Payroll Administrator (Contract)

About the role

Contract Assignment: October 2026 - January 2027 | Hybrid - New York, NY | Immediate start SOCOTEC is seeking a detail-oriented and experienced Payroll Administrator for a contract assignment with our Human Resources and Finance team. In this role, you will own the end-to-end payroll process for salaried and hourly employees, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant pay for every team member.

Beyond day-to-day payroll operations, you will play a key role in payroll-related projects - including system implementations, process improvements, and cross-functional initiatives - helping the organization scale its payroll operations efficiently and reliably. The ideal candidate combines strong technical payroll expertise with excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Processing & Operations Payroll Processing: Accurately process bi-weekly payroll for salaried and hourly employees, ensuring all earnings, deductions, and taxes are calculated correctly and disbursed on schedule. Reporting & Analytics: Create specialized payroll reports for management, including labor cost summaries, headcount analyses, and ad hoc reports to support business decision-making.

Discrepancy Resolution: Proactively identify, investigate, and report payroll discrepancies, partnering with HR and Finance to resolve issues promptly and prevent recurrence. Employee Support: Serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll inquiries, providing clear, timely, and courteous responses regarding pay, deductions, and tax withholdings.

Employee Lifecycle Updates: Process new hires, terminations, salary changes, promotions, and other employment status updates within the payroll and ERP systems in a timely and accurate manner. Regulatory Registrations: Complete and maintain payroll tax registrations with state and local municipalities as required, ensuring the organization remains compliant across all jurisdictions.

Cross-Functional Support: Partner with and assist the HR/Benefits Operations team on related projects and tasks, including open enrollment, audits, and compliance reporting. Off-Cycle Payments: Process out-of-cycle payments, including state-mandated final pay, termination payouts, and other time-sensitive disbursements, in accordance with applicable law.

Team Backup Support: Provide reliable back-up coverage for other Payroll Administrators during absences or peak processing periods to ensure uninterrupted payroll operations. Additional

Duties

Perform other duties as assigned by your supervisor or manager, contributing flexibly to the broader goals of the payroll and HR function. Project Management Duties In addition to core payroll operations, this role will contribute to and, at times, lead payroll-related projects that improve the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of the payroll function.

System Implementation & Migration: Lead or support the implementation and migration of payroll systems (e.g., Paylocity, ADP Workforce Now, or other HRIS/ERP platforms), including data validation, parallel testing, and go-live support. Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate project timelines and deliverables with HR, Finance, and IT stakeholders to ensure payroll-related projects are completed on schedule and within scope.

Process Improvement Initiatives: Identify opportunities for payroll process improvements and automation; design, pilot, and implement enhanced workflows to reduce errors and processing time. Milestone & Budget Tracking: Develop and maintain project plans, track milestones, deliverables, and budgets, and proactively flag risks or delays to project sponsors.

Stakeholder Communication & Reporting: Prepare and deliver clear status updates, dashboards, and post-implementation reports to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. Risk Management: Assess and mitigate risks associated with payroll projects, including data integrity, compliance exposure, and business continuity, developing contingency plans as needed.

Documentation & Training: Create and maintain detailed process documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials for new systems or processes, and deliver training sessions to payroll and HR team members. Continuous Improvement Culture: Champion a culture of continuous improvement within the payroll function by soliciting feedback, measuring project outcomes, and refining processes post-launch.

Requirements

• Experience 5-8 years of professional work experience, including hands-on payroll processing in a mid-to-large size organization.
• Experience with Paylocity and/or ADP Workforce Now strongly preferred; experience with other payroll/HRIS platforms also considered.
• Prior involvement in payroll system implementations, migrations, or process improvement projects is a strong plus.

• Technical & Analytical Skills Advanced Excel skills, including the ability to work with large data sets, pivot tables, and formulas for reconciliation and reporting.
• Strong analytical skills with meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to data accuracy.
• Deep working knowledge of state and federal payroll laws, tax regulations, and compliance requirements.

• Comfortable learning and navigating new payroll, HRIS, and ERP systems.
• Interpersonal & Organizational Skills Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain payroll matters clearly to employees at all levels.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to research and resolve issues independently.
• Proven ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a cross-functional team.

• Ability to handle highly confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills; consistently meets deadlines and adapts to shifting priorities while maintaining quality and accountability.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including planning, prioritization, and stakeholder management, are highly valued.