Payroll Coordinator

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents alike. If you are looking for a culture that embraces innovation, empowerment, and collaborative involvement, Somerville not only embraces these talents, but encourages them. Creative, hands on collaboration with passionate dedication are at the core of the City’s workplace culture.  Challenging and fast paced, Somerville also offers a generous benefits package that embodies a strong work life balance. Not only is it a “Model City”, as termed by The Boston Globe, but it is also a model employer.

Statement of Duties

The City of Somerville seeks a Payroll Coordinator who will be responsible for routine and complex accounting and administrative work in managing the City’s payroll functions. The employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Perform complex payroll and administrative work requiring high degree of decision making related to the compliance of payroll accounting and applicable laws and regulations.
• Ensure integrity of all payroll accounting transactions and guarantee that all employees are paid timely and accurately.
• Responsible for inputting, recordkeeping and auditing the City’s weekly, biweekly and monthly payroll activities.
• Responsible for verifying employees’ salary and wage records and providing prompt resolution of any discrepancies to ensure that all employees are properly compensated.
• Assists with the maintenance of the in-house payroll system calculation program.
• Understand, interpret and administer contractual benefits as they relate to payroll issues.  Analyze, manage and complete time-sensitive assignments to accomplish the City’s payroll processing; troubleshoot employee/vendor inquiries regarding payroll-related matters.
• Perform accurate data entry of a more difficult and responsible nature to on-line payroll.  Interact on a daily basis with departmental payroll clerks to instruct, guide and assist them in all matters relating to payroll.
• Create and maintain computer-generated spreadsheets to record wages, taxes, deductions, adjustments and correction for various payroll activities.
• Responsible for other miscellaneous wage and compensation actions as they pertain to the preparation and maintenance of payroll.
• Act as liaison between City and outside payroll company to ensure integrity of data and timeliness of payroll checks to be processed.
• Interact with Treasury, Personnel, Retirement and employees with regard to benefits and other miscellaneous requests regarding payroll-related matters.
• Reconcile general and subsidiary ledgers to various payroll reports.
• Manages the central accrual system.
• Train department head and payroll clerks when needed.
• Performs complex calculations in relation to retro-active collective bargaining agreements.
• Assists in the implementation of bi-weekly payroll.
• Monitor budget to actual spending in personal services account

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree and three to five (3-5) years’ payroll experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
• Experience with an in-house payroll system preferred.
• APA certified preferred.
• Experience with MUNIS preferred.

Special Requirements
Understand the basic principles of accounting, auditing and bookkeeping with regards to maintaining payroll records and accounts. Governmental payroll experience preferred.  Must be proficient in Excel, Word, Outlook and Internet.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: Knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll laws and regulations; knowledge of W-2’s, external audits, taxable fringe benefits and HRIS link to payroll; relevant payroll experience including maintenance, preparation, balancing, internal controls and payroll taxes.  Knowledge of Municipal Finance Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts helpful.  Knowledge of payroll tax requirements.

Abilities: Ability to interpret and administer contractual benefits.  Ability to handle information in a sensitive, confidential and professional manner is essential; ability to understand and apply procedures, regulations and policies related to areas of specialized expertise; ability to work independently, meet deadlines and be able to prepare ad hoc financial reports.

Skill: Excellent organizational skills; excellent data processing skill in the use of personal computers and office software including word processing, computer  and spreadsheet applications. Must be detail oriented and maintain high level of accuracy.

Work Environment
The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements.  Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.  Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills
Minimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment or photocopy paper (up to 30 lbs.). On occasion, more physical effort is required when moving or setting up computer equipment.

Motor Skills
Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.  Skills in repairing computers and related equipment may require more precise fine motor skills.

Visual Skills
Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Send your resume and cover letter by October 10, 2017 to:

City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.