HR & Payroll Coordinator

Marin Country Day School; Madera (CA); On-site; USD 72,800 - 93,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully paid employee medical, dental, vision insurance

Generous retirement plan match

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Marin Country Day School is seeking an HR and Payroll Coordinator to provide essential administrative support to the Business Office and HR Department. This role includes overseeing payroll processing, employee records maintenance, and ensuring compliance with California hiring regulations.

The ideal candidate will possess strong organizational skills and a deep understanding of payroll systems, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality in handling sensitive information. The position offers a full-time contract with a competitive salary range of $72,800-$93,600 and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience in an administrative role covering payroll entry or HR coordination.
• Experience in an educational or non-profit setting is a major plus.
• Basic understanding of wage and hour laws, payroll taxes, and employment regulations.

Responsibilities

• Collect, review, and accurately prepare the regular payroll batch for a bi-weekly schedule.
• Actively track new hire compliance with California state law.
• Coordinate logistics of the new hire onboarding process.

Skills

Proficiency with payroll platforms and HRIS systems

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Adaptability

Education

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Accounting

Tools

Google Workspace

Paylocity

Ease

Job description

Title: HR and Payroll Coordinator

Reports to: Director of Human Resources

Classification: Full-Year Professional Staff

Status: Full-Time non-exempt

Compensation: Commensurate with experience: salary range of $72,800-$93,600 ($35-$45/hour)

Location: Onsite

The Opportunity

The HR and Payroll Coordinator is a dynamic role that provides essential administrative and operational support to both the Business Office and the Human Resources Department. This position ensures accurate payroll processing, maintains employee records, coordinates onboarding, and executes routine HR and payroll audits.

As a key representative of both departments, the ideal candidate will possess excellent numerical accuracy, exceptional organizational skills, and a high level of confidentiality and professionalism suited for a private school environment.

Primary Responsibilities

Payroll Operations & Administration (Under the direction of the Controller & HR Director)

• Bi-Weekly Payroll Preparation: Collect, review, and accurately prepare the regular payroll batch for a bi-weekly schedule, ensuring seamless data entry of hours, wages, deductions, and tax withholdings into the payroll system (Paylocity).
• Payroll Batch Presentation: Finalize and present completed payroll batches to both the Director of HR and the Controller for final approval and release.
• Complex Timecard Management: Review and verify hours for non-exempt employees, managing complex tracking for staff members who divide hours across multiple school departments.
• Benefit Reconciliation: Perform comprehensive monthly reconciliation of employee benefit carrier invoices (health, dental, vision, retirement) against actual payroll deductions.
• Annual Audit Support: Assist the Controller in gathering data, generating reports, and preparing critical documentation for annual workers' compensation, 403(b) retirement plan, and general school financial audits.

Human Resources Support & Compliance (Under the direction of the HR Director)

• New Hire Compliance Tracking: Actively track and monitor strict California state law and private school compliance requirements for all new hires, ensuring mandatory elements including LiveScan fingerprinting, background checks, and TB clearances are completed before employment begins.
• Mandatory Training Management: Schedule, coordinate, and track required compliance trainings for new hires and ongoing re-certifications for current employees, updating internal compliance dashboards.
• Onboarding & Orientation: Coordinate the logistics of the new hire onboarding process, establish portal access, complete onboarding packets, and conduct initial operational orientation.
• Benefits Support: Assist the Director of HR during open enrollment and support employees with Ease portal questions, audit integration between Ease and Paylocity.
• File Management & HR Support: Collaborate closely with the Director of HR to organize and store digital and physical records, conduct routine internal audits of HR files and I-9 documents to ensure regulatory compliance and data integrity.
• General Administration: Field and resolve everyday employee inquiries regarding payroll discrepancies, time-tracking procedures, and basic HR policies.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Accounting, or a related field preferred (or equivalent experience).
• Experience: 2–4 years of experience in an administrative role covering payroll entry or HR coordination. Experience in an educational or non-profit setting is a major plus.
• Technical Skills: Proficiency with payroll platforms and HRIS systems. Strong understanding of Google Workspace, Paylocity and Ease preferred.
• Compliance Knowledge: Basic understanding of wage and hour laws, payroll taxes, and employment regulations.

Key Competencies & Core Attributes

• Confidentiality: Must maintain absolute discretion regarding sensitive employee compensation, medical, and personal information.
• Attention to Detail: Exceptional accuracy in data entry and numerical calculations is critical for preventing payroll errors.
• Communication Skills: Warm, professional, and clear communication style when interacting with faculty, staff, and external vendors.
• Adaptability: Ability to balance competing priorities and meet strict deadlines from two distinct department heads.

Compensation and Benefits

• The full-time equivalent salary range for this position is $72,800-$93,600, commensurate with experience.
• We offer a compensation and benefits package that includes fully paid employee medical, dental, vision, life insurance, employer contributions toward dependent coverage, a generous retirement plan match with retirement planning support, short-term/long-term disability insurance, a flexible spending account, and employee assistance program.
• Additional benefits include professional development opportunities, tuition discounts for employees’ children attending MCDS, and up to four weeks of additional paid support (coordinated with state benefits) when welcoming a new child. Eligibility requirements apply.
• The School does not provide employment visa sponsorship. All employees must be authorized to work in the United States as a condition of employment.