Payroll Specialist & Benefits Administrator

School District No. Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Payroll Compliance Professional certification required.
1.0 Full-Time Temporary Role
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; 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. Payroll & Benefits Specialists performs a variety of complex tasks to ensure that employee pay, and benefits are processed accurately and on time. 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; providing guidance and support to employees in their use of online payroll applications; and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Liaises with employee and the Payroll Team Leader regarding all overpayment issues and arranges a repayment plan.
Performs other Payroll related duties, as required.
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.
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.
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.
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 correctly interpret and apply the pay related provisions of legislation, collective agreements, benefit contracts, pension plans, policies, regulations, and administrative practices.
Ability to communicate proficiently in oral and written English utilizing the terminology of business, payroll, and benefits.
Excellent interpersonal, communication, customer service and teamwork skills when dealing with internal and external stakeholders.
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.
Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification from the National Payroll Institute, required. 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 $31.96* 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.