School Payroll & Finance Specialist

Making Waves Academy•Richmond, CA

21d•$38 - $45•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an "all-hands-on-deck," highly execution-focused School Payroll & Finance Specialist to own our day-to-day business office operations. This is an "in-the-trenches" role where you will run bi-weekly payroll for 160+ employees, manage Accounts Payable, and execute core public school fund compliance tasks. You will work closely alongside an experienced team member—but you must possess the confidence and skills to take the reins quickly. If you are a strict rule-follower who loves a fast-paced environment and isn’t afraid of a heavy, rewarding workload, this role is for you.

Requirements

3+ years of hands-on experience running end-to-end payroll for 160+ employees (CA public or charter school experience is a massive plus).
Confident, proactive, and ready to learn. You don't wait to be told what to do; you look at the data, use the checklists, and execute.
Advanced Excel Proficiency: High competence with Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPs/XLOOKUPs, and data manipulation.
Highly comfortable learning enterprise software (Sage Intacct or equivalent school ERPs).
A Bachelor’s degree in accounting/finance is great, but direct, heavy-volume experience running payroll and AP in a fast-paced environment is what truly matters to us.
Confident in your abilities, yet eager to learn and to master our specific school systems and state compliance guidelines.

Nice To Haves

CA public or charter school experience is a massive plus.

Responsibilities

Prepare, verify, and process bi-weekly payroll for 160+ employees; thoroughly review for absolute accuracy.
Track and calculate stipends, longevity bonuses, and specialized teacher summer hold-back payments.
Calculate final paychecks and PTO payouts in strict compliance with CA labor timelines.
Manage employee enrollment and contributions into retirement and benefits plans; remit contributions accurately to providers.
Review, code, and process vendor invoices and employee reimbursements to ensure perfect alignment with approved budget allocations.
Prepare and post bi-weekly payroll journals to Sage Intacct.
Perform month-end close tasks, post basic journal entries, and clear payroll-related balance sheet accounts (FSA, life insurance, etc.).
Monitor restricted revenue and expenditures using the California Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) (Resource, Goal, and Function coding).
Collect and maintain federal "Time and Effort" documentation (Personnel Activity Reports) for grant-funded staff.
Reconcile Federal Quarterly Payroll expenses (Form 941), assist with monthly CalSTRS retirement reporting, and upload data to the CDE’s GMART portal (Title I–IV, ELOP, Prop 28).