Payroll Officer 1

State of Connecticut - DOC Central Office; Wethersfield (CT); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Public service loan forgiveness

Professional growth

Healthy work-life balance

Job summary

The Connecticut Department of Correction is seeking two Payroll Officer 1 positions within its Fiscal Services Payroll team. These full-time roles include supervising 4–5 payroll clerks, processing payroll for ~6,000 employees, and supporting payroll automation initiatives using CORE, ATLAS, and UKG/Kronos.

These positions offer a first shift schedule, potential telework, and opportunities for professional growth within a diverse agency dedicated to public service.

Qualifications

• Five years of experience in complex clerical work in accounting or payroll.
• Two years of general experience with payroll preparation as principal responsibility.
• College hours may substitute for experience (15 hours = 1/2 year, max 2 years).

Responsibilities

• Schedules, assigns, oversees and reviews work of staff
• Performs payroll processing and benefits administration
• Coordinates audits and reconciles payroll deductions
• Maintains time records and leave balances
• Responds to employees' payroll questions

Skills

Payroll processing

Supervisory skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Time management

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

CORE system

ATLAS system

UKG/Kronos

Job description

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Department of Correction (DOC) seeks to fill two (2) Payroll Officer 1 positions within its Fiscal Services Payroll team.

What we can offer you

• Visit our NEW State Employee Benefits Overview page!
• The State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. Click here for more information;
• Professional growth and development opportunities;
• A healthy work/life balance for all employees!

Position highlights

This position is full-time, following a first shift schedule, 40 hours a week, and scheduled Monday - Friday with the potential for telework.

These positions support payroll and benefits administration for approximately 6,000 employees across the agency’s 24/7 operations.

Responsibilities include payroll processing, benefits, accruals, retirement calculations, and implementation of payroll provisions of stipulated agreements.

The roles include supervising 4–5 payroll clerks, coordinating audits, collaborating with facility administration, and supporting payroll process improvements.

These positions use CORE, ATLAS, and UKG/Kronos systems and participate in initiatives to improve payroll automation.

About us

The Connecticut Department of Correction is a diverse agency with a wide variety of employees from Correction Officers, to Educators, to Managers and Skilled Professionals. We value differences that make us stronger as a team and support our mission statement.

The Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The agency operates 13 correctional facilities. It has its headquarters in Wethersfield. The DOC protects public safety by ensuring offenders serve their sentences of imprisonments in facilities that are safe, human, and provide re-entry programming.

The State of Connecticut, Department of Correction is a unified system; all sentenced and un-sentenced offenders are supervised by the DOC. The Department also provides supervision for offenders on parole, community release, and other discretionary release programs.

The DOC shall strive to be a global leader in progressive correctional practices and partnered re-entry initiatives to support responsive evidence-based practices aligned to law-abiding and accountable behaviors. Safety and security shall be a priority component of this responsibility as it pertains to staff, victims, citizens and offenders.

Purpose of job class (nature of work)

In a state agency, facility or institution this class is accountable for supervising a small payroll operation or assisting in supervising a moderate to large size payroll operation.

Examples of duties

• Schedules, assigns, oversees and reviews work of staff;
• Provides staff training and assistance;
• Conducts performance evaluations;
• Determines priorities and plans unit work;
• Establishes and maintains unit procedures;
• Develops or makes recommendations on development of policies and standards;
• Acts as liaison with other operating units, agencies and outside officials regarding unit policies and procedures;
• Prepares reports and correspondence;
• Reviews accuracy of payroll including shift differential payments, annual increases, collective bargaining increases, retirement calculations, workers compensation benefits and revisions for attachments;
• Prepares or closely supervises more complex portions of a payroll such as retroactive payments or garnishments;
• Supervises reconciliation of payroll deductions and coding of payroll expenditures;
• Supervises maintenance of time records including issuing semi-annual leave balances;
• Supervises control and distribution of paychecks;
• Answers employees questions relating to payroll;
• May compile payroll expenditure data for budget preparation;
• May provide information and process paperwork regarding employee fringe benefits;
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, skill and ability

• Considerable knowledge of relevant agency policies and procedures;
• and ability to apply relevant state and federal laws, statutes and regulations;
• Knowledge of state payroll policies and procedures;
• uses of office machinery used in accounting work;
• governmental accounting as it applies to payroll;
• Considerable interpersonal skills;
• oral communication skills;
• skill in performing arithmetical computations;
• Supervisory ability.

Minimum qualifications - general experience

Five (5) years of experience in complex clerical work in accounting or payroll.

Minimum qualifications - special experience

Two (2) years of the General Experience must have had payroll preparation as the principal responsibility.

NOTE: For state employees this experience is interpreted at the level of a payroll clerk.

Minimum qualifications - substitutions allowed

College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of two (2) years.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience supervising payroll and/or employee benefits operations and overseeing payroll staff;
• Experience with processing payroll and/or employee benefits for organizations with 1,000 or more employees or 24/7 operations;
• Experience performing or coordinating payroll audits (Retirement, Benefits, and payroll package audits);
• Experience with CORE, ATLAS and UKG-Kronos payroll systems, including troubleshooting and coordinating changes; and
• Experience developing or training staff in payroll and/or benefits procedures, desk manuals, or job aids.

Special requirements

Incumbents may be required to possess a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certification by the time of permanent appointment.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Acknowledgement

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.