Public Sector Payroll Systems Specialist

City of Santa Ana; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Santa Ana is seeking a results-oriented payroll systems professional to administer and configure the City’s HR and payroll platform within the Finance and Management Services Department. You will ensure accurate tax calculations, benefits, reporting, and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

The role involves testing patches, training users, generating payroll queries, and collaborating with staff and consultants.

Qualifications

• Three (3) years of professional experience administering and configuring HR and payroll systems.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, business administration, computer science, finance, or related field.
• Must be available to work evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays as required.

Responsibilities

• Configures and administers the City’s HR and payroll system.
• Evaluates and troubleshoots payroll processing across the full lifecycle.
• Develops and implements custom system calculations and corrections.
• Collaborates with staff and external consultants to maintain the system.
• Interprets tax regulations, FLSA, PERS, MOUs related to payroll and benefits.
• Researches and recommends system upgrades based on legislative changes.
• Tests patches, upgrades, and new releases; evaluates tax updates.
• Trains users on system processes and data integrity procedures.
• Documents and tracks system issues and service requests.
• Creates payroll queries and reports to support operations.
• Provides technical guidance to payroll and HR staff.
• Provides backup payroll processing support.
• Responds to inquiries regarding payroll policies and schedules.
• Maintains payroll records per retention/destruction rules.
• Prepares presentations and routine correspondence for staff.

Skills

Payroll configuration

Issue troubleshooting

Reporting queries

Office software

Education

Bachelor’s degree in public administration or related field

Tools

Payroll system software

Microsoft Office

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Job description

The City of Santa Ana is seeking a results-oriented payroll systems professional to administer and configure the City’s HR and payroll platform within the Finance and Management Services Department. You will ensure accurate tax calculations, benefits, reporting, and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

The role involves testing patches, training users, generating payroll queries, and collaborating with staff and consultants.