Payroll Specialist

Position:Payroll Specialist

Reports to: Director of Human Resources

Supervises: N/A

Additional Terms: Non-Exempt, part-time, hourly position, 12 months

Charles Wright Academy (CWA) is a co-educational, non-religious, independent school located in University Place, WA. Charles Wright Academy is located on a beautiful, green, and sprawling 107-acre campus that includes athletic fields and more than 60 acres of gorgeous Pacific Northwest forests that also serve as an extension of our proper academic campus. Our educational philosophy of experiential learning includes unique daily opportunities for wilderness exploration, hiking, birding, wildlife observations, gardening, nature habitat sketch subjects for art studies, local biological science exploration, conservation work, farming, and more.

The only completely co-educational, independent, and non-religious school serving students in preschool through grade 12 in the South Sound area, CWA provides a challenging and nurturing environment with college preparatory academics and robust programming that prepare students to thrive and successfully launch into college and beyond. A wide array of experiential education, artistic, athletic, travel, and service opportunities promote students’ social-emotional development and provide students avenues to discover and pursue their passions. A culture that values self-expression, appropriate autonomy, and exploration of their authentic selves, students are nurtured, encouraged, mentored, and supported by a highly qualified and experienced faculty that share collective institutional values and provide engaging, active, and joyful experiences for students each and every day.

Charles Wright Mission Statement

To inspire active, joyful learning while nurturing and challenging our students to develop the character, creativity, and skills to successfully navigate the future with confidence.

Position Description

The Payroll Specialist works as part of our accounting and human resources departments to ensure that employees get paid accurately and on time with the appropriate deductions when processing each payroll. They serve in an administrative role to calculate and send out paychecks for employees with different employment classifications. They are responsible for balancing the payroll budget and documenting all transactions related to an employee’s wages, including any payments or credits for elective deductions, contributions to retirement or other services, wage increases and/or earned stipends.

The Payroll Specialist provides payroll reports for management to confirm approval for all time worked, PTO or other leave taken, overtime or PFML/FMLA. They also communicate with other employees about any discrepancies or issues related to payroll.

Responsibilities

The Payroll Specialist, as supervised by the Director of Human Resources, will:

• Prepare and process semimonthly payroll
• Assist in data entry of new hires
• Process all terminated employees and calculate final checks
• Research and respond to employee payroll inquiries
• Assist with stipends, increases, special, and retroactive calculations
• Assist with other special projects as required
• Process Wage Garnishments and Child Support requests
• Organize Payroll Storage and documentation
• Ensure exceptional communication skills, written and verbal
• Serve as a strong supporter for diversity and inclusion and be a constant
• champion for community belonging.
• Maintain confidential information as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned by the Head of School

Qualifications

Candidates will possess appropriate expertise and experience for an applicant able to perform the duties as outlined in this posting and deliver consistent and excellent outcomes.

A bachelor’s degree is preferred, but not required. Candidates will possess basic office skills and abilities, knowledge of standard office equipment and software including Google Docs, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and ability and willingness to learn new and/or proprietary applications as required, excellent oral and written communication skills in English, ability to multitask and prioritize assignments and workload, understand details of full payroll processes, including ability to have communication with managers and other personnel.

Qualified candidates will have:

• Minimum of 1 to 2 years experience with high-volume Payroll
• Accounting and Human Resource experience preferred
• Processed payroll for at least 100+ employees
• Familiar with ADP Workforce Now and Time & Attendance
• Working knowledge of wage and hours laws
• Familiarity with WA State PFML program and FMLA
• Familiarity with WA state and federal taxes
• Customer service mindset
• Attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Organizational skills
• Flexibility and ability to multitask.
• Ability to communicate in written form.

Qualified candidates will possess a strong commitment to experiential education, serve as a champion of diversity and inclusion and cultural competency, possess the ability to inspire and challenge young people, the capacity to work cooperatively with peers, a keenness for working in a K-12 education setting with school-aged children, a strong work ethic, and a joyful sense of humor. Candidates should be able to work flexibly with various educational technologies and an ability to navigate Google Workspace and Mac hardware/systems is preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to sit and stand for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to move easily around an office, accessing materials and assisting students as needed.
• Must be able to communicate and exchange information with others using appropriately sensitive and accurate communication skills.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to sit and stand for extended periods of time;
• Must be able to move easily around an office, accessing materials and assisting students as needed;
• Must be able to communicate and exchange information with others using appropriately sensitive and accurate communication skills.

Salary & Benefits

This position has a wage range between $30 and $35/hour depending on qualifications and experience. Benefits available are subject to plan and candidate eligibility.

Insurance:

Medical, Vision, Dental; Basic Life, AD&D, and Long-Term Disability; Health Care FSA; and Dependent Care FSA may be available to employees, subject to the terms of the applicable benefit plan.

Retirement Plan: CWA offers an employer and employee contributed 403(b) plan, subject to the terms of the applicable benefit plan.

Vacation: Employees receive 13 days of paid vacation per year in fiscal years 1-5; 18 days of paid vacation in fiscal years 6-10; and 23 days of paid vacation for 11+ fiscal years of service.

Paid Sick Leave:

For roles designated at .5 FTE or higher, employees may receive 58 hours of paid sick leave per year. For roles designated at .4 FTE or less, sick leave pay is available to employees in compliance with the applicable state paid sick leave law.

Paid Holidays:

CWA offers 12 paid holidays per year.

Other Benefits:

EAP (Employee Assistance Program), Tuition Assistance for employees seeking advanced degrees, Child Tuition Remission of 50% for those choosing to enroll at CWA, 50% discount of Extended Day childcare services and Summer Camp programming for eligible students.

Application Process

To apply, submit a cover letter addressing why you feel you are the right fit for this role at Charles Wright Academy and how that aligns with both our Mission and Inclusion Statements (both included in this posting). Please provide an updated resume, and email and telephone contact information for 3-5 professional references (which must include your most recent supervisor) via ADP where this posting occurs. Applications for this position will be accepted until filled. No phone calls or inquiries, please.

Inclusion Statement

Charles Wright Academy best exemplifies its mission and values when everyone knows they belong in our school community. We embrace an intentional culture that champions everyone’s full participation as their authentic selves in all of the opportunities that comprise the Charles Wright experience. This includes supporting each community member’s understanding of their own identities and acceptance of the identities of others. By doing so, we empower everyone at Charles Wright to connect, learn, grow, and achieve. The inclusive culture we strive for requires us to make both institutional and individual commitments. Institutionally, we will align policies, curriculum, and decision-making to this goal, and we commit to ongoing self-examination, learning, and action. We also encourage and support individuals to initiate and engage in candid, courageous conversations as this work are the responsibility of every member of our community. (Adopted by the CWA Board of Trustees, March 2020.)