Payroll & Benefits Specialist - Entry or Advanced

State of Wisconsin; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 54,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Sick time rollover

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Well Wisconsin program

Job summary

State of Wisconsin’s Bureau of Human Resources seeks a Payroll & Benefits Specialist – Entry or Advanced to join a team of HR professionals in Madison. Primary duties include payroll processing, benefits management, inquiries handling, and ensuring policy-compliant transactions.

The role offers hybrid remote/office work with a 12-month probation. Entry level focuses on learning and growing toward full payroll/benefits duties; Advanced performs more independent work, including bi-weekly payroll

Qualifications

• Payroll processing experience with payroll adjustments and reconciliations.
• Benefits administration including leave and insurance programs.
• Auditing payroll and benefits, with attention to accuracy.
• Interpreting policies and procedures for payroll/benefits across the org.
• Customer service and stakeholders liaison across levels of the organization.
• Technical assistance and training related to payroll and benefits systems.
• Experience using payroll information systems and data entry controls.

Responsibilities

• Process payroll and maintain payroll and benefits information.
• Respond to routine employee inquiries and ensure data accuracy.
• Complete payroll and benefit transactions and documentation.
• For Advanced: prepare bi-weekly payroll, reconcile reports, and maintain benefits functions.
• Provide training and support to staff on payroll/benefits processes.
• Support leave accounting, insurance administration, and orientation activities.

Skills

Payroll processing

Benefits administration

Auditing

Policy interpretation

Customer service

Technical support

Payroll systems

Tools

Payroll software

Job description

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Job Title Payroll & Benefits Specialist - Entry or Advanced

It is the mission of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) to protect the public and ensure that justice is done. Click here to learn more about DOJ.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) provides comprehensive personnel services to the entire organization. We're looking for talented people who are active learners that build strong collaborative relationships and recognize the value different perspectives and experiences bring.

Position Summary

The Bureau of Human Resources is currently looking for a Payroll and Benefits Specialist – Entry or Advanced to join our team of enthusiastic HR professionals.

This position will be headquartered at the Risser Justice Center located at 17 West Main Street, located in the award-winning city of Madison. Learn more about the area here: City of Madison .

Payroll and Benefits Specialist - Entry: Under the close progressing to limited supervision of the Payroll and Benefits Program Supervisor, this position will grow to provide the full range of payroll and benefits services within the Human Resources Bureau. Responsibilities include processing payroll, reviewing and maintaining employee payroll and benefits information, responding to routine employee inquiries, calculating and completing payroll and benefit transactions and documentation, and ensuring information is accurate and maintained in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.

Payroll and Benefits Specialist – Advanced: Under the general supervision of the Payroll and Benefits Program Supervisor, this position will provide the full range of payroll and benefits services within the Human Resources Bureau. This position performs highly independent payroll and benefits specialist work focusing on the preparation of departmental bi-weekly payroll, reconciliation of final reports required for payroll and benefits information, maintenance of payroll and benefits functions such as employee benefit counseling, leave accounting, and insurance administration, training and manual writing for other staff, new employee orientation, as well as other payroll and benefit program activities.

The Payroll and Benefits Specialist-Entry is in pay schedule 81 and pay range 05. The starting base wage will be between $26.00 - $28.41/hour ($54,080 - $59,082 annually). The Payroll and Benefits Specialist-Advanced is in pay schedule 81 and pay range 04. The starting base wage will be between $29.00 - $37.17/hour ($60,320 - $77,313 annually). The starting pay will be determined depending upon experience and qualifications. Pay for current or former state employees will follow the provisions found in the State of Wisconsin Compensation Plan effective at the time of hire. A 12-month probationary period may be required.

The State of Wisconsin offers amazing benefits, such as:

• Generous paid time off, including at least 3 1/2 weeks of vacation/personal time, and nine paid holidays.
• Sick time that rolls over each year with no cap and may be used to pay for healthcare premiums in retirement.
• Affordable health insurance, dental, vision, life, and more.
• A top-notch retirement program and optional tax-advantaged 457 retirement plan.
• A Well Wisconsin program, offering wellness tools and rewards to employees and spouses.

This position is eligible for remote work. DOJ offers hybrid remote/office work. If interested in remote work, this can be discussed in more detail during the interview process. The selected employee(s) must report to DOJ’s office on the first day of employment. In addition, the employee may need to report to DOJ on short notice as operational needs require. High speed internet access will be required to meet needs of remote work.

The Department of Justice does not sponsor work visas at the time of hire or anytime during employment. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required Employment Eligibility Form I-9.

A background check, including fingerprints, will be completed on applicants prior to selection.

Qualifications

Please clearly address the following in your resume and/or letter of qualifications:

Payroll processing (e.g., calculating payroll adjustments, reconciling pay and benefits transactions etc.)

Benefits administration (e.g. retirement plans, leave policies, wellness programs, insurance policies, etc.)

Auditing (e.g. auditing and reconciling time and attendance reports during payroll processing, benefits auditing yearly and pre-termination).

Reviewing, analyzing, and applying the State of Wisconsin payroll and benefits topics, policies, and procedures.

Processing workers compensation claims and related risk-management tasks.

Providing customer service and maintaining effective working relationships with stakeholders at various levels of an organization.

Providing technical assistance and consultation related to payroll and benefits to employees, managers, and other Human Resources professionals (e.g., advice and/or counseling to employees on payroll & benefit options, providing training on payroll and benefits processes, answering questions on fringe benefits etc.).

Working with payroll and benefits information system(s) to perform the full range of payroll and benefits program duties cycle (e.g. monitoring automated payroll entries, verifying/entering/auditing transactions, leave reporting and payments, etc.).

In addition to the minimum qualifications, a well-qualified applicant will also have professional experience in any of the following:

Performing payroll & benefits tasks within an organization with 500 or more employees and/or working as a liaison or central point of contact for an organization with multiple geographic sites.

Researching, interpreting, and applying policy and procedures and/or contractual language on payroll and benefit programs within local, state, and/or federal entities and/or higher education employers.

The WI Department of Justice is committed to providing opportunities to all applicants from all backgrounds. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

The State of Wisconsin offers a special program for qualified veterans with a 30% or greater service-connected disability. If you are a qualified veteran, please visit the Veterans Employment page for application instructions to be considered for the Veterans Non-Competitive Appointment program.