PAYROLL ANALYST

Do you like solving problems? Are you comfortable learning and using technology? Do you like a fast-paced work environment? 

Arlington County’s Department of Human Resources is seeking two experienced and proactive Payroll Analysts to join our Employee Services team that's responsible for managing the County’s $12M bi-weekly payroll. This payroll professional uses their expertise to ensure our 4,000+ employees are paid accurately and on time.

This is an exciting time for Arlington as we begin to transition to Oracle Cloud as our new enterprise system for HR and finance. You will have the opportunity to use your creative problem-solving skills to improve processes and facilitate change. We are also instituting collective bargaining agreements for the first time, which will present new challenges and opportunities for our team. This is a hands-on position works that closely with human resources, IT, and finance staff, along with operating agency staff to ensure compliance with pay/timekeeping policies and internal controls. 

Specific duties include: 

• Processing a variety of employee pay changes, including merit and other pay increases, performance ratings, premium pays, involuntary deductions, pay corrections, etc.;
• Managing one or more distinct processes such as time submission/approval/transfer, third party payments, and/or leave payouts;
• Researching and analyzing pay data, pay discrepancies and other complex payroll issues to identify root causes, potential system issues or user errors, and to determine appropriate corrective action;  
• Running and reviewing payroll reports, conducting quality control, transferring data to the general ledger and working with financial institutions on regular and ad hoc payments;
• Identifying process improvement opportunities, particularly as they relate to the Oracle upgrade, and recommend change; 
• Participating in user testing as system changes are made and providing training to staff on payroll processes and the use of the HRIS; and 
• Providing high quality customer service to employees by helping them understand their pay and associated pay rules.

The ideal candidate will have the following:

• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and be able to work quickly and accurately in a high volume, deadline-driven environment. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to use sound judgement in interpreting regulations and policies. 
• Thorough understanding of multi-state tax issues and the ability to reconcile and address related questions
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Microsoft Excel
• Strong organization and time management skills.

Minimums: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Public Administration, or related field plus considerable professional payroll experience which included the following areas:

• Working with a complex HRIS/pay system that includes in-house processing and data analysis 
• Analyzing and resolving of complex pay issues
• Applying and interpreting complex pay rules including federal and state regulations as well as internal policies
• Providing high-quality customer service

Substitution: Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis.

Desirables:

Preference may be given to candidates who demonstrate one or more of the following:  

• Certification by the American Payroll Association as a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)
• Experience using Oracle EBS or Oracle Cloud
• Experience analyzing and auditing data
• Experience with payroll account reconciliations or payroll accounting
• Experience interpreting and applying pay laws/regulations to include FLSA for a variety of professions.
• Hands-on experience working with HR IT systems including testing, improving, and documenting processes, developing training, and providing user support.

Work hours:  Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, with flexible schedule and telework options.