• Associate Director, Payroll Services
  • The University of Alabama in Huntsville
  • Huntsville, Alabama

Position Information

  • Key Responsibilities Include
    The University of Alabama in Huntsville is seeking an Associate Director of Payroll Services to
    manage and coordinate the operations and activities of the Payroll Office, ensuring the accurate
    and timely preparation and disbursement of employee paychecks. This includes the
    maintenance and payment of related taxes and liabilities, as well as the production of biweekly
    labor distribution reports and monthly budget statements. The position applies and monitors
    labor change transactions, reconciles faculty deferred payments and liabilities, and assists in
    delivering campus-wide payroll and timekeeping training.
    Characteristic Duties
    ● Formulates, recommends, and implements changes to procedures to ensure the
    integrity of the payroll system, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations
    governing payment of wages.
    ● Administers biweekly payroll processing for approximately 2,850 employees, including
    balancing salary changes, tax documents, miscellaneous deductions, leave information,
    overtime, time-off payroll, and straight-time exceptions.
    ● Advises certain academic support departments on federal contract rules and regulations,
    particularly Office of Management and Budget (OMB) A-21; collaborates with Contract &
    Grant Accounting and the Office of Sponsored Programs to resolve external financial
    issues.
    ● Serves as the liaison between the Payroll Office and Research units, including the Office
    of Sponsored Programs, all Research Centers, Contract and Grant Accounting, Effort
    Reporting, and the Budget Office, supporting the University’s extensive externally funded
    research contracts, where approximately 70% of expenditures are personnel-related.
    ● Manages the preparation, balancing, and distribution of three biweekly payrolls and
    weekly manual check processes, including all aspects of payroll registers.
    ● Processes University benefit liabilities biweekly and reconciles liability accounts in
    Banner HR/Finance; prepares and enters journal entries to balance accounts and
    correct defaulting liability errors.
    ● Assists with payroll-related training programs across campus, including Web Time Entry,
    ELabor, EPrints, and TCP.
    ● Collaborates with the Director of Payroll Services and Financial Services to develop
    customized labor reports supporting administrative decision-making; ensures reports are
    accurate, confidential, and compliant for submission to external agencies.
    ● Assists the Director of Payroll with testing updates, upgrades, or changes in payroll
    software, including Banner, TCP, and Glacier.
    ● Supports the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs on financial issues related
    to external grants and contracts, particularly labor distributions for academic support
    departments lacking a dedicated budget analyst.
    ● Assists in the development and implementation of the Business Interruption Insurance
    process, which mitigates costs associated with school closings due to weather or other
    emergencies.
    ● Assists in the development and implementation of the Leave Loaded System process.

    ● Applies technical expertise from Payroll and Contracts & Grants Accounting to improve
    operational efficiency without additional staffing in a growing research environment.
    ● Analyzes and resolves complex payroll issues; determines causes and implements
    corrective actions.
    ● Maintains knowledge of recent changes in payroll regulations, notifying affected staff of
    updates and implications.
    ● Performs monthly reconciliation of deferred faculty benefit charges, requiring a detailed
    understanding of organizational charges and liabilities.
    ● Coordinates with supervisors and departmental representatives to align payroll-related
    activities.
    ● Compiles and reviews data for state and federal reports; monitors staff submissions to
    ensure accurate recording of transactions.
    ● Generates and distributes labor distribution and budget reports biweekly and monthly,
    including EPrints and ELabor setup and training.
    ● Ensures familiarity and compliance with OMB A-21 and A-133 regulations.
    ● Supports payroll and encumbrance feeds, as well as LSS and Business Interruption
    Insurance coordination with Accounting & Finance multiple times per week.
    ● Develops and implements changes to work assignments, procedures, or methods to
    meet operational needs and improve payroll accuracy and efficiency.
    ● Participates in GRA/GTA orientation.
    ● Acts as the primary contact for payroll questions, audits, or related inquiries.
    ● Prepares vacation and sick rollover reports, including reconciliation of employee leave.
    ● Assists with campus new hire orientation.
    ● Serves as payroll representative for all benefit setup on the new employee benefit site
    (Benefit Focus).
    Performs other duties as assigned
    Minimum Requirements:
    ● Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field with 7-8 years of related
    professional experience (of which should include experience in accounting, payroll, and
    budgeting), or an equivalent combination of education and years of experience.
    ● Must have a minimum of 1–2 years of experience providing employee training.
    ● Must be proficient in Excel
    ● Strong proficiency in the use and management of payroll and finance Systems, including
    budgeting and tax-related platforms.
    ● Excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail, high level of accuracy, and
    comfortable working with numbers.

    Preferred/Desired Qualifications:
    ● University payroll experience, including contracts and grants administration
    ● Proficient in Ellucian Banner HR/Finance systems and Microsoft Office Suite
    ● Experience in payroll, accounting, and budgeting within a university environment
    ● Knowledge of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21
    ● Knowledge of Power BI
    ● Experience with automated payroll, accounting, and budgeting systems, preferably
    mainframe-based
    ● Supervisory oversight, Banner/HR systems expertise, and university payroll/financial
    compliance knowledge strongly preferred
    The approximate starting salary for this position is $85,000 - $108,783 with an excellent benefits
    package. To ensure full consideration, qualified applicants should apply online for the position
    of Associate Director, Payroll Services at
    https://secure.dc4.pageuppeople.com/apply/1012/gateway/Default.aspx?c=apply&sJobIDs=503
    666&SourceTypeID=796&sLanguage=en-us
    A full and thorough confidential review of applicants will begin immediately and will
    continue until the position is filled.

Organization Information

  • The University of Alabama in Huntsville is one of the nation's premier research universities, offering a challenging hands-on curriculum that ensures our graduates are prepared to become tomorrow's leaders.
  • https://www.uah.edu/about
  • https://secure.dc4.pageuppeople.com/apply/1012/...