Payroll Specialist

About the Opportunity  

• Leads end-to-end biweekly payroll processing for 10,000 employees across the network, with payroll grossing approximately $700 million annually 

• Leads additional payroll processing for off-cycles and special runs that may be required to administer additional payments to staff from time to time 

• 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.) 

• 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 

• Manages the remuneration and payment of T4A payments, including fellowships, graduate and summer students, and fees for service 

• Processes high-volume transactions to employees (such as education allowances, uniform/footwear allowances, and retros), using system uploads and jobs to expedite the processing 

• Prepares payment requisitions for other payments to be made by Accounts Payable on Payroll’s behalf (e.g. RRSP transfers, legal fee reimbursements) 

• Processes reimbursements from various parties (including overpayments from employees), including entry in the system and deposit with the Cash Office 

• 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 

• Executes and develops routine audits to ensure the payroll input results in the required payroll output and errors are corrected 

• 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 

• Promotes operational excellence by identifying process gaps and deficiencies, collaborating and recommending process improvements to facilitate efficiency and protect the organization 

• 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 

• Provides timely advice for stakeholders including employees, managers, physicians, Human Resources, and Finance 

• 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) 

• 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 

• Provides reports and invoicing to support financial recoveries (e.g. Union Business billing) 

• Communicates and corrects GL issues and errors with Finance in order to successfully complete payroll processing on a bi-weekly basis 

• Supports and liaises with Finance to balance bi-weekly and year-end adjustments

• Assists with measuring client's service experiences to contribute to benchmarking initiatives and support performance objectives 

• 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) 

About You 

• 5+ years of experience with processing Payroll, preferably in a public sector or nonprofit environment 

• Practical experience with HRIS, Payroll, and/or time & attendance systems, including system implementation, change management 

• Experience working in a unionized environment is a strong asset 

• Ability to work in a fast paced and frequently changing environment 

• Must have a sense of urgency, be self-motivated, results driven individual, possess a strong work ethic and have a “can do” attitude 

• Must demonstrate a high level of integrity and ethics 

• Proven ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality and professionalism 

Hourly Rate 

$33 - $38/hr