Payroll & Benefits Generalist — Diverse HR Impact

Collective/Great States; Fargo (ND); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

3% 401(k) match

Flexible time off

Paid volunteer hours

Professional development

HSA & FSA options

Job summary

Collective/Great States is seeking an HR Generalist to lead payroll and benefits administration across Great States Construction, Great States Development, and Collective. You will own onboarding/offboarding, payroll processing, and benefits enrollment while partnering with the HR Manager on initiatives.

In this role you’ll support employee relations, compliance, recruiting, and HR reporting, ensuring data integrity and regulatory compliance across multiple entities.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree in HR, Accounting, Finance, or related field OR equivalent experience.
• 2+ years leading end-to-end payroll administration required.
• Multi-state payroll experience preferred.
• Benefits administration experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end payroll administration and serve as the primary point of contact for all payroll inquiries.
• Process bi-weekly and off-cycle payroll accurately and on time.
• Own all payroll-related onboarding and offboarding tasks, including new hire setup, compensation changes, and final pay coordination.
• Maintain payroll records in compliance with federal and state retention requirements.
• Reconcile payroll reports, resolve discrepancies, and conduct routine payroll audits.
• Generate standard and ad-hoc payroll reports and partner with accounting on reporting and reconciliations.
• Administer garnishments, child support orders, and tax levies.
• Support payroll tax filings and audits; ensure timely preparation and distribution of annual W-2s.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all employee benefits inquiries and issue resolution.
• Partner with the HR Manager to administer employee benefit programs including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, HSA, and FSA plans.
• Own all benefits-related onboarding and offboarding tasks, including new hire enrollments, qualifying life event changes, and benefit terminations in applicable systems.
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of benefit deductions through payroll.
• Partner with HR Manager, brokers, and benefit vendors on plan administration, escalations, and ongoing service needs.
• Support annual open enrollment planning, execution, and employee communication.
• Maintain accurate benefits records and data integrity across HRIS and benefits platforms; reconcile monthly benefit invoices with accounting.
• Support employee engagement, recognition, and culture-building initiatives across all entities.
• Assist with company events, employee communications, and the new hire onboarding experience.
• Refer employee relations concerns, complaints, and conflicts to the HR Manager.
• Maintain accurate personnel files, I-9 documentation, and required recordkeeping.
• Assist with labor law posting requirements, policy acknowledgments, and handbook administration.
• Support internal and external audit preparation and HR reporting requirements.
• Post open positions, conduct phone screens, schedule interviews, and coordinate candidate communications.
• Coordinate background checks, offer logistics, and pre-employment steps.
• Support a smooth handoff from hiring into onboarding.

Skills

Payroll administration

Benefits administration

HRIS (BambooHR)

Excel proficiency

Employee relations

Recruiting support

Compliance knowledge

Multistate payroll

Education

Associate's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

BambooHR

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Collective/Great States is seeking an HR Generalist to lead payroll and benefits administration across Great States Construction, Great States Development, and Collective. You will own onboarding/offboarding, payroll processing, and benefits enrollment while partnering with the HR Manager on initiatives.

In this role you’ll support employee relations, compliance, recruiting, and HR reporting, ensuring data integrity and regulatory compliance across multiple entities.