Payroll Coordinator

Chemeketa Community College

$73K — $87K *
Salem, OR 97301In-Person
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8 years of full-time experience in payroll or related fields; OR Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or HR Management plus 4 years of relevant experience.
  • Proven knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations.
  • Skilled in using a 10-key calculator and other payroll processing tools.
  • Ability to interact effectively with diverse groups, including students and staff.
  • Strong analytical skills for data accuracy and reporting.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and coordinate payroll operations to ensure accurate and timely payroll processing.
  • Ensure proper product disbursement through checks and direct deposits, balancing daily transactions.
  • Administer and reconcile Oregon PERS payroll reporting and employee contributions.
  • Process monthly payroll, ensuring compliance with timelines and accuracy.
  • Respond to employee inquiries regarding payroll and PERS contributions, resolving issues as needed.

Benefits

  • Flexible work schedule with the option to work remotely one day a week.
  • Opportunities for professional development and training.
  • Engagement in a diverse work environment that promotes collaboration.
  • Potential eligibility for college tuition benefits for employees.
Full Job Description
Salary: $6,113.67 - $7,262.83 Monthly
Location : Salem Campus. Salem, OR
Job Type: Classified
Job Number: C01060
Division: 131230 Governance & Administration
Department: 131230 Human Resources
Opening Date: 08/12/2026
Closing Date: 8/27/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

JOB INFORMATION
Under the guidance of the Payroll Manager, the Payroll Coordinator is responsible for leading and coordinating efforts in the accurate and timely of all payroll processing for the College. This is a self-directed position requiring the ability to apply independent judgment and to work in close collaboration with a customer-focused HR/PR team, departmental constituents as well as external customers and vendors like regulatory agencies. In administering the various facets of the college's related CBA's, this position may be called upon to perform complex tasks. This is a lead role also serving as back-up to the Payroll Manager.

When applying for this position, please attach the electronic documents listed below. Failure to do so will result in your application being rejected as an incomplete application. Any documents you provide that are not listed will not been seen by the Search Committee.
  • Unofficial Transcripts - An electronic copy of your academic transcript(s) from an accredited institution which clearly indicate the degree awarded, and any other applicable information, must be attached with your application if you would like it considered as part of your eligibility for the position. Any applicants who earned academic credentials from outside of the United States and wish to use those credits for consideration must also upload an evaluation of college credit earned at the non-U.S. institution.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Payroll
  • Under the direction of the Payroll Manager, leads the College's payroll operations to ensure accuracy of payroll and relevant timelines are met.
  • Ensures proper disbursement of payroll through checks and direct deposits, balancing daily pay disbursements through ACH and positive pay monitoring
  • May Assist with preparing, balancing, and submitting all payments for payroll taxes, including filing the quarterly and annual federal and state reports; reconciling annual and quarterly reports; filing W-2 forms and reports as assigned by the Payroll Manager
  • Administer Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) payroll reporting and contributions.
  • Ensure accurate calculation and submission of employee and employer PERS contributions through the Employer Data Exchange (EDX).
  • Reconcile PERS reports to payroll records and resolve reporting discrepancies.
  • Process corrections, adjustments, and prior period reporting as needed.
  • Maintain compliance with Oregon PERS regulations, reporting requirements, and payroll deadlines.
  • Respond to employee inquiries regarding PERS contributions and coordinate with Oregon PERS to resolve reporting issues.
  • Administer employee Tax-Sheltered Annuity (403(b)) payroll deductions, ensuring accurate setup, processing, and compliance with plan requirements.
  • Coordinate contribution changes with plan vendors, reconcile payroll deductions, maintain employee records, and ensure timely remittance of contributions in accordance with IRS regulations and organizational policies.
  • Ensures payroll procedures are properly documented.
  • Creates and maintains payroll forms.
  • Assists in advising and consulting with staff and external agencies, including auditors on all aspects of payroll to ensure compliance and understanding of college policies, bargaining unit contracts, state and federal laws as related to domestic and international employees; and rules and regulations related to general accounting practices for payroll processing
  • Processes the monthly payroll, ensuring that pay is accurate, and completed within specified timelines, with limited direction according to the policies and procedures of the college
  • Reviews contracts and time sheets to ensure the policies and procedures of the college are followed
  • Clarifies, advises and provides training on pay policies and practices, works to resolve discrepancies
  • Prepares payroll from coding of timesheets through the printing of pay checks and direct deposit statements and generating positive pay files and ACH direct deposit files andtransfer to the bank.
  • Assures time reporting is appropriately totaled, calculated, coded, and entered into the system
  • Balances payroll to edits, monitors for discrepancies, connects with supervisors to resolve discrepancies, and makes corrections
  • Processes payroll by generating job submissions, closely monitors the accuracy of the parameters from the point of time entry through the process of the jobs (necessary to print paychecks and create direct deposit files); monitors that each step is successfully finalized and ensures output files match the payment records
  • Analyzes pay, benefit deductions and leave balances to determine if pay discrepancy exists, calculates pay owed and issues manual checks as required by federal and state regulations, ensuring overtime and taxes are properly withheld
  • Maintains database of payroll records, keeping individual records up-to-date; processes paperwork for new hires, payroll authorization changes, and other various documents and forms as assigned (including but not limited to W-4, and direct deposits)
  • Calculates and processes pay advances and monitors the recovery of payments
  • Calculates pay for various employee groups and individuals assigned to multiple job classifications in strict accordance to union contracts, government wage and hour laws, and college policy; calculations include regular pay, manual retroactive salary adjustment calculations, overtime and annualized salaries; verifies and maintains pay records and leave balances
  • May assist with tax reporting and payments, garnishments and other reporting and payment requirements as assigned by the Payroll Manager
  • Understands all payroll functions and serves in the absence of any payroll staff member to ensure that all areas in the payroll department are covered

Payroll Processing and Operational Support
  • Works effectively within a team environment including proactively sharing knowledge, positively managing relationships with co-workers, and working collaboratively to support team members in delivering excellent customer service and meeting department objectives.
  • Maintains knowledge of all aspects of federal and state regulations, labor laws, college polices and collective bargaining contracts, as applicable for processing payroll.
  • Provides customer service to college staff/student employees and outside agencies.
  • Communicates technical and confidential information and responds to requests for clarification and interpretation of data.
  • Uses available technology to create reports and review data.
  • Assist with the annual audit; collects documents for audit and reviews accuracy of data.
  • Completes employee verifications and responds to garnishments and other court orders as required.

Sick Leave Eligibility
  • Determines the eligibility for the use of sick time as required by the Oregon State sick time regulations and college collective bargaining agreements
  • Reviews timesheets submitted for sick time and accurately code timesheets for the use of the available leave
  • Reviews leave records to determine if time requested is available, making sure that the program inserted the leave records and determining when and how to adjust the leave balances for manual payments, to ensure the records are maintained accurately


Institutional Expectations
  • Embraces diversity and actively collaborates effectively with a variety of students, staff and the public from diverse cultural, social, economic and educational backgrounds
  • Participates in recruitment and retention of students at an individual and institutional level in promotion of student success
  • Embraces, understands and uses appropriate technology tools to accomplish job functions
  • Provides high quality, effective service to internal and external customers through continuous improvement and adoption of lean office practices

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
Your application will be scored based on the minimum qualifications, core competencies, and preferred qualifications listed below. If you are unsure whether you meet all of the qualifications , we encourage you to apply and address through your application materials all of the relevant education, transferable skills, and related experience that makes you a great candidate for this position. The information provided on your application will be used to determine step placement upon hire. Please ensure you include all information on your application which you wish to be considered.

Minimum Qualifications:

This level requires an equivalency of eight (8) years of full-time work experience related to the essential functions and duties of the position listed above.
-----OR -----
A Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources Management, or a related field.

-AND-

Four (4) years of full-time work experience related to the essential functions and duties of the position listed above.
Note: No substitutions will be made for the three (3) years of full-time work experience.
Core Competencies:
  • Knowledge of State and Federal employment laws and regulations
  • Proficient use of 10-key calculator is required
  • Ability to deal effectively with students, staff, and the general public
  • Ability to understand and carry out oral and written directions and to work independently with accuracy and speed
  • Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize work load
  • Ability to work in fast paced environment with distractions, changing priorities and strict time limits
  • Ability to analyze and interpret data for accuracy
  • Must be proficient in use of computers, including familiarity with spreadsheet and word processing software
  • Bicultural/multicultural skills sufficient to select appropriate behaviors, values and attitudes within different cultures during interactions with others

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Demonstrable day-to-day experience in accounting and/or payroll processing
  • Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Word; adaptable to evolving software tools.
  • Detail-oriented, with solid understanding of payroll systems, accounting principles, and labor laws.
  • Working experience researching and auditing financial data and/ or financial systems.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SCHEDULE & MODALITY
Based on individual assessment, business needs, supervisory discretion and/or college directives, a percentage of the duties of this position may be performed remotely up to one day a week or scheduled only for special projects requiring focus time.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
  • This is a 100%, 12-month classified assignment at the 19 pay rate
  • This position has a 6-month probationary period
  • All positions at Chemeketa are required to be available for work onsite as requested by the college.
  • Requires flexible work schedule to meet program needs, which may include evenings and/or weekends
  • This position may require the use of your personal vehicle for transportation between campus locations
  • If requested, requires the provision of official transcripts upon hire
  • Employees must maintain Oregon, Washington or Idaho residency as a condition of employment.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Sedentary Work:Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary requirements are met.

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