Payroll Specialist

Job Title: Payroll Specialist

Location: System Business Office

Department Name: Payroll

Req #: 0000238067

Status: Salaried

Shift: Day

Pay Range: $93,286.00 - $121,272.00 per year

Pay Transparency:

The above reflects the anticipated annual salary range for this position if hired to work in New Jersey.

The compensation offered to the candidate selected for the position will depend on several factors, including the candidate's educational background, skills and professional experience.

Payroll Compliance Specialist

The Payroll Compliance Specialist is responsible for ensuring that the payroll function across the RWJ Barnabas Health system is always audit-ready.

This role establishes, maintains and governs payroll documentation, controls, and standard operating procedures to ensure that every payroll processed has valid and standardized back-up support and is consistently executed.

This individual serves as the documentation and compliance backbone of the payroll organization partnering with payroll operations, HR, Finance, Internal and External auditors, and HRIS to ensure that payroll processes are clearly documented, risks are mitigated, and organizational changes are supported with proper governance and structure.

The ideal candidate has strong payroll compliance knowledge, excellent documentation skills, and the ability to build scalable repositories and frameworks that support operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure payroll processes are fully documented, standardized, and audit ready across all entities and payrolls
• Serve as a payroll partner for internal and external audit including SOX and regulatory reviews
• Maintain supporting documentation for payroll controls, reconciliations, approvals, and system configurations
• Proactively identify compliance gaps, documentation risks, and control weaknesses,
• Recommending and executing remediation plans
• Ensure payroll practices align with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws, tax regulations, and healthcare requirements if applicable

Build, maintain, and govern a centralized repository for payroll documentation including:

• Standard Operating Procedures
• Process flows and narratives
• Control descriptions and evidence supporting internal controls
• Job Aids, templates, and checklist
• Support department training and upskilling
• Establish in partnership with AVP document standards, naming conventions, version control, and workflows
• Partner with payroll team to ensure SOPs accurately reflect current state processes and review annually to ensure that documentation is representative of the payroll operating environment
• Create structured libraries for audits, controls, SOPs, training materials, and project documentation
• Support payroll training across the team
• Assist in defining key controls, evidence requirements, and ownership
• Support accounting reconciliation and GL requests
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• 5+years of payroll experience, preferably in a large complex organization
• Understanding of CBA and union payrolls
• Strong UKG experience
• Demonstrated experience supporting payroll project or system initiatives
• Strong understanding of payroll compliance, controls, financial impacts
• Accounting knowledge
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Strong analytical,
• And problem-solving skills
• Ability to mange multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Detail oriented with a strong control mindset
• Ability to influence and collaborate across functions

Benefits and Perks:

At RWJBarnabas Health, our employees are at the heart of everything we do. Driven by our Total Wellbeing promise, our market-competitive offerings include comprehensive benefits and resources to support our employees’ physical, emotional, financial, personal, career, and community wellbeing. These benefits and resources include, but are not limited to:

Paid Time Off including Vacation, Holidays, and Sick Time
Retirement Plans
Medical and Prescription Drug Insurance
Dental and Vision Insurance
Disability and Life Insurance
Paid Parental Leave
Tuition Reimbursement
Student Loan Planning Support
Flexible Spending Accounts
Wellness Programs
Voluntary Benefits (e.g., Pet Insurance)
Community and Volunteer Opportunities
Discounts Through our Partners such as NJ Devils, NJ PAC, and Verizon
….and more!

Choosing RWJBarnabas Health!

RWJBarnabas Health is the premier health care destination providing patient-centered, high-quality academic medicine in a compassionate and equitable manner, while delivering a best-in-class work experience to every member of the team. We honor and appreciate the privilege of creating and sustaining healthier communities, one person and one community at a time. As the leading academic health system in New Jersey, we advance innovative strategies in high-quality patient care, education, and research to address both the clinical and social determinants of health.

RWJBarnabas Health aims to truly make a unique impact in local communities throughout New Jersey. From vastly improving the health of local residents to creating educational and career opportunities, this combination greatly benefits the state. We understand the growing and evolving needs of residents in New Jersey—whether that be enhancing the coordination for treating complex health conditions or improving community health through local programs and education.

Equal Opportunity Employer
#LI-SK1

At RWJBarnabas Health, our market-competitive Total Rewards package provides comprehensive benefits and resources to support our employees physical, emotional, social, and financial health.

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Medical and Prescription Drug Insurance
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Retirement Plans
• Short & Long Term Disability
• Life & Accidental Death Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Voluntary Benefits (e.g., Pet Insurance)
• Discounts Through our Partners such as NJ Devils, NJ PAC, Verizon, and more!

RWJBarnabas Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer