HR and Payroll Specialist

AgWest Farm Credit•Spokane, WA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

AgWest Farm Credit is a member-owned financial cooperative that provides financing and related services to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, commercial fishermen, timber producers, rural homeowners and crop insurance customers in a seven-state territory in the Western United States. AgWest is part of the 100+ year-old Farm Credit System – the leading provider of credit to American agriculture. AgWest champions the growth and advancement of agriculture, the value of rural communities, and the vital contribution our customers make to the economy and society. We serve customers in 59 locations throughout the West. We are in search of an HR and Payroll Specialist I or HR and Payroll Specialist II to join our Human Resources department in Spokane, Washington (Headquarters). This full-time position reports to the VP, Compensation and Payroll and provides support for payroll and leave administration, serving as the primary contact for payroll inquiries and ensuring accurate processing, reporting, and compliance. After an initial in-office training period, this position is eligible for workplace flexibility and a one-time home office stipend. Employees are expected to continue working from their office location a minimum of 50% or 60% of the time depending on location.

Requirements

Demonstrated organizational and follow-through skills, performing work accurately with high attention to detail.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to learn and effectively work in a wide variety of systems.
Ability to maintain confidentiality when working with sensitive information.
Ability to manage multiple, high priority tasks and adjust to shifting priorities, while meeting deadlines.
General understanding of business processes and office operations.
Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Nice To Haves

Experience in Payroll and HR compliance.
Experience with HRIS and ATS systems.
Knowledge of Federal and State leave laws, including FMLA, medical, bonding leave, bereavement, jury duty, and military.

Responsibilities

Provide coordination and support for payroll, time and attendance, and leave administration processes.
Serve as a primary point of contact for payroll inquiries via phone, internal ticketing system, and email.
Ensure courteous, timely responses to questions and effective resolution of payroll-related requests.
Generate reports to support payroll and HR.
Coordinate with external payroll vendor and internal teams for payroll processing, reporting, and data correction.
Ensure appropriate documentation is retained for audit and ICFR purposes.
Update and maintain HR systems to accurately reflect employment changes and ensure data integrity.
Update and maintain content on the payroll intranet page to ensure accuracy and access for employees.
Provide support for compensation and payroll analysis.
Serve as backup for managing the HR ticketing system queue, when primary support is unavailable.
Administer leave documentation and maintain accurate records of leave requests, approvals, and denials.
Consult with employees seeking leave, inform them of their options and serve as their main point of contact during leave.
Consult supervisors during employee leave by communicating leave duration, return to office dates and clarifying their responsibilities during the process.
Perform all duties and maintain all standards in accordance with company policies, procedures, and internal controls.
Other duties as assigned.