Payroll Specialist

Description

This is a Promotional and Open Competitive Recruitment, which will result in two eligibility lists.

PAYROLL SPECIALIST

WELCOME TO SANTA MONICA COLLEGE! Thank you for your interest in joining the SMC team as a Payroll Specialist! This position will perform journey-level clerical and technical payroll accounting duties involved in the processing of the District's payroll by computing, reviewing, reconciling and resolving discrepancies to ensure timely and accurate payment of District employees. This position is scheduled to work 40 hours per week, 12 months per year at the Santa Monica College District Office.

What You Will Bring to the College
Our ideal candidate will possess:

• Experience interpreting and applying applicable practices, procedures, laws, regulations, and other related information to compute, reconcile, troubleshoot, and process payroll. preferably in a public agency.
• Excellent organizational and self-management skills
• Proven experience accurately and efficiently processing a large volume of payroll records.
• Exceptional customer service and conflict management skills.
• Proficiency with computerized payroll systems and Microsoft Office, especially Excel, and the ability to adapt to new technologies and methods of performing work.
• The ability to accurately calculate, interpret, apply, and record numerical data

Why Work at SMC?
At SMC, you will work beside a diverse group of individuals who leverage their combined talents and passions to accomplish something great. No matter what department you are in, or what job you have, your contributions will be critical to helping our students fulfill their dreams - landing that new job, or breaking through the cycle of poverty.

Some details about us:

• We are currently the number one transfer college to UCLA, USC, the University of California system, and Loyola Marymount University
• We are committed to sustainable practices and are accessible via environmentally-friendly transportation options, including the Expo Line and Big Blue Bus.
• We are one of the select community colleges in California approved to award a Bachelor's degree. SMC currently awards a Bachelor's degree in Interaction Design.

Please visit www.smc.edu/aboutsmc to learn more about us and why we are Proud to Be SMC!

Benefits
We value our employees as individuals, and recognize the value of work-life balance, the health of you and your family, and professional development. We offer a variety of benefits and perks to support new members of our team, including:

• 17 paid holidays*
• 12 paid vacation days*
• 12 paid illness days*
• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision-care coverage (including eligible dependents)
• Membership in the California Public Employee Retirement System (CALPERS)
• 5% increase in base pay for every 5 years worked with SMC, up to 35 years of service.
• Waived tuition fees for classes taken at Santa Monica College.
• Reimbursement for related classes, conferences or workshops to empower your professional development.
• Free access to the Employee Assistance Program (EASE).
• Free Big Blue Bus access and monthly incentives for eligible employees through the Sustainable Transportation Incentive Program
• Option to join California School Employee Association (CSEA) Chapter 36

*Holidays, vacation, and illness days listed above assume a 12-month, 40-hour per week schedule. Vacation and illness days are prorated for other work schedules.

Salary Placement
New Employees: Generally, new employees start at the first step on the salary schedule. A new permanent classified employee may request a higher salary placement based on recruitment issues and/or additional training and experience which greatly exceeds the minimum requirements. Please note that salary placement above the third step requires additional approvals by Santa Monica College executive staff.

Current Employees: Upon promotion, the new salary for a current, permanent employee is based on Merit Rule 12.2.8. In accordance with this rule, employees are entitled to at least a one-step (5%) salary increase, and may be eligible for advanced step placement in accordance with established criteria.

About the Selection Process

The selection process tentatively consists of a Computerized Multiple-Choice Test (pass/fail) and a Qualifications Appraisal Interview (weighted 100%). Candidates must be successful on all test parts to be placed on the eligibility list. Two separate eligibility lists will be created from this recruitment: one for promotional candidates and one for external candidates. The promotional list will be used first, and must be exhausted before we can hire external candidates to fill vacant positions. The eligibility list created from this recruitment will be used to fill any vacancies that occur during the one year life of the eligibility list, including permanent and temporary positions.

Santa Monica College reserves the right to modify the stated test components and weights prior to the administration of any test.

Communication for this recruitment will be via e-mail. You must check your e-mail on a regular basis to be informed of your status for this recruitment.

The Santa Monica Community College District is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants for employment, as well as District employees, shall have full and equal access to employment opportunity. No person shall be subjected to unlawful discrimination in any program or activity of the District. The District's Board Policy 3120 (Equal Employment Opportunity and Nondiscrimination in Employment) may be accessed at: http://bit.ly/smc-hr-bp3120 .

Equity Statement
'Santa Monica College encourages candidates that are equity-minded to apply. SMC is a minority-serving, Hispanic-serving institution. We actively seek to attract candidates from minority groups that value equity, diversity, and inclusion. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are built into the culture at SMC, and are an essential component of the work that we do. SMC is committed to racial and socioeconomic diversity as it is a reflection of our student population and we strive to hire candidates that share this commitment.'

Examples of Duties

Collects, inputs, verifies, audits and reviews payroll data from multiple sources in order to sort and accurately process payroll in compliance with District and County timelines, policies and procedures; logs in timesheets and time reports to payroll systems and spreadsheets, verifies leave time used and adjusts pay to account for unpaid absences, as necessary.

Verifies pay data integrity, checks and assesses data accuracy and reviews payroll documents submitted, computer printouts and related payroll records for accuracy and completeness.

Performs a variety of technical payroll accounting procedures including computing, auditing, and processing salary payments and deductions for all District employees.

Prepares and coordinates periodic payroll reporting, processing, and distribution schedules in coordination with county deadlines.

Reviews, updates and maintains employee vacation, sick, compensatory, and other leave balances in database to ensure accurate, current and historical payroll records.

Researches and reconciles reported discrepancies; explains nature and appropriate resolution of discrepancies to employees; arranges retrieval of overpayments to employees within District guidelines and timelines; processes supplemental payments to employees to correct underpayments.

Communicates with management, coworkers, Human Resources, county offices, local, state, and federal agencies regarding individual and departmental payrolls to inform, advice, and/or seek resolution of variances and interruptions in the flow of accurate and timely payroll data.

Prepares and completes forms and reports for employment and retirement verifications, county office warrant replacements and governmental jurisdictions, including Social Security, unemployment insurance and worker's compensation insurance fund and other related agencies.

Researches and interprets federal, state and local regulations governing pay and provisions of collective bargaining agreements and applies provisions appropriately to compute pay.

Researches and calculates earnings and leave accruals related to work injury and medical leave claims; coordinates available accrued leave time with Short-term Disability Insurance (SDI) payments.

Creates and maintains detailed employee payroll files to ensure record accuracy.

Attends conferences, seminars, meetings and training sessions to stay current with new laws, rules, procedures and regulations affecting correct and proper payroll issuance.

Processes garnishment notifications and refers payroll garnishment documents to County office and/or appropriate parties.

Communicates both orally and in writing to develop and maintain effective interpersonal and business relationships with District coworkers, faculty, staff, students, and administration.

Performs other related duties as requested or assigned.

Examples of essential duties are descriptive and not restrictive in nature, and are generally listed in descending order of importance.

Minimum Qualifications

Education Requirement:
High School diploma or equivalent. An Associate's degree in Accounting, Business Administration or a closely related field preferred.

Experience Requirement:
Three (3) years of increasingly responsible payroll, human resources and/or accounting experience preferably involved in the preparation and issuing of payroll checks, including the computation and auditing of salary payments and deductions using a computerized payroll system.

Education/Experience Equivalency:
Experience and/or education of the same kind, level and amount as required in the minimum qualifications may be substituted on a year-for-year basis.

Supplemental Information

For additional information about our employment process, please visit our FAQ page and click on 'current employees' (for existing, permanent SMC employees) or 'job applicants' (for external applicants).