Coordinator, Payroll & Benefits

The Community

High River provides the warmth and familiarity of a small town, featuring countless outdoor trails and parks that await your next adventure. Our downtown offers a variety of unique stores and businesses who take pride in fostering connection in our community. High River is a people-first community where families put down roots for generations. Nestled within Foothills County with the Rocky Mountains framing the view to your west, our community of 14,000 is rooted in people and promotes an environment to help you build lasting relationships.

The Organization

Through the dedication and passion of our 150 employees, we deliver important services to the community. Our purpose, or why we do what we do, is because we want to make a difference in our community now and for generations to come (our ‘why’). To achieve this, we inspire and respect one another, we can be counted on, we are better together, and we dare to be different (our ‘how’).

We’ve embarked on a workplace culture journey that has enhanced our commitment to people; both our employees and the community we serve. We have identified three pillars to achieve our workplace culture: Accountable, Excellence and Connected (ACE).

General Accountability:

This position works under the direction of the Human Resources Manager and is a key member of the Human Resources Team, being responsible for leading and executing the full cycle payroll operations and benefits administration, ensuring accurate and timely process of payroll, statutory and voluntary deductions, benefit enrolment, payroll account reconciliation, compliance with Canadian payroll/benefits legislation and Alberta employment standards. In addition, this role is responsible for improvement and optimization of payroll policies, processes and system configuration and integrations.

In line with our strategic vision, Town Plan and workplace culture, Accountable, Connected and Excellence (ACE), this position will always be required to do the right thing and take personal ownership in contributing to the organization. The employee in this position must be able to communicate clearly and concisely, and actively contribute to achieving team results. The incumbent must provide exceptional service to customers and internal partners and demonstrate initiative toward achieving organizational results and performance excellence.

Duties:

• Manage and execute the full-cycle payroll process for all employees including processing earnings, overtime, retroactive pay, terminations, severance calculations and off-cycle payments and year end activities.
• With support of the Manager, Human Resource, lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of payroll policies and processes. Oversee payroll governance, ensuring compliance with all applicable legislation (federal, provincial/state, and local), collective agreements, and internal policies.
• Audit payroll entries, deductions, , entitlements, benefits and ensure accuracy and completeness of payroll records.
• Reconcile payroll to the general ledger, prepare or cooperate in the preparation of journal entries under the direction of Finance, and ensure costs are allocated correctly.
• Prepare and submit statutory remittances and filings (eg CPP, EI, income tax, WCB, Records of Employment) and process year-end reporting (eg T4, T4A, LAPP, APEX, WCB)
• Testing, maintenance and updates to payroll and benefits data in Payroll/Human Resources Capital Management (HCM) software to ensure it is configured appropriately to produce accurate pay in accordance with policies, Collective Agreements, employment contracts and legislation.
• In collaboration with Human Resources and Finance, optimize cross-system configuration, integrations, and automation.
• Prepare regular and ad hoc reporting to support the HR Team
• Act as a subject matter expert/point of contact for complex payroll inquiries from employees, supervisors and stakeholders.
• Support the HR Manager and HR team in developing communication plans, change management strategies and employee training to support ongoing system use and adoption.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers
• Analyze data, processes and workflows to ensure efficiencies, compliance and mandate requirements
• In collaboration with the HR team, update and develop processes and forms including year-end, Employee change forms, H&S forms, and onboarding information.
• Work with external stakeholders to ensure continued seamless delivery of information: WCB reporting, benefit and pension billing and interface
• Assist in annual staffing budget and bargaining costs through research, analytics and reporting
• Provide support to the total compensation program including salary surveys. Provide a support role in the research, compilation and implementation of the regular compensation review.
• Support the benefit program renewals and other payroll related projectsProvide back up and administrative support for the Coordinator, Human Resources as required
• Prepare annual payroll for audit and incorporate recommendations as required.
• Monitor and interpret legislative changes, assessing impacts and leading required system or process changes.
• Participate in the Town’s Health & Safety program and complies with all legislation, policies, directives, procedures and Safe Work Practices relevant to the task being performed
• Other related duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 2-year Post-Secondary Certification in Payroll
• Five (5) to eight (8) years of experience working within payroll and accounting
• Experience working within an HRIS system required, and experience working with SQL language an asset
• At least one certification in payroll: Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) or Payroll Leadership Professional (PLP).
• Experience working in complex payroll environment within a unionized work environment
• Advanced knowledge of Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) legislation, Alberta Employment Standards, pension regulations and other applicable legislation
• Knowledge of Access to Information Act (ATIA) and Protection of Privacy Act (POPA)
• Knowledge of Local Authorities Pension Plan and employee health benefit plans, other benefits
• Knowledge of Human Resources practices and workflows
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Exceptional customer service skills with both internal and external customers
• Proven time management and task prioritization skills
• Detail oriented, well organized, and demonstrated ability to show initiative
• Able to maintain confidentiality and diplomacy while working with sensitive information
• Proficient in all Microsoft applications, with excellent knowledge of Excel