Payroll Specialist

Join to apply for the Payroll Specialist role at Hawaii Pacific University
.

Salary: $23.00 - $29.00 hourly.

Location:

Honolulu, Hawaii.

Job Type: Staff - Regular Full Time Non-Exempt. Remote Employment:
Yes.

Department:
Payroll Services.

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Payroll, the Payroll Specialist administers payroll for HPU and interfaces with external payroll service providers and internal HPU customers. The essential functions include auditing timesheets, wage garnishments, resolving pay discrepancies, reconciling GL, overseeing the transmission of funds to retirement providers, ERP/Payroll system administration, and answering employee inquiries. The Payroll Specialist follows internal controls for all payroll processing, reporting, and records.

The position submits tax with holdings and filings related to payroll, acting as a contact for audits of payroll records.

• Process and audit employee status changes, analyze payroll and employee expenses, and reconcile general ledger accounts.
• Create ongoing month-end, quarterly, and year-end organization reports.
• Audit payroll information for accuracy and reconcile payroll deposits, tax with holdings, wage garnishments, and voluntary deductions.
• Work with payroll vendor to oversee production of payroll summaries, W-2 forms, W-4, HW-4, 1095/1094, and other required documents.
• Prepare responses to notices from government agencies regarding employee tax filings and ensure compliance with external and internal policies.
• Oversee payroll transactions for regular, overtime, grant/stipend, and bonus payments.
• Reconcile errors, maintain payroll records, and process payroll adjustments (vacation, sick, workers compensation, disability, FMLA, etc.).
• Act as liaison with staff, faculty, administrators, and students to answer questions and facilitate decision making.

• Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Business Management, Human Resources, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
  • Three (3) years of experience with an ERP HR/Payroll system.
  • Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Desired
  
  Qualifications:
  
  
  • Multi-state payroll experience.
  • Ellucian (Banner) experience.
  • Ability to develop ad hoc reports for payroll management and monitoring.
  • Ability to manipulate reports in Excel.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills with senior management, faculty, staff, managers, technical staff, external auditors, external service providers, and attorneys.
  • Higher education experience.
• Other
  
  Qualifications:
  
  
  • Must be able to work during HPU's winter break to support the department and complete payroll.
  • Must meet training and background check qualifications and comply with the Minors on Campus policy.
  • Must be able to work all shifts and extended hours to meet payroll deadlines.
  • Upon hire, candidate must have reliable transportation to all HPU worksites and locations as required.

Hawai'i Pacific University is designated as an Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian (ANNH) Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. We strive for accurate displays of the Hawaiian language in all institutional materials, including the appropriate use of diacritical marks such as the okina and kahakō, and appreciate your understanding when external vendors or third‑party tools cannot support these characters.