Payroll & Senior Accounting Specialist

Role: Payroll Specialist

Employment Type: Temporary, 3 week assignment potential to extend

Location: Richmond, CA on site

Hourly Rate: $25- $50 based on experience

The Payroll & Senior Accounting Specialist manages the day-to-day business office operations,

focusing heavily on accurate bi-weekly payroll administration for over 150+ employees,

transactional accounting, and public school fund compliance.

Essential Functions

• Prepare and process bi-weekly payroll for 150+ employees; thoroughly review and verify the accuracy of all timesheets.
• Accurately track, calculate, and deduct all garnishments and specialized payroll
• adjustments (e.g., teacher summer hold-back payments, stipends, longevity bonuses).
• Build and maintain efficient internal systems, checklists, and workflows to streamline
• regular payroll execution.
• Calculate final paychecks and paid time off payouts for separating employees in strict
• compliance with California labor timelines.
• Manage employee enrollment, tracking, and ongoing contributions into employee retirement and benefits plans; remit contributions accurately to providers.
• Partner closely with the People Operations/HR department to maintain a seamless flow of employee data; prepare and distribute functional tracking reports
• Perform month-end and year-end closing tasks, including posting journal entries and processing accruals for both restricted and unrestricted funds.
• Prepare and post bi-weekly payroll journals to Sage Intacct.
• Clear specific payroll-related balance sheet accounts (including flexible spending accounts, and life insurance).
• Support the accurate coding of vendor invoices and employee reimbursements to ensure perfect alignment with approved budget allocations.
• Assist the finance team by monitoring daily cash positions and supplying data for cash flow projections.
• Monitor restricted revenue and expenditures using the Standardized Account Code
• Structure (SACS) to ensure flawless coding (Resource, Goal, and Function).
• Collect, verify, and maintain federal "Time and Effort" documentation (Personnel Activity Reports or Semi-Annual Certifications) for all staff members funded through restricted grants.
• Apply approved indirect cost rates to grants accurately in accordance with CDE (California Department of Education) guidelines.
• Create, reconcile, and remit accurate monthly reports to CalSTRS for teachers’ retirement plans.
• Reconcile Federal Quarterly Payroll expenses (Form 941) and timely submit quarterly 941 tax returns to CharterSAFE and 501c.
• Compile data for and submit the annual Government California Compensation Report and gather required documentation for the annual workers’ compensation audit.
• Prepare and submit accurate reports for specific funds—including Title I–IV, ELOP, Proposition 28, and Special Education (IDEA)—and upload data to the CDE’s GMART portal.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma/GED and 3+ years of hands-on full-cycle payroll processing for an
• organization with at least 150+ employees.
• Solid understanding of CA wage and hour rules
• 2+ years of general ledger accounting experience, including preparing journal entries,
• processing month-end accruals, and reconciling balance sheet accounts.
• Proficiency in mid-to-enterprise level accounting and payroll software (e.g., Sage Intacct,Rippling, Concur, etc.) and strong Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables).
• Employment eligibility will include Live Scan fingerprinting, TB screen, and other employment clearance to work on a school environment.