POSITION TITLE: Payroll & Benefits Specialist
DEPARTMENT: Finance
CLASSIFICATION: MGO-06
SALARY RANGE: Starting at $67,626.00 Per Annum
POSITION TYPE: Full-time, Permanent
LOCATION: Saskatoon
ACCOUNTABLE TO: Director of Finance
Brief Overview:
Under the direction of the Director of Finance, the Payroll and Benefits Specialist is responsible for the accurate and timely administration of Métis Nation–Saskatchewan’s payroll and benefits programs across multiple jurisdictions. This role serves as the subject matter expert on payroll compliance, requiring the ability to independently research labor standards, interpret complex regulations, and apply them to operational scenarios. The Specialist executes full-cycle payroll processing, including manual calculations for irregular pay and prorations, while serving as the primary liaison for employee inquiries regarding pay and benefits.
Key Responsibilities:
Payroll Administration & Processing (40%)
- Execute the full cycle payroll process for a multi-jurisdiction workforce on a semi-monthly basis.
- Accurately calculate and process irregular payments, including but not limited to retro-pay, commissions, bonuses, and severance.
- Perform manual calculations for partial pay periods, salary prorations, and leave of absence adjustments to ensure system accuracy.
- Process and file ROEs either through ADP or ROE online services.
- Maintain payroll master data, ensuring all new hires, terminations, and changes to pay rates or status are recorded correctly.
- Reconcile payroll registers prior to transmission to ensure data integrity.
Regulatory Compliance & Research (30%)
- Monitor and interpret federal, state/provincial, and local payroll regulations and labor standards.
- Conduct independent research on legislative changes and apply findings to complex, real-life payroll cases to ensure organizational compliance.
- Audit payroll data and processes regularly to mitigate risk and ensure alignment with current employment laws.
- Prepare and remit statutory filings and tax reporting (e.g., withholding taxes, garnishments, EHT, etc.) in accordance with government deadlines.
- Assist with internal and external audits by providing required documentation and explanations of calculations.
Benefits Administration (20%)
- Manage the payroll portion of employee benefit programs administration, including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and retirement plans.
- Process benefit enrollments, status changes, and terminations in vendor portals and the payroll system.
- Reconcile monthly benefit carrier invoices against payroll deductions and resolve variances.
- Advise employees on eligibility, coverage, and claims procedures.
Reporting & Communication (10%)
- Serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll and benefits queries, resolving issues with a high degree of professionalism and clear communication.
- Generate and analyze payroll reports for Finance and HR leadership (e.g., overtime usage, labor distribution, vacation accruals).
- Collaborate with the Finance team to ensure accurate General Ledger posting and month-end reconciliation.
- Other duties as assigned.
Knowledge and Skills:
- Legislative Acumen: Strong ability to research, interpret, and apply labor standards and payroll regulations.
- Technical Calculation: Advanced proficiency in performing manual payroll calculations (prorations, gross ups, etc.) to validate system outputs.
- Problem Solving: Excellent analytical skills to identify payroll discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
- Communication: Superb verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex payroll rules to non-technical stakeholders.
- Software: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel (PivotTables, VLOOKUP, etc.).
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Human Resources, or Business Administration, or equivalent work experience.
- Minimum 3–5 years of experience in full-cycle payroll administration.
- Demonstrated experience managing payroll across multiple jurisdictions (multi-state/provincial).
- Working knowledge of payroll software is required; specific experience with ADP Workforce Now is considered a strong asset.
- Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) or Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation is preferred.
Additional requirements:
- A valid Saskatchewan driver’s license and/or access to reliable transportation to our downtown location would be required.
- Office environment with standard working hours (37.5 hours per week); may require overtime during payroll close weeks or year-end processing.
- Maintain a high degree of confidentiality required due to access to sensitive personal and financial data.
- The successful candidate must undergo a Criminal Record Check.
- Please submit your application by 11:59 PM on January 4, 2025.
Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
