Payroll Specialist

Beacon Hill Staffing Group, LLC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Leave programs

Job summary

Beacon Hill Staffing Group, LLC is seeking an experienced Payroll Specialist to own the end-to-end payroll process for a growing multi-state organization. You will manage bi-weekly payroll for ~600 employees, ensure accuracy, compliance, and responsive internal service, and serve as the primary payroll contact.

The ideal candidate has extensive Paylocity experience, strong multi-state knowledge (CA, PA, TX, IL, FL), and a proven ability to handle complex adjustments, garnishments, tax filings,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of payroll processing experience.
• Extensive Paylocity experience.
• Payroll for 500+ employees.
• Strong multi-state payroll experience.
• Knowledge of payroll taxes, garnishments and deductions.
• Experience with complex adjustments and reconciliations.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Process bi-weekly payroll for about 600 employees across multiple states.
• Serve as the primary payroll contact and end-to-end owner.
• Administer onboarding, terminations, retroactive pay, PTO, severance, garnishments.
• Process and reconcile commission payments and complex structures.
• Assign employees to cost centers and manage entity transfers as needed.
• Review payroll audit reports and document variances.
• Respond to employee inquiries on W-2s, W-4s, taxes and payroll.
• Coordinate with HR on benefit deductions and enrollments.
• Maintain audit-ready payroll records and documentation.

Skills

Payroll processing

Paylocity

Multi-state payroll

Garnishments

Excel

Communication

Independent work

Audits

Tools

Paylocity

Paycor

ADP

Excel

Job description

Beacon Hill was founded to set a new standard in search, career placement and flexible staffing.

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Payroll Specialist to take ownership of payroll processing for a rapidly growing organization with approximately 600 employees across multiple states. This individual will serve as the sole payroll professional within the organization and will be responsible for managing complex payroll operations, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and exceptional internal customer service. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with Paylocity, strong multi-state payroll knowledge, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with evolving processes and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Process bi-weekly payroll for approximately 600 employees across multiple states, including California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, and Florida.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all payroll-related matters and maintain ownership of the end-to-end payroll process.
• Administer payroll activities including: New hires and onboardingEmployee terminationsRetroactive pay adjustmentsPTO payoutsSeverance paymentsGarnishmentsEmployee deductionsPayroll tax processing and compliance
• Process and reconcile commission payments, including commission draws and complex commission structures.
• Ensure employees are accurately assigned to cost centers and business units across approximately 50 agencies/entities.
• Manage payroll allocations and commission transfers between entities as business needs require.
• Review payroll audit reports and supporting spreadsheets each payroll cycle, investigating and documenting payroll variances and changes.
• Respond to employee inquiries related to: W-2s W-4s Payroll discrepancies Tax questions General payroll requests
• Manage and respond to requests through a shared payroll inbox.
• Coordinate with HR regarding benefit-related payroll deductions and enrollment changes.
• Process expense reimbursements and support payroll-related benefit administration systems.
• Work closely with internal teams to gather documentation and ensure payroll records are accurate and compliant.
• Maintain payroll records and supporting documentation in an audit-ready format.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of payroll processing experience.
• Extensive Paylocity experience is required.
• Experience processing payroll for 500+ employees.
• Strong multi-state payroll experience.
• Knowledge of payroll taxes, garnishments, deductions, and compliance requirements.
• Experience handling complex payroll adjustments and reconciliations.
• Strong Excel skills and ability to work with payroll audit reports and supporting spreadsheets.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience processing commission-based payrolls and commission draws.
• Experience supporting organizations with multiple entities, business units, or cost centers.
• Experience with acquisitions and payroll integration activities.
• Exposure to both W-2 and 1099 employee populations.
• Experience with Paycor, ADP, or other payroll platforms in addition to Paylocity.

Additional Information

This is a highly visible role supporting a rapidly growing organization that has expanded from approximately 150 employees to 600 employees in just a few years. The payroll function is currently supported by one payroll professional, making this a hands-on role requiring strong ownership and accountability. Candidates must be comfortable working onsite five days per week.

Benefits Information

• medical
• dental
• vision
• federal and state leave programs as required by applicable agency regulations to those that meet eligibility

Company Profile

Founded by industry leaders to set a new standard in search, career placement and flexible staffing, we deliver coordinated staffing solutions with unparalleled service, a commitment to project completion and success and a passion for innovation, creativity and continuous improvement. Our niche brands offer a complete suite of staffing services to emerging growth companies and the Fortune 500 across market sectors, career specialties/disciplines and industries. Over time, office locations, specialty practice areas and service offerings will be added to address ever changing constituent needs. Learn more about Beacon Hill and our specialty divisions, Beacon Hill Associates, Beacon Hill Financial, Beacon Hill HR, Beacon Hill Legal, Beacon Hill Life Sciences and Beacon Hill Technologies by visiting www.bhsg.com . We look forward to working with you. Beacon Hill. Employing the Future

Beacon Hill is an equal opportunity employer and individuals with disabilities and/or protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

California residents: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.