Temporary Payroll Operations Assistant / Payroll Coordinator

Houlihan Lokey, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. is seeking an Interim / Temporary Payroll Assistant to support our US payroll team. This contractor role focuses on high-volume ticket resolution, data entry, new-hire setups, and transactional administrative tasks to ensure timely payroll execution.

The position requires 1–3 years in US payroll or HR operations, familiarity with Workday and ServiceNow, and strong Excel skills. A self-starter mindset and ability to meet daily cutoffs are essential in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of US payroll, HR operations, or data entry experience.
• Familiarity with Workday or similar HRIS and ServiceNow preferred.
• Strong Excel data filtering and basic VLOOKUP skills.
• Self-starter with ability to meet strict daily cutoffs and handle confidential data.

Responsibilities

• Triage and resolve high-volume payroll tickets in ServiceNow.
• Enter and format earnings, deductions, and adjustments in Workday EIB templates.
• Verify new hire profiles for tax forms, addresses, and direct deposit details.
• Communicate with employees regarding ACH returns and changes.
• Prepare payroll reports and audit backups for the payroll lead.

Skills

Data entry

Payroll

Workday

ServiceNow

Tools

Workday

ServiceNow

Excel

Job description

Overview

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Business Unit

Human Capital Group

Industry

No Industry

Position Overview

We are seeking an Interim / Temporary Payroll Assistant to provide immediate operational support for our US payroll team. This contractor role is focused on high-volume ticket resolution, basic data entry, new-hire setups, and transactional administrative tasks to ensure seamless day-to-day payroll execution.

Core Contractor Responsibilities

• Queue Management & Tier-1 Support
  • Triage and action daily incoming payroll tickets in ServiceNow, providing standard tier-1 answers and escalating complex policy/tax cases to full-time staff.
• Data Entry & Processing Support
  • Populate and format standard Workday EIB templates for routine ad‑hoc earnings, deductions, and adjustments based on daily cutoff deadlines.
  • Execute assigned batch updates and data entry with high accuracy.
• New Hire & Banking Follow‑Ups
  • Audit incoming new hire profiles for complete tax forms, verified addresses, and valid direct deposit details.
  • Conduct direct outreach to employees regarding ACH returns / Notices of Change (NOC) to correct banking records quickly.
• Checklist Execution & Coordination
  • Execute standard payroll checklist items for employee status changes and Leaves of Absence (LOA).
  • Collect and organize supporting documentation from Benefits partners for retroactive adjustments.
• Escalations & Documentation
  • Route time‑sensitive Payroll Change Notices (PCNs) (e.g., final pay, urgent off‑cycles) to designated senior leads.
  • Pull routine reports and assemble audit backup files as requested by the payroll lead.

Contractor Requirements & Qualifications

• Experience: 1–3 years of hands‑on US payroll, HR operations, or data entry experience in a fast‑paced environment.
• Systems: Prior working exposure to Workday (or similar enterprise HRIS) and ServiceNow (or similar ticketing platform) is strongly preferred for immediate ramp‑up.
• Software: Solid working knowledge of Microsoft Excel (data filtering, formatting, basic VLOOKUPs).
• Work Style: Self‑starter capable of executing structured workflows with minimal supervision, meeting strict daily cutoffs, and handling confidential employee data with discretion.

Compensation And Benefits

Houlihan Lokey is committed to providing its employees with an exciting career opportunity and competitive total compensation package, which may include other components such as discretionary incentive compensation. The firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible salary range for this role at the time of posting is:

• $25/HR - $30/HR

Actual salary at the time of hire may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant qualifications, skills, and experience and the location where this position may be filled.

Houlihan Lokey provides a competitive benefits package. Our current benefits offerings can be found here:

2026 Benefits

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.