Elgin Community College serves over 9,000 students at every stage of their educational journeys, including university transfer programs, career and technical education, continuing education classes, and adult basic education. As a community, we pride ourselves on nurturing a welcoming campus where every person—students, staff members, faculty members, and campus visitors—feels valued. The work of each ECC employee is central to the college’s mission, and as an employer, the college fosters a positive environment through professional challenges, excellent benefits, and opportunities for recognition and camaraderie.

M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

This position is a grade 14 with a minimum of $54,389 and a mid-point of $72,518. Salary offer will be commensurate with the education/experience, in alignment with the College’s compensation philosophy, and the current CBA, if applicable.

An employee in this classification, under the direction of the Senior Director of Payroll, will coordinate and participate in technical payroll accounting activities. This includes participating in the preparation, maintenance, processing, analysis, and auditing of both manual and automated payroll data, information, records, and reports. The employee will ensure the accuracy and completeness of payroll transactions, lead, train, and provide work direction and guidance to staff on daily tasks and projects. Additionally, the employee will act as a backup for the Senior Director and Payroll Specialist as needed.

1. Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, training and work experience in a payroll  related field.
2. Minimum of five (5) FT years of direct in-house payroll processing and related payroll operations experience.
3. Proven experience as a Payroll Analyst, Payroll Coordinator or similar role.
4. Must possess knowledge of the principles, practices and regulations of Payroll operations and human resource best practices with the ability to remain current.
5. Ability to interpret and apply laws, policies, procedures, and collective bargaining provisions.
6. Considerable knowledge of payroll wage garnishments and the required processing.
7. Excellent analytical skills with superior attention to detail and accuracy with numbers.
8. Expert knowledge of payroll systems and HRIS.
9. Considerable skills in Microsoft Office products, including comprehensive skills in Excel.
10. Expert time management, problem-solving, and data analysis skills.
11. Ability to handle highly sensitive information while maintaining a high level of confidentiality and discretion at all times.
12. Ability to take initiative, to research and troubleshoot issues, to determine or recommend solutions,  to communicate status of issues to internal and external customers, and to work collaboratively in a team environment.
13. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
14. Ability to understand and respond to both internal and external auditor requests.
15. Ability to exercise good judgment and make sound decisions.
16. Ability to effectively present information and training content to employees at all levels and within a diverse population in the organization, in both group and individual settings.

1. Experience with Colleague ERP and/or Workforce time and attendance software preferred.
2. Payroll experience within a union environment and/or higher education preferred.
3. Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) preferred.

1. Provide superior customer service to approximately 1,600 employees, including those within four different bargaining units. Serve as a resource to interpret and educate employees and managers regarding payroll-related provisions of applicable State and Federal laws, organizational policies and procedures, and collective bargaining agreements. Service is also provided to external stakeholders, such as ECC’s vendors/providers, auditors, former employees, and governmental agencies.
2. Assist users of the college’s HR/Payroll/Time & Attendance systems with escalated questions, troubleshoot issues, analyze problems, identify root causes, test workarounds, and recommend corrective actions to ensure data accuracy.
3. Run the bi-weekly batch import of faculty contracts into the HR/Payroll system, process necessary adjustments, balance contract amounts against wage payments, and identify and process overpayments. Reconcile and submit the State University Retirement System file, researching and calculating any necessary adjustments.
4. Develop and post payroll-related information on web-based communication platforms throughout the college. Research the impact of system changes, such as new functionality, system fixes, and tax updates. Prepare and distribute quarterly and year-end payroll reports to ensure accuracy and timely tax filings.
5. Respond to requests for information or documentation from internal and external customers in a timely manner (e.g., court-ordered wage garnishments, individual tax levies, subpoenas, etc.). Work closely with the Finance office and external auditors to provide detailed data via standard or custom-designed reports, spreadsheets, and/or paper documents. Audit all payroll transactions entered by the Payroll Specialist for accuracy and compliance with policies, procedures, laws, and union contract provisions.
6. Backup the duties of the Payroll Specialist during leave time, heavy workloads, or vacancy. This includes reconciling and submitting all required withholding reports after each payroll, running batch processes such as weekly data imports, leave accruals imports, and annual leave roll-over processes.
7. Identify inefficiencies in system processes and suggest and implement process improvements. Ensure the security of confidential payroll information.
8. During times of increased workload within the Human Resources Division, assist as needed. Perform other duties as assigned, including acting as the primary backup for the Senior Director of Payroll and the Payroll Specialist.

Perform other duties as assigned which pertain to the job description.

Sedentary (up to 10 lbs occasionally, sitting most of the time)

Close visual acuity (e.g. computer, assembly)

Moderate noise

Typical office or administrative