COMPENSATION SPECIALIST

City of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 71,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Chicago is seeking a Compensation Specialist in the Office of Budget and Management, Compensation Unit, to support payroll actions, ensure compliance with CBAs and salary plans, and coordinate related processes.

The role includes reviewing personnel transactions, performing salary audits, and managing year-end adjustments while providing guidance to departments and staff.

Qualifications

• Six years of professional HR, position control, or budget experience, or an eligible combination of degrees and experience.
• Experience interpreting CBAs, salary resolutions, and city policies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Review personnel transactions in CHIPPS HRIS to ensure adherence to CBAs, Salary Resolutions, and city policies.
• Audit transactions to ensure correct compensation rates (appointments, promotions, demotions, reclassifications).
• Review and approve back pay, retroactive pay, grievance settlements, vacation payout requests, and court orders.

Skills

HRIS knowledge

CBA interpretation

Analytical skills

Education

Associate degree in HR management / related field

Bachelor’s degree in HR management / related field

Master’s degree in HR management / related field

Tools

CHIPS HRIS

Payroll systems

Job description

Compensation Specialist

Job Number: 420910

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Compensation Specialist

Office of Budget and Management

Compensation Unit

Number of Positions: 1

(Additional vacancies possible pending budget approval)

Starting Salary: $78,768.00 annually

Applications for this position will be accepted until 11:59 pm CDT on September 28, 202

6.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Works in a team and as an individual to review various personnel transactions in the City's CHIPPS HRIS system to ensure department personnel transactions adhere to respective Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), Salary Resolution, City policies and applicable federal laws
• Audits personnel transactions submitted from operating departments to ensure the correct rate of compensation is processed (e.g., appointments, promotions, demotions, reinstatements, reclassification recommendations).
• Reviews and approves requests for back pay, retroactive pay, grievance settlements, vacation payout requests, court ordered agreements and Human Resource Board decisions.
• Conducts ongoing audits to ensure employee salary increases are scheduled accordingly based on designated salary schedules.
• Reviews operating departments personnel budget requests to ensure adherence with the City's Compensation and Pay Plan.
• Ensures that vacancies are created when positions are vacated and that vacancies are closed when filled by appointments, transfers, etc.
• Facilitates year-end auditing process ensuring all personnel changes adopted in the Annual Appropriation Ordinance are incorporated into the human resources application at the beginning of each fiscal year.
• Interprets and explains personnel policies and procedures and all provisions of the Compensation and Pay Plan to department stakeholders.
• Reviews proposed federal, state and local legislation to determine effects on city compensation policies (e.g., wage laws, fair work week ordinance, sick leave ordinance, etc.).
• Acts as a liaison with City departments relative to the processing of personnel and payroll actions and the administration of personnel programs.
• Coordinates the interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and processing of departmental employees.
• Provides new employee orientation and coordinates training and staff development activities.
• Prepares and oversees the preparation and processing of human resources forms to initiate personnel actions (e.g., appointments, promotions, separations, leaves of absence, accidents, etc.).
• Maintains and updates timekeeping records and the preparation and processing of payrolls for department employees.
• Provides information and responds to staff inquiries regarding benefits, pay, and human resources programs and policies.
• Acts as liaison with other City departments regarding the processing of personnel and payroll actions and the administration of human resources programs.
• Coordinates work efforts with the Department of Human Resources on matters relating to classification, recruitment, employee selection and hiring procedures, and other areas of human resources administration.
• Works on various special projects to improve current processes.
• Prepares various position control and personnel budgetary reports.

Additional duties may be required for this position.

Location: 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 604, Chicago, IL 60602

Days: Monday through Friday

Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

THIS POSITION IS EXEMPT FROM THE CAREER SERVICE

Qualifications

Six (6) years of professional human resources, position control, or budget experience,

OR

graduation from an accredited college with an associate degree in human resources management, business administration, or a directly related field, plus four (4) years of professional human resources, position control, or budget experience,

OR

graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in human resources management, business administration, or a directly related field, plus two (2) years of professional human resources, position control, or budget experience,

OR

graduation from an accredited college or university with a master's degree in human resources management, business administration, or a directly related field, plus one (1) year of professional human resources, position control, or budget experience.

DESIRED SKILLS

• Strong Knowledge of HRIS systems (e.g., CHIPPS) and personnel transaction workflows
• Ability to interpret and apply CBAs, Salary Resolutions, City policies, and federal/state labor laws
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires applicants to complete an interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position will be selected.

For Information on our employees benefits please visit our benefits website at:

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/benefits-office.html

For Information on our salary and title structure visit our classifications website at:

City of Chicago :: Classification and Pay Plan

APPLICATION EVALUATION:

Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. Department of Human Resource staff will review applications after the final posting date.Staff will follow any and all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075.

The ordinances provide a preference to applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA) and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates to be referred to departments for consideration.

These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders.

For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates.

To learn more about our hiring practices

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago is an Equal Employment Opportunity, Military Friendly, and Fair Chance Employer.

City of Chicago

Brandon Johnson, Mayor