Payroll System Specialist

Our client in the public sector is looking to on board a strong Payroll and Systems specialist for their organization.

Description

Payroll Processing, Compliance, and Operational Excellence 50%

1. Leads end-to-end biweekly payroll processing for 10,000 employees across the network, with payroll grossing approximately $700 million annually;
2. Leads additional payroll processing for off-cycles and special runs that may be required to administer additional payments to staff from time to time;
3. Prepares and administers any special payroll runs, through uploads and off-cycles, that may be required to administer requirements of government/third-party funding, collective agreements, or hospital policy decisions (e.g. retro payments, wage enhancements, special incentives / payouts, etc.)
4. Processes the payment of sensitive and/or non-routine transactions such as termination and severance payments, salary continuance, frozen sick bank payouts, and retirement allowances;
5. Manages the remuneration and payment of T4A payments, including fellowships, graduate and summer students, and fees for service;
6. Processes high-volume transactions to employees (such as education allowances, uniform/footwear allowances, and retros), using system uploads and jobs to expedite the processing;
7. Prepares payment requisitions for other payments to be made by Accounts Payable on Payroll’s behalf (e.g. RRSP transfers, legal fee reimbursements);
8. Processes reimbursements from various parties (including overpayments from employees), including entry in the system and deposit with the Cash Office;
9. Prepares, maintains, and reconciles pre-authorized debit (PAD) withdrawals for employees contributing to their benefits and pension while on leave, and makes all required adjustments in the system;
10. Executes and develops routine audits to ensure the payroll input results in the required payroll output and errors are corrected;
11. Continuously reviews current processes and audits on regular basis, and investigates any issues to ensure that controls are sufficient to minimize operational risks and best support organizational stewardship;
12. Promotes operational excellence by identifying process gaps and deficiencies, collaborating and recommending process improvements to facilitate efficiency and protect the organization;
13. Provides excellent customer service to inquiries and resolves day-to-day payroll issues where they cannot be addressed at analyst level, including troubleshooting of routine errors that may be encountered during transactional processing or payroll runs;
14. Provides timely advice for stakeholders including employees, managers, physicians, Human Resources, and Finance.

System Integrity and Updates 20%

1. Accountable for master payroll system set up to ensure all components of the payroll system operate effectively, in adherence to applicable legislative requirements (e.g. Employment Standards Act, Canada Revenue Agency), collective agreement requirements and policy of the hospital, and fulfill any internal or external reporting obligations;
2. Performs testing to validate the required changes before implementing in the production environment;
3. Coordinates with Human Resources and Business Informatics teams to ensure changes also fulfill other teams’ requirements and system performance is maintained;
4. Maintains overall accountability for the Payroll subsystem and closes periods in collaboration with Finance.

Financial, Reporting and Analytics, and Consultation Services 20%

1. Provides reporting that may be required by external stakeholders on an ad hoc or regular basis (e.g. explanation of AU or activity balances, Vacation Balances to Finance, Staff Appeal to Foundation);
2. As subject matter expert regarding Payroll operations and processes, supports the design of ongoing reporting tools that utilize Payroll data, as required by internal and external stakeholders;
3. Provides reports and invoicing to support financial recoveries (e.g. Union Business billing);
4. Communicates and corrects GL issues and errors with Finance in order to successfully complete payroll processing on a bi-weekly basis;
5. Supports and liaises with Finance to balance bi-weekly and year-end adjustments;
6. Assists with measuring client's service experiences to contribute to benchmarking initiatives and support performance objectives;
7. Monitors initiatives and prepares key performance metrics to promote quality improvement within the payroll team and throughout the organization (e.g. transaction processing volume, amount of rework / corrections, customer service volume).

Year End Reporting and Processing 10%

1. Supports external auditors through the collection and coordination of semi-annual audit documentation as requested by auditors;
2. Responsible for the scheduling, communication, and processing of all payroll year-end tasks including: preparing internal reconciliations of taxable earnings and deductions, processing of taxable benefits transactions (gift cards, parking, etc.), pension adjustments, and pre-authorized debit transactions, creating XML CRA exports, and preparing and submitting all year-end reconciliations, filings and remittances as required by CRA, EHT, WSIB, and other remittance recipients;
3. Accountable for the submission, creation, and distribution of year-end T4 and T4A slips – including coordination with third-party provider for printing and mailing as required – and the preparation, filing, and distribution of any required amended slips after year end;
4. Responsible for review and preparing responses to regular correspondence from CRA and other remittance recipients (e.g. PIER reports, notices of deficiency, notices of assessment) to maintain accounts in good standing.

Key Requirements:

1. 5+ years’ experience within an HR department in an operations unit, a hospital or public sector;
2. Certification in payroll required (Payroll Compliance Practitioner – PCP or, Certified Payroll Manager – CPM);
3. Practical experience with HRIS and time & attendance systems;
4. Experience working with unions;
5. Must demonstrate a strong customer service focus and strong interpersonal skills in order to deal with all levels of staff within an organization;
6. Ability to work in a fast paced, every-changing environment;
7. Must have a sense of urgency, be self-motivated, results driven individual, possess a strong work ethic and have a “can do” attitude;
8. Must demonstrate a high level of integrity and ethics;
9. Proven ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality and professionalism while maintaining a sense of humor.

Soft Skills:

1. Curious and committed to learning;
2. Willing to go outside of the box;
3. Desire to collaborate and initiative;
4. Strong Communication.

Note: This role requires to be in office one day a week, with the other days working from home (subject to change if needed by Client).

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $40.00 - $45.00/hr.

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Toronto, ON.