Payroll Administrator #JR-01076

City of Virginia Beach; Virginia Beach (VA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Parental leave

Holidays and paid leave

Job summary

The City of Virginia Beach is seeking a Payroll Administrator to lead payroll operations for 7,000+ city employees, retirement, and health benefit programs. The role emphasizes accuracy, compliance, and controls across each pay period.

As a City Manager appointee, this position drives policies, audits, and integrations with HR, Finance, IT, and benefits teams to ensure timely pay and law adherence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting; seven years of relevant experience or eleven years with equivalent work history.
• Experience managing payroll for a large organization (5,000+ employees).
• CPP Certification preferred.
• Knowledge of IRS code and GAAP.

Responsibilities

• Administer and oversee automated payroll operations, establishing and maintaining procedures, controls, and QA processes.
• Develop and maintain payroll procedures and internal controls for compliance with laws and regulations.
• Develop and implement payroll audit procedures to validate transactions and ensure accurate pay.
• Monitor payroll compliance for federal, state, and local requirements.
• Provide guidance to employees on payroll programs, including retirement plans and deductions.
• Serve on the Deferred Compensation Board Committee, offering payroll and financial expertise.
• Coordinate with HR, Finance, IT, and benefits to ensure accurate system integration.
• Maintain payroll documentation and respond to audits and inquiries.
• Develop payroll-related policies and training materials.

Skills

Payroll management

Regulatory compliance

Audit procedures

Data analysis

Interdepartmental coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance or accounting

CPP Certification

Tools

Payroll software

ERP systems

HRIS

Job description

The Payroll Administrator is the division head that manages the payroll process for over 7,000 City of Virginia Beach employees along with associated retirement and health benefit programs.

As a City Manager appointee, this position serves at the pleasure of the City Manager and is not considered part of the merit service as defined in City Code, section 2-75.

Core Responsibilities Include:

• Administer and oversee the City’s automated payroll operations, establishing and maintaining procedures, controls, and quality-assurance processes to ensure the accurate, timely, and compliant processing of employee compensation each pay period.
• Develop and maintain payroll procedures and internal controls to identify and prevent mathematical, system, data, and processing errors and to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, applicable federal and state laws and regulations, City ordinances, court orders, and generally accepted accounting principles.
• Develop and implement comprehensive payroll audit procedures to validate payroll transactions, earnings, deductions, taxes, benefits, leave payments, and other compensation elements and to ensure employees receive accurate pay each payday.
• Monitor payroll compliance and regulatory requirements, including federal, state, and local requirements affecting employee compensation, taxation, wage and hour provisions, garnishments, deductions, and other payroll-related matters.
• Provide guidance and assistance to employees regarding payroll-related programs, including deferred compensation, retirement programs, and other employee deductions and contributions.
• Serve as a member of the City’s Deferred Compensation Board Committee, providing payroll and financial expertise in the administration, oversight, and continuous improvement of employee benefit programs.
• Coordinate with Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, benefits administrators, and other departments to resolve payroll issues, strengthen internal controls, improve business processes, and ensure accurate integration between payroll, human resources, timekeeping, benefits, and financial systems.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations relative to the issuance of welfare checks to reduce the incidence of welfare fraud.
• Analyze payroll data and reports to identify discrepancies, trends, and control weaknesses, initiate corrective actions, and recommend process improvements to enhance payroll accuracy, efficiency, compliance, and customer service.
• Maintain appropriate payroll documentation and audit trails and coordinate responses to internal and external audits, regulatory inquiries, and management requests related to payroll operations.
• Develop and maintain payroll-related policies, procedures, and training materials and provide technical guidance and training to payroll staff and other departments on payroll processes, controls, and compliance requirements.

The ideal candidate will have experience managing payroll for a large organization of over 5,000 employees. Preferred candidates will have experience processing payroll for a municipal government and a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) Certification..

The City offers a generous benefits package, which includes health, dental and life insurance, retirement and savings plans, maternity/paternity and parental leave, holidays and annual and sick leave.

Additional requirements:

• Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse: No

Minimum Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree finance, accounting, or related and seven (7) years of experience utilizing the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with such positions as accounting manager or controller OR combination of education (above high school level) and/or experience equivalent to eleven (11) years in fields utilizing the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with this position. Special Requirements: All employees may be expected to work hours in excess of their normally scheduled hours in response to short-term department needs and/or City-wide emergencies.

The City of Virginia Beach is an Equal Opportunity Employer.