Sr. Payroll & Benefits Specialist; Hybrid, Atlanta

Overview

Do words like 'reconciliation', 'timesheets', 'compliance', and 'benefits enrollment' excite you? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment and want your work to support meaningful growth? We'd love to hear from you! Under the direction of the HR Operations Manager, the Sr. Payroll and Benefits Specialist is responsible for the administration and maintenance of activities relating to company payroll, benefits, and leave of absences.

As our payroll and benefits superstar, you would thrive on delivering results in a dynamic environment. This position plays a key role in maintaining data integrity, running audits and reports, and serving as a reliable resource for employee questions.

• Payroll processing (biweekly, multi-state) — Owns end-to-end payroll process with accuracy and timeliness for hourly and salary employees using UKG Ready.
• Review and reconcile payroll registers prior to submission.
• Manage off-cycle payrolls, adjustments, and corrections as needed.
• Serve as primary contact for payroll tax agencies and third-party tax vendors.
• Administer and respond to garnishment notices and medical support withholding notices.
• Maintain compliance with FLSA, state and federal laws.
• Manage records such as timekeeping, salary history, and payroll data.
• Audit changes related to pay, position, and supervisor changes to ensure accurate historical data.
• Provide quarterly and ad hoc payroll and workers’ compensation data to the Finance department.
• Provide employee support with all payroll-related questions.
• Reconcile payroll to the general ledger and support month-end and year-end processes.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency and accuracy.

• Benefits administration — Coordinate enrollment, plan changes, and terminations with benefits carriers; ensure accuracy of enrollments in UKG Ready.
• Assist in the open enrollment process.
• Submit monthly bills to carriers and work with A/R to identify and correct discrepancies in monthly benefits reconciliations.
• Assist with administration of the company’s 401(k), process changes related to payroll, and respond to 401(k) provider requests.
• Assist in termination paperwork related to life insurance conversion/portability.
• Administer the tuition reimbursement and wellness programs and provide input for applicable budget annually.
• Provide employee support with all benefit-related questions.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency and accuracy.

• Leave of absence and disability administration — Process and administer medical, personal, STD, LTD, and FMLA leaves; interpret FMLA and ADA implications as they relate to leaves/disabilities; manage leave requests across states and ensure regulatory compliance; respond to and file necessary paperwork for Short- and Long-Term Disability payments.

• 5+ years of experience processing multi-state payroll and benefits administration
• Strong knowledge of payroll regulations, tax compliance, and wage & hour laws
• High level of accuracy, confidentiality, attention to detail, follow-through, and professional judgement
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work cross-functionally

• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FCP)
• Experience with UKG Ready
• Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables)

• We are looking for someone with a passion for service. You don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room, but you do have to love coming to work every day and you must have an authentic pride in your work.
• You must be a resourceful self-starter. If you wait to be told to do something before you do it, this isn’t the place for you.
• We need someone who is adaptable. The pace of change in our business is rapid. We create plans, but we’re always ready to shift as needed to accomplish our goals.
• You must be an energetic, people-oriented person for our highly collaborative organization. The ability to establish and retain trust across the organization will be imperative.

We value potential and transferrable skills. If you don t meet every single requirement, we…