions.
• Ability to prioritize multiple deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong customer-service orientation when supporting employees and business leaders.
• Ability to work independently while partnering effectively with HR, Finance, Accounting, Benefits, Recruiting, and operational teams.