PLO Payroll Accountant

University of Oregon•Eugene, OR

12d•$25 - $38

About The Position

The Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) Payroll Accountant serves as the primary institutional expert and liaison for all payroll activities related to Paid Leave Oregon, State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF), and associated leave programs. This position supports the integrity of payroll, accounting, and leave administration by ensuring all financial transactions, earnings codes, and job record updates are processed accurately and in compliance with university policy, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), employment standards, tax regulations, and accounting controls. The PLO accountant independently interprets and applies payroll and accounting rules to calculate and reconcile salary adjustments, overpayments, underpayments, and financial corrections related to PLO claims. This role performs complex data entry, auditing, and reconciliation of payroll and leave transactions in Banner, UKG, and external vendor systems, ensuring alignment with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and internal controls. The position manages monthly intermittent leave processing, prepares adjusting entries, maintains audit documentation, and provides clear communication to employees, departments, and external institutions. In partnership with Human Resources Benefits, the PLO accountant enhances data workflows, system integration, and accuracy of leave and payroll processes. The role develops and maintains payroll procedures, documentation, and training materials, providing guidance and ongoing support to campus administrators to ensure consistent, compliant payroll practices. This position also provides critical backup support to Payroll and Retirement functions, including foreign national tax form review, retirement account data maintenance, overpayment processing, garnishments, manual checks, and other payroll accounting tasks. The PLO accountant plays a key role in safeguarding payroll data integrity, supporting cross-unit collaboration, and ensuring reliable, compliant processing of employee pay and leave activity.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree with CPA or PA certificate; OR
Bachelor's degree with 30 quarter (20 semester) hours of college-level Accounting, OR
30 quarter (20 semester) hours of Accounting courses and three years of Accounting experience.
Transcripts must be submitted for all required and/or related courses. All courses must be from accredited colleges, universities, or private vocational schools.
Accounting experience must include at least 3 of the following:
Preparing transactions to be recorded in records of original entry;
Preparing journal entries, posting from journals to general ledger, or preparing original general ledger entries;
Summarizing data from a ledger to a trial balance;
Closing accounts at the end of an accounting period;
Applying PC spreadsheet, database, and word processing software;
Processing data using a computer.
Ability to solve problems and to distinguish irregularities.
Ability to accomplish all work within set deadlines.
Ability to explain complex laws, rules, and procedures and to apply these regulations to work performed.
Ability to communicate effectively with faculty, staff, students, and outside entities, from a variety of diverse backgrounds by phone, in writing, and in person.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Word, Outlook, Excel) and Enterprise databases.
Strong attention to detail.
Ability to maintain the highest ethical standards within the department and within the university.

Nice To Haves

Experience in Higher Education
Experience with Ellucian
Experience with leave administration

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary institutional expert and liaison for all payroll activities related to Paid Leave Oregon, State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF), and associated leave programs.
Support the integrity of payroll, accounting, and leave administration by ensuring all financial transactions, earnings codes, and job record updates are processed accurately and in compliance with university policy, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), employment standards, tax regulations, and accounting controls.
Independently interpret and apply payroll and accounting rules to calculate and reconcile salary adjustments, overpayments, underpayments, and financial corrections related to PLO claims.
Perform complex data entry, auditing, and reconciliation of payroll and leave transactions in Banner, UKG, and external vendor systems, ensuring alignment with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and internal controls.
Manage monthly intermittent leave processing, prepare adjusting entries, maintain audit documentation, and provide clear communication to employees, departments, and external institutions.
In partnership with Human Resources Benefits, enhance data workflows, system integration, and accuracy of leave and payroll processes.
Develop and maintain payroll procedures, documentation, and training materials, providing guidance and ongoing support to campus administrators to ensure consistent, compliant payroll practices.
Provide critical backup support to Payroll and Retirement functions, including foreign national tax form review, retirement account data maintenance, overpayment processing, garnishments, manual checks, and other payroll accounting tasks.
Play a key role in safeguarding payroll data integrity, supporting cross-unit collaboration, and ensuring reliable, compliant processing of employee pay and leave activity.