Payroll and Benefits Administrator

Hirewell; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Hirewell is seeking a Total Rewards Manager for a fully remote contract role (3 months) to own compensation, benefits, and payroll end‑to‑end. The position collaborates with HR leadership, Finance, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders to design and administer a competitive, equitable, and compliant rewards program.

The role covers market benchmarking, program design, open enrollment, payroll accuracy, vendor management, and employee communications, with escalation support for complex issues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, business, finance, or related field.
• 6–8 years of progressive total rewards experience across compensation, benefits and payroll.
• Experience running annual compensation cycles, open enrollment, and full-cycle payroll.
• Working knowledge of FLSA, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, pay transparency, multi-state withholding, and W‑2 reporting.
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel proficiency.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with ability to influence stakeholders.
• Experience with Workday payroll.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual compensation cycle, including merit, bonus, and equity or long‑term incentive processes, in partnership with Finance and HR Business Partners.
• Design and maintain compensation structures, job architecture, salary ranges, and leveling frameworks.
• Oversee benefits design, administration, renewal, and open enrollment activities.
• Administer end‑to‑end payroll operations, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Develop total rewards communications and total rewards statements for employees.
• Partner with HRIS and Finance to ensure data integrity and process improvements.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Stakeholder influence

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/business/related

Tools

Workday

UKG

ADP

Tableau/Power BI

Job description

Total Rewards Manager (Contract, Fully Remote)

Location: Remote (U.S.)

Employment type: Contract

Duration: 3 months

The Total Rewards Manager is a hands‑on role that owns compensation, benefits, and payroll end to end, designing, administering, and continuously improving each of them. This role partners with HR leadership, Finance, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders to build a rewards strategy that attracts, motivates, and retains top talent while staying competitive, equitable, and compliant. You will own the end‑to‑end rewards lifecycle, from market benchmarking and program design to open enrollment, payroll accuracy and compliance, vendor management, and employee communication.

Key Responsibilities

Compensation

• Lead the annual compensation cycle, including merit, bonus, and equity or long‑term incentive processes, in partnership with Finance and HR Business Partners.
• Conduct market pricing and benchmarking using survey sources (e.g., Radford, Mercer, Pearl Meyer, Payscale) to maintain competitive, internally equitable pay structures.
• Build and maintain job architecture, salary ranges, leveling frameworks, and job descriptions.
• Advise HR Business Partners, managers, and Talent Acquisition on offers, promotions, market adjustments, and exceptions.
• Perform pay equity analyses and recommend corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with FLSA classification, pay transparency laws, and other federal, state, and local regulations.

Benefits and Well-Being

• Manage the design, administration, and renewal of health and welfare, retirement (401(k)), leave, and wellness programs.
• Partner with brokers, carriers, and vendors to negotiate renewals, evaluate plan performance, and control costs.
• Lead annual open enrollment, including vendor coordination, system configuration, and employee communications.
• Oversee compliance with ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and Form 5500 and nondiscrimination testing requirements.
• Monitor benefits utilization and trends to recommend improvements in plan design, cost, and employee experience.

Payroll

• Oversee end‑to‑end payroll operations (Workday): processing, reconciliation, audits, and year‑end reporting.
• Ensure payroll accuracy and compliance with wage and hour laws, multi‑state tax withholding, garnishments, and W-2 requirements.
• Partner with HRIS and Finance to keep compensation changes, benefit deductions, and bonus and incentive payouts flowing correctly into payroll.
• Resolve complex payroll issues and employee inquiries, and improve payroll processes, controls, and timelines.
• Manage payroll vendors, service levels, and contracts.

Recognition, Communication, and Programs

• Develop and manage recognition, incentive, and employee perks programs.
• Create clear, engaging communications and total rewards statements that help employees understand the value of their package.
• Gather employee feedback and market intelligence to shape the long‑term rewards strategy.

Analytics, Systems, and Operations

• Build dashboards and reports on compensation, benefits cost, and workforce metrics for HR and executive leadership.
• Partner with HRIS and Payroll on system configuration, data integrity, audits, and process improvements (e.g., Workday, UKG, ADP).
• Manage the total rewards budget and support annual planning and forecasting with Finance.
• Evaluate and manage third‑party vendors, service levels, and contracts.

Team Leadership (if applicable)

• Coach and develop Total Rewards Analysts or Specialists and serve as an escalation point for complex employee inquiries.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 6-8 years of progressive total rewards experience with hands‑on depth in all three of compensation, benefits, and payroll, not just one.
• Experience running annual compensation cycles, open enrollment, and full‑cycle payroll (processing, reconciliation, and audits).
• Working knowledge of employment, benefits, and payroll laws (FLSA, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, pay transparency, multi‑state tax withholding, garnishments, W-2 reporting).
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel proficiency; comfortable building models and presenting findings.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience running payroll within Workday.

Preferred

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), or SHRM‑CP / SHRM‑SCP / PHR / SPHR.
• Experience with equity compensation, sales incentive plans, or multi‑state and multi‑country workforces.
• Experience in a high‑growth, mid‑size, or matrixed organization.
• Familiarity with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) or compensation software (Pave, Payscale, Compa, Ravio).
• Fully remote, with availability during CST/EST business hours