Fire Department Payroll Processor

JobAps; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Alameda County Fire Department is seeking a qualified Payroll Processor to manage complex payroll duties and maintain payroll-related personnel records for the department. You will respond to inquiries from management and staff, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing and benefits administration.

Under general supervision, the role requires thorough knowledge of payroll practices, confidentiality, and strong data-entry skills.

Qualifications

• Experience with payroll processing and maintaining payroll records.
• Knowledge of rules and regulations related to payroll processing.
• Familiarity with basic data processing and record-keeping principles.
• Ability to work with confidential payroll information and maintain accurate files.

Responsibilities

• Perform complex and technical payroll duties and maintain payroll-related personnel records.
• Respond to payroll and benefits inquiries from Fire Department management and staff.
• Support payroll processing functions and ensure accuracy and timeliness of payments.

Skills

Payroll knowledge

Record keeping

Data processing

Office administration

Communication

Job description

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

APPLICATIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ONLINE.

DESCRIPTION

About the Department:

The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) provides all-risk emergency services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County (excluding Fairview), the cities of San Leandro, Dublin, Newark, Union City and Emeryville, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. With 28 fire stations and 34 companies serving a population of 394,000, the ACFD serves densely populated urban areas, waterways, industrialized centers, extensive urban interface, agricultural and wildland regions. Over 400 personnel and 100 Reserve Firefighters provide a wide variety of services to an ever expanding, dynamic and diverse community of roughly 508 square miles.

These services include:

• Advanced Life Support
• Fire Suppression
• Hazardous Materials Response
• Urban Search & Rescue
• Water Rescue
• Community Outreach & Education
• Disaster Preparedness
• Fire Prevention and Code Compliance
• Regional Dispatch

The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) was formed on July 1, 1993, as a dependent special district with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors as its governing body. This consolidation brought together into a single jurisdiction the Castro Valley Fire Department, Eden Consolidated Fire Protection District and County Fire Patrol. Subsequently, the following communities have contracted with the ACFD:

• July 1, 1995 City of San Leandro
• July 1, 1997 City of Dublin
• August 1, 2002 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• October 1, 2007 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• May 1, 2010 City of Newark
• July 1, 2010 City of Union City
• July 1, 2012 City of Emeryville

On January 20, 2008, the ACFD became responsible for the administration and operation of the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC). The dispatch center provides dispatch and regional communication center services for the ACFD, the Alameda County Emergency Medical Services Agency, Camp Parks Combat Support Training Center, and the cities of Alameda, Fremont, Livermore and Pleasanton. ACRECC is also the Dispatch/System Status Management Center for Falck ambulance service.

For more information about the agency, please visit: Alameda County Fire Department.

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, performs complex and technical payroll-related duties involving the preparation and maintenance of Fire Department employee payroll system and payroll-related personnel records; responds to payroll and benefits inquiries from Fire Department Management and other staff in support of the payroll processing function; and to performs related duties as required.

For detailed information about the classification, please review the job description: Fire Department Payroll Processor (#8166).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Experience:

Three (3) years of experience in the preparation and maintenance of financial, fiscal, and other statistical records or two (2) years in processing and maintenance of payroll data. Payroll experience is desirable.

License:

May require possession of a valid California driver's license.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Rules, regulations, terminology, and processes related to the completion and processing of varied payroll and personnel documents.
• Complex and specialized payroll practices.
• Methods and practices used in financial and statistical work.
• Basic data processing principles associated with automated payroll systems.
• Record-keeping principles and procedures.
• Office administrative practices and procedures, including records management and the operation of standard office equipment.

Ability to:

• Perform complex and specialized payroll.
• Plan and carry out duties independently.
• Interpret and explain applicable laws, rules, and regulations related to payroll.
• Prepare accurate financial and statistical reports and maintain confidential office files.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Analyze and resolve difficult administrative problems related to the payroll function.
• Organize, prioritize, and coordinate work activities.
• Operate standard office equipment, including a word processor, personal or online computer.
• Train others in work procedures.
• Establish and maintain effective work relationships.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

• A review of applicants' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
• A review of candidates' supplemental questionnaires to determine the best qualified.
• An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.
• Candidates must attain a qualifying rating of each portion of this examination.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN

The County will inform applicants, via email and with reasonable notice in advance, of any examination process that will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on operational needs.

• Deadline for Filing: 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 16, 2026
• Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications: By October 28, 2026
• Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified: By November 20, 2026
• Civil Service Oral Examination: Week of November 30, 2026
• Notification of Results: Week of December 7, 2026
• Departmental Hiring Interviews: Week of January 4, 2027

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement no later than the recruitment filing deadline. If this is a continuous open recruitment without a filing deadline, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement within ten (10) business days of submitting your application. Unless your disability is readily apparent (for example, you use a wheelchair and need wheelchair-accessible spaces), Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov.

BENEFITS

*** For benefit information, please contact Fire Administration at [e-mail]. ***

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org, @jobaps.com, [e-mail], and [e-mail] as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email boxes [e-mail] and [e-mail] are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Maria Tabora | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
[phone] | [e-mail]
https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER
All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.