HRIS & Payroll Specialist

Description

Position Summary:

Skywalker Holdings is seeking a highly organized, detail-oriented, and systems-savvy HRIS & Payroll Specialist to join our HR team and become a key operational partner across the employee lifecycle.

This is a hands-on HR operations role for someone who enjoys being at the intersection of people, systems, data, payroll, and process. You will serve as a primary point of contact for employees and managers while owning the day-to-day integrity and administration of our HRIS.

The ideal candidate is a Paylocity expert and true power user—someone who knows the system deeply, understands how HRIS data flows into payroll and other HR processes, and can troubleshoot issues, run reports, conduct audits, and identify opportunities to improve how we use the platform.

You will also play an important role in payroll operations, including supporting payroll processing, validating employee changes, resolving discrepancies, and serving as a backup to the Payroll and Benefits Manager.

This role touches virtually every stage of the employee lifecycle, including recruiting, onboarding, employee changes, payroll, benefits, leaves, performance management, project employee renewals, employee records, and offboarding.

Because this role supports employees in California, deep, practical knowledge of California employment practices is required.

This is a fully on-site position based in San Francisco or Marin County, with occasional travel between multiple campuses located within approximately a 30-minute drive.

Job Duties:

HRIS & Paylocity Ownership

• Serve as the organization's day-to-day Paylocity subject matter expert and primary HRIS resource.

• Administer employee personnel and status changes in Paylocity, ensuring information is entered accurately and communicated appropriately.

• Maintain accurate and complete employee records throughout the entire employee lifecycle and ensuring payroll receives required employee paperwork and status changes accurately and within established deadlines

• Conduct regular audits across HRIS, payroll, benefits, and other systems to identify and correct discrepancies.

• Research system issues, troubleshoot problems, and coordinate resolution with internal stakeholders and Paylocity as appropriate.

• Maintain appropriate HRIS documentation, procedures, and controls.

• Identify opportunities to improve processes, automate administrative work, and maximize Paylocity functionality.

Payroll & Benefits

• Assist with the accurate and timely processing of payroll.

• Learn and maintain a strong working knowledge of the organization's payroll processes and systems.

• Review employee changes, compensation updates, deductions, timekeeping information, and other payroll inputs for completeness and accuracy.

• Reconcile and audit payroll-related data and investigate discrepancies.

• Work closely with the Payroll Manager, HR, Finance, and other stakeholders to resolve payroll issues.

• Support payroll reporting, audits, reconciliations, and year-end activities.

• Serve as a backup to the Payroll Manager and progressively develop the knowledge and capability to support payroll operations independently.

Employee Support & HR Operations

• Serve as a knowledgeable and approachable day-to-day contact for employees and managers with questions about HR processes, policies, systems, benefits, payroll, and employment-related matters.

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of employee handbooks, policies, and procedures to appropriately interpret situations, provide information, and escalate matters when needed.

• Handle sensitive and confidential employee matters with discretion, professionalism, and sound judgment.

• Coordinate the flow of onboarding paperwork and ensure timely completion of required records and system entries.

Offboarding & Employee Exits

• Maintain exit reporting and provide regular updates on employee status.

• Ensure HRIS records are updated accurately and promptly following employee departures.

• Coordinate with payroll and other internal stakeholders to ensure final pay and related processes are handled appropriately.

Leaves of Absence & California Compliance

• Coordinate and track employee leaves of absence in accordance with applicable federal and California requirements.

• Maintain accurate leave records, schedules, documentation, and return-to-work information.

• Work closely with employees, HR leadership, payroll, EDD, benefits providers, and other stakeholders to ensure leave-related processes are administered appropriately.

• Support administration and tracking of applicable leaves, including FMLA, Paid Family Leave, parental/parenting leave, and other applicable protected or company-provided leaves.

• Ensure payroll receives timely and accurate leave information, so employees are paid correctly.

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of California employment practices and recognize when situations require escalation to HR leadership, Legal, or another appropriate resource.

• Stay informed about changes to California employment requirements that may affect day-to-day HR operations.

• Responsible for all other duties as assigned 

Requirements

Education / Experience:

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Payroll, or a related field preferred. 

• Equivalent combination of education, professional certifications, and relevant HRIS/payroll experience will be considered. 

• Minimum 2-4 years of progressive HR operations, HRIS, payroll, or related experience, with significant experience supporting California employees. 

• Demonstrated advanced proficiency with Paylocity required.

Required Skills / Competencies:

• Deep hands-on experience with Paylocity, ideally as a primary administrator, power user, or HRIS subject-matter expert.

• Minimum 2–4 years of progressive HR operations/HRIS experience, with meaningful experience supporting California employees.

• Strong experience with HRIS data management, including employee records, status changes, reporting, audits, and employee lifecycle transactions.

• Experience supporting payroll processing; direct payroll-processing experience is strongly preferred.

• Deep practical knowledge of California employment practices and HR compliance.

• Strong understanding of how HRIS, payroll, benefits, leave administration, and employee records interact.

• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and confidently navigate various systems and software.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and projects in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong independent work ethic and ability to take ownership without requiring constant direction.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Ability to communicate effectively with employees and managers at all levels of an organization.

• Demonstrated discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive and confidential information.

• Willingness and ability to work fully on-site in San Francisco or Marin County.

• Ability to travel occasionally between nearby campuses, generally within a 30-minute drive.

Preferred Skills / Competencies:

• Experience with California leave administration.

• Experience with HRIS implementations, system upgrades, integrations, or process improvement.

• Experience creating HR reports, dashboards, and data audits in Excel and/or Paylocity.

• PHR, SHRM-CP, or other relevant HR certifications.

Benefits:

• Medical/Dental/Vision with Generous Cost Sharing

• Employer-Paid Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Policy

• Flexible Spending Account

• Aflac short-term disability options

• 401 (k) with Company Match

• Family Care with Urbansitter membership

• Generous PTO Policy

• Education/Tuition Reimbursement

• Yearly Performance Review

• Coaching programs

Compensation Range:

$39.00 - $42.00 hourly

Generous discretionary bonus