Payroll Specialist (Fiscal Analyst 2) (In-Training) (Two Positions)
Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen
Protecting Washington State's environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We are a culture that is invested in making a difference. If you want to join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, has leadership that embraces the value of people, and believes in the fun factor, Ecology is a good fit.
Ecology's Fiscal team members are highly sought after for their marketable skills due to having one of the State of Washington's most complex financial systems. Employee skills are utilized through knowledge of applicable state and federal laws, policies, and rules to maintain the integrity of financial data and provide direct services to staff. Ecology managers, the Governor, State Auditor, Office of Financial Management, and the Legislature can confidently use Ecology's financial information to make crucial decisions affecting the environment.
Couple valuable learning gained with being able to work with this team that works well across units, you have a great formula for individual success!
To learn more about Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.
Local efforts... Diverse people... Statewide impacts
Duties
The Financial Services Program manages the agency's financial resources and supports agency planning so that environmental goals and strategic priorities are met.
The program's Payroll and Time Accounting Unit in Lacey, WA is looking to fill two Payroll Specialist (Fiscal Analyst 2) (In-Training) positions. This unit is responsible for: processing employee payroll; processing employee leave; processing employee benefits including health and retirement; processing quarterly employer tax reports to federal and state agencies; reconciling the Payroll Revolving Fund 035; and creating the salary and benefit cost distribution of employees and volunteers based upon account coding on monthly timesheets.
The positions may perform any unit duties consistent with the Fiscal Analyst 2 classification, but typically focus on processing payroll, leave and benefits.
The successful candidate will support the Fiscal Office's mission of delivering useful and timely financial information to all levels of agency management by:
- Maintaining the integrity of data in all agency and statewide payroll, labor distribution and financial systems.
- Providing direct services to agency management, in all areas of labor distribution and time accounting.
- Providing direct services to agency employees in the areas of payroll, benefits and leave.
- Maintaining compliance with all federal and state financial reporting laws and rules.
Key work activities of the Payroll Specialist require:
- Attention to detail with a high level of accuracy, and the ability to work independently, with minimal supervision.
- Professional-level financial reconciliation and analysis of payroll and related accounting activities, in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and state, agency and federal statutes and regulations.
- In-depth knowledge of benefits/medical-related determinations and good use of personal judgment.
PAYROLL
- Prepares, inputs, and updates semi-monthly payroll transactions in statewide (Human Resource Management System (HRMS); Personnel/Payroll System (PAY1) and agency systems (eTime)).
- Besides performing standard payroll processing activities to ensure staff are paid timely and correctly, with appropriate deductions and pay types, includes actions for:
- New employees/transfers from other agencies.
- Reviewing time sheets to validate proper calculation of overtime, responder, standby, assignment pay, call back and holiday pay for both represented and non-represented employees.
- Overpayment calculation and recovery.
- Processing employee garnishments.
- Separating employees/outgoing transfer actions.
- Maintaining paper and electronic files for proper documentation.
- Auditing payroll activities.
BENEFITS
- Prepares and processes forms, reports and worksheets related to staff health and life insurance benefits and eligibility, and tobacco and spousal surcharge eligibility.
- Reviews and validates completion of staff-prepared Health Insurance, Life Insurance and Long Term Disability eligibility forms, special event documentation, and dependent support documentation.
- Enters, processes and maintains all health insurance entries, changes and related actions in HRMS and PAY1.
- Determines benefit eligibility upon retirement separation and communicates eligibility to employees.
CONSULTING
- Provides expert consultation for payroll, leave, and benefits issues to all levels of agency staff, Human Resources, timekeepers, and supervisors.
- Responds timely to verbal and written inquiries from staff using appropriate methods: by phone, in person, and by formal and email correspondence.
- Collaborates with other state agencies to resolve staff transfer issues.
- Collaborates with Health Care Authority staff for benefits issues.
- Completes a variety of spreadsheets and requests for income verification submitted by both public and private entities.
OTHER
- Maintains all employee payroll, benefits and leave records in a highly confidential and secure manner.
- Performs miscellaneous functions (copying, filing, archiving) and bulk mailings of payroll information and documents as needed.
This recruitment will remain open until filled. The initial screening will be January 3, 2020. In order to be considered for the initial screening, please submit an application on or before January 2, 2020. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.
Please do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.
The goal class for the positions is a Fiscal Analyst 2. We will consider applicants who meet the requirements for the Fiscal Analyst 1 and 2 levels. If the finalist(s) meet the requirements for the Fiscal Analyst 1 level then they will be hired in at that level and will be placed into a training program to become a Fiscal Analyst 2 within a specified period of time.
Qualifications
All activities and tasks require the ability to understand, interpret, and describe:
- HRMS as it relates to payroll and benefits processing.
- Pay 1 as it relates to insurance.
- Office of Financial Management - SAAM (Chapter 25, Chapter 75.40, chapter 85.34).
- Department of Retirement Systems - Membership eligibility and contribution rules for PERS 1, PERS 2 and PERS 3.
- Department of Ecology policies – Those relating to Hours of Work and Overtime and Leave/Payroll.
- Internal Revenue Service - Publications 15, 15-A, and 15-B.
- Health Care Authority – WAC 182-12 – Benefit Eligibility.
- Washington Federation of State Employees Collective Bargaining Agreement - Articles relating to Hours of Work, Overtime, Holidays, all types of Leave, Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations, Dues, and Compensation.
- Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- Washington Administrative Code - WAC 357.
- Revised Code of Washington (RCW).
- Core Spills Responder Manual - Chapter 3.
Required Qualifications:
Requirements to qualify at the Fiscal Analyst 1 Level – Salary Range 40 ($3052-$3964)
- A Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 quarter or 12 semester hours of college-level accounting.
- Professional accounting experience may substitute for education, but not for the minimum accounting credits.
Requirements to qualify at the Fiscal Analyst 2 Level – Salary Range 44 ($3346 - $4378)
- A Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 quarter or 12 semester hours of college-level accounting and a minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience, including accounting, bookkeeping or payroll experience.
- Professional accounting experience may substitute for education, but not for the minimum accounting credits.
- A Master's degree in a financial related field, certification as a Public Accountant, Internal Auditor, Certified Governmental Financial Manager or Management Accountant can be substituted for professional experience.
Computer Skills:
- Basic proficiency using Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel and Outlook; is able to create, edit, modify, save, and delete documents and spreadsheets; includes locating and accurately modifying existing files and templates for reuse.
Desirable Qualifications:
- Knowledge and experience with HRMS or comparable payroll/HR system.
- Knowledge and experience preparing federal and/or state employer tax forms.
- Intermediate proficiency with agency standard software applications and systems.
Special Condition of Employment:
The successful candidates must read, sign, and abide by the Financial Services/Fiscal Office Agreement on Confidential Information (Part A) and Internal Control Responsibility (Part B), Safeguarding and Preventing Misuse of Ecology's Data (Part C).
Why work for Ecology?
Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State's environment.
A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping the health and financial security of you and your family a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to work/life balance.
Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver, Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP), Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives (Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth
Student debt and how working for Ecology can help
Employees may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.
*See the Benefits tab in this announcement for more information
Supplemental Information
Application Instructions:
In order to be considered, applicants MUST link the following documents as attachments to their application:
- A Cover Letter.
- A copy of your college transcript(s) showing your college-level accounting credits. (This may be an unofficial online transcript. It does NOT need to be a sealed, certified copy. HTML or PDF formats, or a screen print into Word are acceptable. Please do not paste text from the internet into Word).
- A list of three work-related references (i.e., supervisor, peer, customer) with current phone numbers.
Please do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.
Please complete the applicant profile when applying for this position. Or, you may paste the text of your resume within the profile's resume text field.
Please read the supplemental questions carefully and answer completely. Incomplete responses, including "please see resume" may disqualify you from further consideration.
Department of Ecology employees, please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources at (360) 407-6186.
If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on "Look for Jobs" and select Dept. of Ecology under the "Department" search list. Click "Apply Search."
Other Information:
If you need assistance applying for this job, please call Human Resources at (360) 407-6186 or e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not call this number or send an email to this address to follow-up the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile's main page.
If you have specific questions about the position, please email Sheila Meyer at: smey461@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Sheila to inquire about the status of your application.
The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.
This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.