Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Penta is a global company providing data-driven solutions to help clients  achieve their objectives in an increasingly complex stakeholder environment. We provide cutting-edge intelligence products to help clients understand what their stakeholders think, see, and hear, and then leverage that intelligence to develop and execute effective, measurable strategies. 

Our 350+ person global team brings decades of experience in business, government, communications, research, data science, and media. Our clients include companies across a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, energy, healthcare, and more. Penta has offices in New York, London, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Vail, Dublin, London, Brussels, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Summary of Position:

We are seeking a Payroll & Benefits Specialist to join the People team in the US. This individual will play a critical role on our team as the responsible party for payroll administration, benefits coordination, and compliance for 170 employees in the US across 20 states. This person will report directly to the VP of People in the US and will partner with finance and external parties (brokers, vendors, etc) to ensure proper oversight and management of our payroll process and system. It is an exciting time to join our team, as we seek to establish best practices for our payroll processes and ensure compliance following merger and acquisitions activity in the business over the past 2 years. This role is a good opportunity for someone with several years of payroll & benefits administration experience who is looking to make an immediate impact on the operations of our firm and grow with the business.

Overview of Responsibilities:

- Ensures the timely and accurate administration of multi-state semi-monthly payroll processes for all US employees: updates payroll records and processes new hires, terminations, status  changes, tax changes, deductions, direct deposits, timesheet data, and special payments

- Serves as primary contact for benefits & payroll with external vendors including but not limited to: Paylocity (HRIS), PlanSource (benefit administration system), UHC, Unum, Empower Financial, consultants, and third-party administrators

- Serves as the primary contact internally for employees with payroll & benefits questions and for the finance team to ensure proper reconciliation of benefit expenses on a monthly basis

- Monitors and ensures the organization's compliance with federal, state, and local payroll and benefits laws and regulations and recommended best practices; works with VP of People to updates policies and practices to maintain compliance

- Stays up to date on all the technology we use and those that are out there in the market; serves as the internal expert on Paylocity and ensures we are using it to its full capabilities

- Supports the annual open enrollment process to ensure benefit changes get seamlessly integrated into payroll and systems are accurately updated

- Serves as a flexible resource on the people team in the US, supporting company and team-wide initiatives as time allows

Qualifications:

- 5+ years of experience in managing US payroll processes in multi-state payroll environments

- Comfort in serving as the administrator of HRIS platforms, with a strong preference for experience with Paylocity

- Impeccable attention to detail and accuracy, and skilled in creating and maintaining processes for vetting payroll changes to avoid any errors

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills and negotiation skills

- Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to manage multiple workstreams, while maintaining strong attention to detail 

- Experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders

- Customer service mentality – commitment to embracing uncertainty, relying on resources to solve problems, and seeing issues through to resolution

- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent professional experience Formal training or certification in payroll a plus (CPP or other similar certification)

- Experience managing through mergers, acquisitions, and integrations a plus

Location/Working Structure:

Our headquarters is in Washington, DC and most of the local team operates on a hybrid schedule. For this role, we are open to local or remote hires in the US, ideally in Eastern Time Zone.

Benefits:

- Competitive salary and compensation structure

- Excellent health care benefits with 100% of individual employee premiums and 50% of dependent health care premiums covered

- Competitive retirement benefits with 401(k) matching

- Twelve weeks of paid parental leave

- Monthly stipend for cell phone

- Generous holiday schedule and flexible paid time off program

- Frequent firm-wide social events and activities

- Excellent environment for learning and growth

Penta Group, LLC values diversity and inclusion, is committed to equal employment opportunity, and to compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. We also comply with District of Columbia law, which prohibits discrimination and harassment against employees, applicants for employment and interns based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, reproductive health decisions and breastfeeding), national origin, disability, age (18 and over), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family responsibilities, matriculation (e.g., being enrolled in a college or university or in a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical or vocational school), political affiliation, genetic information (including family medical history), lawful use of tobacco products, unemployment status and status as a victim or the family member of a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense or stalking.