Senior District Office Clerk - Payroll & Benefits

Temporary Ongoing - High possibility of extension beyond end date

The Surrey School District respectfully acknowledges that our schools reside on the traditional, unceded, and shared territories of Coast Salish peoples: The q íc y - Katzie, the qwa:nn - Kwantlen and the SEMYOME - Semiahmoo First Nations, who have been stewards of this land since time immemorial.

Surrey Schools values an inclusive school district where equity is deeply embedded, and diversity welcomed. We acknowledge the profound responsibility we all have in ensuring that our schools and district sites foster an atmosphere where everyone feels secure, respected, and valued. Our commitment to providing a quality education extends beyond academic excellence; we are committed to creating and cultivating diverse, inclusive, and barrier-free environments for all applicants, employees, students, and their families. Our identity, as Surrey Schools, is expressed in the shared values of openness, fairness and tolerance and recognizes the importance of diversity of identity and thought. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Spread across one of the fastest-growing cities in British Columbia, Surrey Schools provides quality education to over 82,000 students with 124 schools sites and a variety of other learning facilities, offering a broad range of innovative programs and services to support the learning of our students. The Surrey School District team of approximately 13,000 employees works tirelessly every day to ensure that children are getting the best start they can, providing the preparation to be our leaders of tomorrow.

Under general supervision, the Senior District Office Clerk (Payroll & Benefits) performs a variety of complex and specialized payroll and benefits related duties to the processing of the District’s payroll and maintenance of payroll & benefits system; reviews and processes timesheets; prepares a variety of payroll reports including remittances, benefits reports, and Worksafe BC quarterly report; ensures all legislative regulations are followed; assists with the coordination, preparation, and analysis of payroll processes; and assists with a variety of special projects.

The work includes interacting with staff regarding questions and concerns regarding payroll & benefits related issues while maintaining up-to-date knowledge of a variety of payroll related requirements. This position is expected to accomplish the full range of duties independently with only occasional instruction or assistance as unusual or unique situations arise and exercise sound decision making and independent judgement.

Typical Responsibilities

• Maintains the payroll system and employee pay records; posts and distributes time and attendance records; reviews time sheets; prepares and files required reporting documents in an accurate and timely manner.
• Processes leaves of absences (LOA), including classifying LOAs based on collective agreement and costing requirements, entering data, producing and reviewing computer-generated reports, and liaising with other departments.
• Coordinates benefit plan service involving multiple carriers and policies, including checking for accurate completion of benefit forms, communicating with employees, benefit carriers and other departments, enrolling, amending and cancelling employee coverage with benefit carriers, identifying and initiating enrollment corrections, maintaining benefit documents, verifying benefit deduction amounts and continuity of benefit status, and forwarding benefit cards to employees.
• Exercises sensitivity to the issues of confidentiality of employee/employer data and maintains confidentiality of personal data.
• Runs computer programs to produce payroll reports; posts and maintains payroll related employee data in a timely and accurate manner.
• Prepares, reconciles and submits remittances for external stakeholders such as CRA, Union, EHT, WCB, etc. to Payroll & Benefits Team Lead for processing.
• Prepares, reconciles and submits employee benefits and deductions billing.
• Trains junior staff on payroll procedures and reports; develops and maintains Payroll Procedure Manual; provides information and instruction to personnel regarding procedures and methods involved in processing payroll.
• Evaluates operations and activities of assigned responsibilities; recommends improvements and modifications to the payroll system; tests system upgrades and fixes; verifies results for accuracy; prepares various reports on operations and activities.
• Assists employees, benefit vendors, auditors and outside agencies with payroll and benefit questions and requests; works with direct supervisor to address any legalities and payments regarding compensation concerns such as judgments, arbitrations, and/or court rulings; assists employees in the completion of payroll related forms; researches changes to wage and hour ordinances and recommends modifications to the payroll system for compliance purposes; researches and analyzes data regarding salaries and benefits for cost studies.
• Enters data to meet deadlines for payroll processing.
• Prepares any adhoc report required by internal stakeholders, such as monthly scatter gram report for budgetary purposes, cashflow information to Finance, etc.
• Assists with year-end T4s processing and amended T4s on an as-needed basis.
• May supervise the work of other clerical staff and provide direction to and participate in the work of clerical staff in lower classifications, as required.
• Maintains records including: compilation of documentation pursuant to the district's Records Classification System; handles and documents large volumes for archiving at the Records Centre or for microfilming. Reviews microfilms for quality of reproduction before related paper copies are destroyed.
• Processes manual cheque requisitions and verifies information as to accuracy and coordinates couriers to ensure payment by deadlines.
• Provides general office services including: reception, switchboard, document distribution, filing, ordering office supplies, training, maintaining and arranging the use and repair of office equipment, word processing, and secretarial support.
• Performs related duties, as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of and ability to accomplish tasks on personal and networked computer systems used in the Payroll Department for benefits and payroll administration, word processing and related functions.
• Knowledge of the basic methods, practices, principles and controls involved in the production of payroll and the enrollment, maintenance and discontinuance of benefits.
• Knowledge of accounting as it relates to payroll and payroll data classification.
• Interpersonal, communication, customer service and teamwork skills to deal with employees at all levels and with outside agencies.
• Knowledge of business English and demonstrated ability in verbal and written communication skills, including grammar, spelling, punctuation and the terminology of payroll and benefits.

Skills & Abilities

• Ability to apply district and departmental policies, regulations and practices which govern activities.
• Ability to apply the District's Records Classification System.
• Ability to lift and handle boxes of records.
• Ability to work under time constraints and to meet deadlines despite constant interruptions.
• Clerical and secretarial skills and expertise in the use of computers and a variety of software applications for the production of spreadsheets, reports, correspondence, etc.
• Skills in the use of standard office equipment and ability to learn the operation of unfamiliar office equipment unique to a given worksite. Specific training outside of on-the-job training shall be arranged and provided for by the employer, if required.
• Ability to meet immovable deadlines while maintaining accuracy on large volumes of work.
• Ability to provide procedural advice and guidance to clerical personnel.
• Ability to solve problems related to the work.
• Ability to operate a computer keyboard; and a numeric keypad.

Training and Experience

• Completion of grade 12, plus additional post-secondary courses related to Payroll & Benefits, Office Practices, Basic Accounting, Computers and Keyboarding.
• Two years’ experience in a similar computerized office environment, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Licences, Certificates and Registrations

• Completed or working towards Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification from the National Payroll Institute is required.
• All successful applicants are required to join the union, CUPE Local 728 upon hire. As per the CUPE collective agreement, the starting wage for this position is $32.92 per hour with an attractive benefit package which includes: Municipal Pension, health, vacation & sick benefits which are effective after minimum 6 months based on hours.

Qualified applicants can apply on Make a Future. The closing date for this position is Friday, April 18th, 2025 at 4:00 pm PST.
Note: Successful applicants will be required to consent to a Criminal Records Search prior to employment. Only those applicants selected for interviews will be contacted. To all others, thank you for your interest.