Payroll Specialist

Payroll Specialist

Eastman is a global specialty materials company founded in 1920. For more information, visit

Eastman is a globally inclusive company with approximately 14,000 employees and operations in more than 100 countries. The responsibilities and qualifications describe the expectations for the Payroll Specialist role in the North American payroll operations.

• Prepare, process, and deliver accurate, timely biweekly payroll for North American employees in regular payroll runs, including offcycles, corrections, bonuses, and special payments.
• Calculate and reconcile wages, overtime, bonuses, deductions, and general ledger entries.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll and tax regulations, benefit deduction accuracy, and organizational policies by maintaining up-to-date regulatory knowledge.
• Reconcile payroll totals to the general ledger, bank transfers, and tax liabilities; investigate variances and implement corrective actions to maintain data integrity.
• Maintain and ensure confidentiality of employee payroll records and data; enforce data security and access controls.
• Coordinate with HR on new hires, terminations, salary changes, leaves of absence, COBRA, and retirement to ensure accurate payroll and benefits processing.
• Oversee benefit deduction integrations and interface with third-party administrators and vendors to resolve issues, perform root-cause analysis, and develop long-term solutions.
• Respond promptly to employee payroll and benefits inquiries; escalate complex or nonroutine matters to leadership as needed.
• Generate, analyze, and distribute standard payroll reports to support HR, Finance, Operations, and Leadership.
• Partner with Finance to support month-end close activities such as labor accrual and assist with audit requests.
• Identify and implement process improvements, automation, and enhanced controls to increase efficiency and accuracy across payroll operations.
• Participate in cross-functional projects such as payroll/HRIS system upgrades, benefit plan implementations, and change management initiatives.
• Create, maintain, and update standard operating procedures, process documentation, and training materials; provide guidance and mentoring to other staff.
• Communicate professionally and effectively with internal stakeholders (HR, Finance, Leaders) and external partners (vendors, government agencies, auditors) on payroll issues, audits, and compliance matters.

• A BS degree in Human Resources or Business or Accounting, or related field preferred.
• Prior experience in payroll processing, tax filings or in human resources is strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with payroll systems and HRIS (e.g., SAP Employee Central, EC Payroll, Workday, UKG, or equivalent) and advanced Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, SUMIFS); demonstrated experience preparing, reconciling, researching, and reporting complex payroll data.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively interact with team members, management, and vendors.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and maintain data privacy.
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to produce accurate, error-free work.
• Ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while maintaining accuracy and compliance, especially during peak processing periods.
• Takes initiative and drives issues to resolution in a professional manner.
• Strong collaboration and networking skills.
• Superb judgment, maturity, and professionalism.

Eastman will not accept applicants for this offered position who require visa sponsorship, including those whose status is F-1 visa OPT who subsequently would require ongoing visa sponsorship.

Your total rewards go far beyond a competitive salary. When you join Eastman, you gain access to an exceptional suite of programs designed to protect your health, grow your wealth, and fuel your career.

Base pay plus performance-based incentive opportunities that let you share in our success.

Comprehensive medical, prescription-drug, and dental…