Payroll Specialist

Talently; Redding (CA); On-site; USD 44,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Talently is seeking a Payroll Administrator to own the full payroll cycle on-site in Sacramento, CA. This hands-on role handles wage calculations, tax withholdings, and benefit deductions for hundreds of employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance across the payroll process.

You will be the steady, reliable owner of payroll operations, working closely with HR to align employee data and benefits with reality, and providing timely responses to payroll questions and discrepancies.

Qualifications

• Hands-on payroll processor for hundreds of employees.
• On-site work Monday–Friday in Sacramento, CA.
• Experience with wage, hour, and tax withholdings and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Own the accuracy of every paycheck, including wage calculations and withholdings.
• Stay ahead of wage, hour, and tax rule changes to prevent errors.
• Run each pay cycle for exempt and non-exempt teams from start to finish.
• Be the go-to for pay questions and resolve discrepancies promptly and politely.
• Maintain and clean the HCM platform data: setups, changes, and integrity.
• Collaborate with HR on new hires, status changes, and benefit updates to ensure payroll accuracy.

Skills

Payroll Processing

Exempt Payroll

Non-Exempt Payroll

HCM Software

Tax Withholdings

Benefit Deductions

Wage and Hour Compliance

Payroll Compliance

Job description

Location: Sacramento, CA (On-site, Monday through Friday)

Salary: $43,500 to $56,000

Skills: Payroll Administrator, Payroll Processing, Exempt and Non-Exempt Payroll, HCM Software, Tax Withholdings, Benefit Deductions, Wage and Hour Compliance, Payroll Compliance

About the Opportunity

My client, one of the most established mission-driven nonprofits, is looking to hire a Payroll Administrator who wants to own the whole pay cycle. This is a direct hire position with full ownership and no handoffs.

Payroll is the one job where nobody notices when it’s perfect and everybody notices when it isn’t. You’ll be the steady hand who makes it perfect, with visibility across the organization and a collaborative team around you.

This is a hands-on processing role, not a strategy role, and it’s on-site Monday through Friday. If you want your accuracy trusted and your work to matter to every person on payroll, this is worth a conversation.

Responsibilities

• Own the accuracy of every paycheck, from wage calculations to tax withholdings and benefit deductions
• Stay ahead of changing wage, hour, and tax rules so nothing slips through
• Run each pay cycle for both exempt and non-exempt teams, start to finish
• Be the go-to for pay questions and resolve discrepancies fast and kindly
• Keep the HCM platform clean and current: setups, changes, and data integrity
• Partner with HR on new hires, status changes, and benefit updates so pay always matches reality
• Spot ways to make every cycle faster and cleaner, then make them stick

Must-Have Skills

• Hands-on payroll processor, exempt and non-exempt, for a few hundred employees
• Able to be on-site every day, Monday through Friday
• Accuracy-first mindset with strong follow-through on every pay deadline

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience on a well-known cloud-based payroll or HCM platform
• Strong Excel skills for reconciling and spot checks
• Payroll background in a nonprofit or other mission-driven setting