Business and Finance Officer III (Payroll and Finance)

King County•Seattle, WA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Public Defense (DPD) is seeking an experienced and highly analytical Business and Finance Officer III (BFO) in the Director’s Office. This recruitment will be used to fill a Career Service position and to create an eligibility pool to fill vacancies that may occur within the next six (6) months. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the BFO independently provides full-scope payroll and financial data analysis and services to DPD providing authoritative technical and analytical expertise. They manage and supervise relevant operations. This position may supervise, evaluate, and train other accountant staff in assuring payroll related functions are performed accurately, timely and in compliance with collective bargaining agreements, King County Personnel Guidelines, policies and procedures and labor laws. This position provides financial and program analysis and evaluation; implements policies and procedures related to payroll and position management for budgetary purposes. In collaboration with the CFO may assist in strategic staffing planning; provides analysis for cost containment, rate and fee structures and cost allocation; assures compliance with contracts, collective bargaining agreements and other regulatory requirements; provides staff training. The BFO may make recommendations for budgets, policy and procedure changes related to payroll and financial analysis functions. This role operates with a high level of independence and is ideal for you if you thrive in complex and fast-paced environments. You should enjoy partnering with other members of the department and want your work to support equity-centered public service.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in finance, business, accounting, or related field and at least four (4) years of progressive experience in payroll and accounts payable, accounting, finance, and use of enterprise-wide financial applications, OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proficiency using typical Microsoft Office products, (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Excel [intermediate to expert level required])
The ability to travel throughout King County in a timely manner.
Demonstrated experience in managing and providing payroll and accounts payable services for a large organization.
Demonstrated ability to partner across teams such as HR, leadership, accounting or operation teams to coordinate payroll processing accuracy.
Lead the development, coordination, and ongoing refinement of multi-agency policies and procedures related to payroll and accounts payable services.
Experience managing digital and physical payroll records consistent with retention schedules.
Demonstrated experience in HRIS/Payroll management systems, tracking and reporting systems.
Ability to work well within a team, communicate challenges, identify opportunities, and to collaborate with other payroll and finance team members.
Ability to synthesize complex payroll and accounting issues in simpler terms for a non-payroll/accounting audience.
Ability to identify opportunities for process efficiencies.
Ability to plan, prioritize, and meet deadlines.
Skilled in conflict resolution and ability to act in a tactful and diplomatic manner, especially with employees, department leadership, and other key interested parties.
Demonstrated commitment to equity and social justice principles in payroll, fiscal and operational practices.
Demonstrated ability to manage time and adapt to changing priorities; work on multiple priorities and projects simultaneously, meet quick deadlines, and produce timely and quality work products.
Demonstrated ability to learn quickly when facing new situations: open to change; thrive in an environment of shifting assignments and unfamiliar tasks.
Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of governmental payroll and accounting standards and public records retention laws.
Experience in PeopleSoft or similar HRIS/Payroll system.
Experience supervising payroll or accounts payable staff.
Professional certifications such as CPA, CGFM, or similar.
Advanced proficiency in Excel or comparable analytical tools.
Experience working in a law firm, preferably a public defense office.
Experience performing HR service delivery in a unionized environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as the key Business and Finance Officer on full scale payroll and financial data analysis operations for 520 plus employees.
Monitor, review, calculate and run a variety of processes on reported time within PeopleSoft HCM Time and Labor module bi-weekly payroll system to turn reported time into payable time required by payroll operations to generate a paycheck.
Run queries and other reports to monitor pay outcomes and ensure employees are accurately compensated in compliance with the County personnel guidelines and collective bargaining agreements and other relevant Federal, State, and County laws regarding pay and leaves.
Research and analyze payroll data, including identifying discrepancies.
Prepare and make necessary corrections within established parameters.
Interpret and apply personnel guidelines, union contract requirements, and relevant Federal, State, and County laws regarding pay and leaves.
Assign schedules; set up and maintain premium pays and deductions; manage dynamic time and labor groups and load executive leave awards as approved by DPD HR.
Work closely with DPD HR on protective leave timekeeping and staffing updates to ensure accurate entries and process updates.
Provide training on self-time entry to staff and approval of time sheets to supervisors; clearly and concisely explain complex pay transactions.
Perform financial, payroll or other financial/numeric work, requiring the application of GAAP and GASB, accepted bookkeeping or basic accounting methods.
Research and resolve accounting problems, performing account reconciliations, and preparing accounting entries.
Organize, oversee, and maintain highly sensitive payroll/human resource communications and documentation.
Research and summarize specialized and technical Payroll information from varied sources.
Select the most appropriate material to use to verify and reconcile data discrepancies between records.
Supervises accountants and other departmental staff in the performance of payroll functions.
Oversees and monitors the work, evaluates performance, sets work priorities and trains accountants and other department staff in timekeeping, filling out timesheets correctly and running payroll functions in PeopleSoft assuring correct payroll.
Supports accounts payable functions, processes iExpense payable requests and staff reimbursements following proper accounting procedures.
Reviews requests and supervisory approvals, for compliance with King County and departmental policies and procedures; processes payments, assures correct account coding, provides analysis and makes recommendations for cost containment.
Support accounts receivable by performing payment deposits, filing, and maintaining records and occasionally assisting with intergovernmental billings.