Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Payroll Compliance Professional certification required.

Term Assignment until October 15, 2027

Surrey Schools values an inclusive school district where equity is deeply embedded, and diversity welcomed.  We acknowledge the profound responsibility we all have in ensuring that our schools and district sites foster an atmosphere where everyone feels secure, respected, and valued.  Our commitment to providing a quality education extends beyond academic excellence; we are committed to creating and cultivating diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free environments for all applicants, employees, students, and their families.  Our identity, as Surrey Schools, is expressed in the shared values of openness, fairness and tolerance and recognizes the importance of diversity of identity and thought.  We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Payroll & Benefits Specialists performs a variety of complex tasks to ensure that employee pay, and benefits are processed accurately and on time. The work is complex and mission critical, and requires strong judgement, problem solving skills, and attention to detail.

Payroll & Benefits Specialists have the primary responsibility to account for extremely large expenditures of wages and benefits. The work requires continual concentration in analyzing and processing large volumes of data from a variety of data sources to meet inflexible deadlines; troubleshooting and resolving discrepancies; explaining pay, benefits, deductions, and entitlements to employees; and responding to inquiries from internal and external stakeholders.

Tasks include calculating pay, benefits, and applicable adjustments; providing guidance and support to employees in their use of online payroll applications; and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Problem solving involves analyzing situations, determining an appropriate course of action, and communicating effective solutions to various stakeholders involved. Payroll & Benefits Specialists apply collective agreements and employment terms and conditions for multiple employee groups and must maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information.

A Payroll & Benefits Specialist reports to a Payroll & Benefits Team Leader and Management.

TYPICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Contributes to departmental development through participation in reviews of operations, developments of goals and objectives and implementation of operating initiatives.
• Recommends changes to improve quality, efficiency, service satisfaction and cycle time.
• Establishes methodologies for consistent work within the work unit and maintains required procedures manual.
• Monitors operations to ensure adherence to internal controls and achievement of quality, service standards and deadlines, and acts to correct concerns.
• Communicates with other units, staff, users and external parties to resolve complex and unusual issues.
• Analyses complex and sensitive accounts to determine adjustments and actions. Assists management to address major accounting, financial reporting and taxation issues.
• Tests Payroll software (ERP system) and troubleshoots routine system problems on as needed basis.
• Designs and utilizes complex spreadsheets. Produces complex reports from databases using specialized software.
• Scheduling, organizing and conducting training classes.
• Provides customer service support and assistance by explaining and demonstrating Payroll processes and application software.
• Communicates with employees, school secretaries, principals, and managers to obtain and clarify information on as needed basis.
• Establishes methodologies for consistent work within the work unit and maintains required procedures manuals and documents. Makes recommended changes to established policies.

PAYROLL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Runs interfaces, conduct audit trails and uploads information into the payroll system to process payroll.
• Analyzes and processes employee staffing notifications (e.g. new hires, terminations, position changes, leaves of absence, transfers) to ensure accuracy of information in the payroll system.
• Calculates payroll adjustments such as special and top-up payments, shift premiums, vacation pay, retroactive pay, benefit premium deduction adjustments, paid leave entitlements, and final payments; all in accordance with internal requirements such as collective agreements and employment contracts, and external regulations and requirements set by government agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Service Canada, Worker’s Compensation Board, BC Pension Corporation, etc.
• Analyzes, processes, and maintains sick leave entitlement banks, vacation entitlement banks, banked overtime, seniority dates, probation periods, and pay scale increment experience banks.
• Runs pay processing, reviews payroll register and deduction arrears register, runs audits and checks for accuracy.
• Ensures payroll and benefits documents are stored and secured in accordance with record retention requirements including, but not limited to, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Employment Standards Act, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and school district record retention policies.
• Determines and applies taxable benefits to ensure that T4s are accurately reported in compliance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements.
• Calculates and processes wage garnishments accurately in compliance with legislative requirements.
• Recommends changes to improve quality, efficiency, service satisfaction and cycle time.
• Documents Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and updates work processes in correlation with the Payroll Team Leader.
• Issues Records of Employment in accordance with complex Service Canada requirements whenever applicable.
• Responds to a high volume of employee inquiries in relation to pay, entitlements (e.g. vacation, sick leave, and experience banks), and benefits (e.g. premium deductions, coverage and eligibility), and presents complex data in an understandable way to employees.
• Identifies and calculates overpayments, including applicable adjustments to statutory and other deductions. Liaises with employee and the Payroll Team Leader regarding all overpayment issues and arranges a repayment plan.
• Performs other Payroll related duties, as required.

BENEFITS RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Reviews, determines and administers benefit plan enrolments, changes, and terminations and sets up group benefit deductions in the payroll system in compliance with contractual obligations and benefit plan provisions.
• Audits group benefit premiums monthly and resolves discrepancies between deductions and billings to ensure that costs are correctly recorded.
• Prepares remittances, amended T4 adjustments as needed.
• Coordinates Workers' Compensation recoveries with WorkSafe BC and applies required adjustments to pay, sick leave credits, tax deductions and T4 reporting.
• Processes pension enrolments, terminations, retirements, and purchases of service; validates pension service records; and responds to inquiries from Pension Corporation.
• Performs other benefits related duties, as required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Knowledge

• The methods, practices, principles, procedures, and controls involved in the production of payrolls and the enrollment, maintenance, and discontinuance of benefit coverage.
• Legislative, contractual, and administrative requirements of payroll payments, deductions, and reporting.
• Advanced level knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite of products relevant to the work, including Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to utilize, at advanced level, networked personal computers and applications software for operating systems, word processing, database and spreadsheets and mainframe multi-user computer applications related to the work and to trouble-shoot routine problems.
• Ability to organize, prioritize and schedule diverse tasks to ensure the orderly, accurate completion of work in accordance with competing deadlines and requirements.
• Ability to multi-task and process high volumes of information accurately within strict, inflexible time limitations, while maintaining comprehensive standards.
• Ability to correctly interpret and apply the pay related provisions of legislation, collective agreements, benefit contracts, pension plans, policies, regulations, and administrative practices.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills in analyzing pay-related transactions and exception reports and ability to quickly recognize and efficiently resolve discrepancies.
• Ability to maintain concentration on complex tasks despite frequent interruptions.
• Skill in organizing and prioritizing work effectively to meet deadlines and achieve service standards.
• Superior accuracy, attention to detail, and mathematical abilities.
• Ability to communicate proficiently in oral and written English utilizing the terminology of business, payroll, and benefits.
• Skill in tactfully and courteously answering questions with clarity and discretion.
• Tact, discretion and ability to exercise professional judgment in confidential environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, customer service and teamwork skills when dealing with internal and external stakeholders.
• Calm composure while under continuous pressure and while dealing with frustrated and sometimes rude employees.
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency in the advanced use of MS Office Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) and experience working with large computerized systems.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

• Diploma from a recognized post-secondary institution, in payroll, accounting, or business administration, plus training and experience with complex computerized payroll systems, word processing and spreadsheet software at an advanced level.
• Minimum of four years’ progressive, extensive experience directly related to the job requirements and responsibilities (preferably in the public sector) and in a similar computerized financial services environment in a large organization with collective agreements and multiple employee benefit plans, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

LICENCES, CERTIFICATES AND REGISTRATIONS

• Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification from the National Payroll Institute, required.  Without this certification, your application cannot be considered.

All successful applicants are required to join the union, CUPE Local 728 upon hire. As per the CUPE collective agreement, the starting wage for this position is $37.51* per hour with an attractive benefit package  which includes: Municipal Pension, health, vacation & sick benefits which are effective after minimum 6 months based on hours.

Qualified applicants can apply on Make a Future.