The Payroll Staff Accountant is responsible for the preparation of Clarke’s bi-weekly multi-state payroll. Candidates must be located in the continental United States and be authorized to work in the United States of America.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Reviews time sheets for fidelity to Clarke’s policies and for grant management. Contact supervisors for updates and corrections as necessary.
• Update payroll records for changes in compensation and review/confirm changes made by employees.
• Process bi-weekly payroll for all Clarke employees through payroll platform Paylocity
• Review and assist in the preparation and provision of required documentation to support various monthly and annual state(s) and federal filings as well as grant reporting obligations.
• Prepare remittance to administrator of deferred compensation (403b) plan and other benefits-related activities.
• Process employee expense reimbursements.
• Prepare and post payroll biweekly to the G/L and tracking spreadsheets.
• Respond to employee inquiries and resolve issues as appropriate.
• Prepare materials and participate in all audits (financial, benefits, funder and worker’s comp audits).
• Prepare general accounting reports and reconciliations as part of the month-end closure.
• Meet established timelines and perform all duties in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
• Cross train with other finance functions to provide effective backup when necessary.
• Complete special projects assigned including preparation of ad-hoc payroll and grant reports as requested.
• Maintain employee confidence and protect payroll operations by keeping confidential information.
• Duties and responsibilities may be added, deleted or modified to meet the departments or organization’s needs at the discretion of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Other Duties:

• Maintain current knowledge of payroll and tax regulations.
• Maintain skills in the payroll (currently Paylocity) and General Ledger (currently Financial Edge)applications as well as with other tools used by the Clarke Finance and Human Resources Teams
• Assist in the administration of the 403b plan (i.e., Non-Discrimination Testing, work with auditors/USI on preparation of 5500, etc.).

Education, licenses, certifications, skills and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field (preferred)
• Experience in multi-state payroll processing (required), Fund Accounting & Grants (preferred)
• Commitment to the organization’s mission
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills including Pivot Tables and VLOOKUP
• Strong accounting skills and willingness to grow these skills.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail
• Ability to exercise a high degree of discretion, diplomacy and tact with cultural sensitivity and ability to work with diverse groups of people.

Physical demands:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.