Payroll Assistant

Columbia University; New York (NY); On-site; USD 66,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Payroll Assistant at Columbia University in the City of New York supports full-cycle payroll processing within the CUIMC Payroll Service Center. You will maintain accurate employee records, ensure compliance, and help resolve pay-related discrepancies while processing wages and deductions with care.

Qualifications include a bachelor's degree or equivalent and 1–2 years of payroll data-entry experience; proficiency with PeopleSoft and Excel is preferred to manage timekeeping data, add‑on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in education and experience.
• 1–2 years of payroll or HR data entry experience in a large organization or hospital system.
• Experience with PeopleSoft and solid Microsoft Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Review and process high-volume payroll transactions including new hires, pay changes, leaves, and terminations.
• Compute wages, overtime, and allocations with accurate gross-to-net calculations.
• Inspect payroll reports and system logs to identify errors and resolve discrepancies.
• Assist with preparing reports and conducting research for special reports.

Skills

Attention to detail

Data verification

Payroll data entry

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

PeopleSoft

Microsoft Excel

Job description

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $66,300 to $70,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

The Payroll Assistant works under general supervision to support full-cycle payroll processing and comprehensive transaction management in the CUIMC Payroll Service Center. This role is responsible for maintaining precise employee records, assist with executing meticulous compliance & error resolution, and ensuring the accurate calculation of wages, deductions, and specialized compensation.

Responsibilities

• Transactions & Data Integrity

  • Review and process high-volume, critical pay-related transactions, including but not limited to new hires, rehires, pay adjustments, job data changes, leaves of absence, and terminations.
  • Conduct detailed reviews of all additional compensation (add comps) and salary changes to verify proper authorization and regulatory & CU policy compliance.
  • Establish and maintain comprehensive employee payroll records
  • Review and audit complex timekeeping records across multiple medical center departments to ensure strict compliance with established standards.

  Payroll Processing & Accounting

  • Compute wages, overtime, and specialized pay, including gross to net pay, grossing up wages, provide compensation breakdowns
  • Calculate and prepare labor accounting allocations, process cost transfer and salary distributions

  Reporting, Compliance & Error Resolution

  • Inspect automated system output, systematically reviewing payroll registers, standard reports, and system logs to identify errors.
  • Investigate and resolve out-of-balance conditions, executing routine, minor adjustments to correct documents and datasets prior to final processing.
  • Assist with preparing reports andconduct research to generate special reports.
• Performs other duties as assigned or requested

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in education and experience
• 1 to 2 years of related payroll or HR data entry experience, preferably within a large organization or hospital system.

Preferred Qualifications

• Software Skills: Hands-on experience or familiarity with PeopleSoft is highly preferred; a fundamental understanding of using Microsoft Excel (e.g., sorting data, basic formulas, filtering) is required.
• Education & Training: Specialized training in bookkeeping, accounting, or payroll processes is normally required.
• Core Competencies: Extreme attention to detail for salary reviews, strong data verification skills, and the ability to maintain pace under general supervision in a fast-moving medical environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.