Payroll Specialist

Aston Carter•Berkeley Heights, NJ

8d•$27 - $45•Hybrid

About The Position

The Payroll Specialist executes and owns end-to-end biweekly U.S. payroll processing in UKG Pro, ensuring timely and accurate pay delivery for a multi-state workforce. This role manages complex payroll cycles, supports time and attendance processing, and serves as an escalation point for complex payroll issues. The Payroll Specialist also drives process improvements, supports system enhancements, and ensures compliance with all federal, state, and local wage and tax regulations.

Requirements

3–5 years of payroll processing experience supporting multi-state payrolls.
Hands-on, recent experience with configuration of UKG Pro and UKG Pro Workforce Management at an intermediate level.
Strong working knowledge of payroll compliance, wage and hour laws, tax reporting, audits, and payroll accounting principles.
Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills for complex reporting and analysis.
Experience using a case management system to document, track, prioritize, and resolve payroll and time-related inquiries.
Associate degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, or a related field.
Understanding of UKG administrative tools, including UKG Pro, Workforce Management, and Plan Source (benefits platform).
Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy in all payroll-related tasks.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to manage complex payroll scenarios.
Ability to manage complex payroll cycles independently, including retroactive payments, gross-ups, and stock vesting.
Strong professional communication skills and a customer service-oriented approach.
Ability to influence and collaborate cross-functionally without direct authority.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, or a related field is preferred.
Experience supporting payroll for a large, multi-state employee population.
Demonstrated experience participating in system enhancements, upgrades, and integrations related to payroll and benefits.
Experience developing and maintaining SOPs, job aids, and payroll process documentation.
Proven ability to identify, recommend, and implement process improvements to enhance payroll efficiency and controls.

Responsibilities

Execute and own end-to-end biweekly U.S. payroll processing in UKG Pro, ensuring timely and accurate pay delivery for all employees.
Review and respond to employee and manager inquiries related to pay, taxes, timecards, PTO balances and policy, employment verifications, year-end W-2 requests, and historical timecard corrections.
Support time and attendance processing in UKG Pro Workforce Management, including timecard audits, overtime validation, corrections, and accurate timecard coding for employees on leave of absence based on updated leave status information.
Process off-cycle payrolls, retroactive adjustments, special earnings, and payroll corrections as needed.
Perform payroll balancing, validation, reconciliations, and approvals prior to payroll submission to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Identify and implement payroll process improvements to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and audit controls.
Participate in payroll- and benefits-related projects, including system enhancements, upgrades, integrations, and compliance initiatives.
Lead assigned year-end tasks related to W-2s, system reviews, and employee data reviews to ensure accurate year-end reporting.
Support testing, validation, and documentation related to UKG system updates and enhancements.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), job aids, and payroll documentation to support consistency and knowledge sharing within the team.
Act as an escalation resource for complex payroll issues, providing subject matter expertise without formal supervisory responsibility.
Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local wage and tax regulations and apply these requirements to every payroll run.
Prepare and support statutory and compliance reporting, as well as internal and external payroll audits, by producing required reports, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.
Provide tactical support for payroll- and benefits-related data audit requests, including annual 401(k) audits, workers’ compensation audits, payroll system processing audits, and related reconciliations and documentation.
Utilize a case management system to document, track, prioritize, and resolve payroll and time-related inquiries in line with established controls and service-level expectations.