Payroll Specialist

Responsibilities

·    Prepare, process, and deliver accurate, timely bi‑weekly payroll for North American employees in regular payroll runs, including off‑cycles, corrections, bonuses, and special payments.
·    Calculate and reconcile wages, overtime, bonuses, deductions, and general ledger entries.
·    Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll and tax regulations, benefit deduction accuracy, and organizational policies by maintaining up‑to‑date regulatory knowledge.
·    Reconcile payroll totals to the general ledger, bank transfers, and tax liabilities; investigate variances and implement corrective actions to maintain data integrity.
·    Maintain and ensure confidentiality of employee payroll records and data; enforce data security and access controls.
·    Coordinate with HR on new hires, terminations, salary changes, leaves of absence, COBRA, and retirement to ensure accurate payroll and benefits processing.
·    Oversee benefit deduction integrations and interface with third‑party administrators and vendors to resolve issues, perform root‑cause analysis, and develop long‑term solutions.
·    Respond promptly to employee payroll and benefits inquiries; escalate complex or non‑routine matters to leadership as needed.
·    Generate, analyze, and distribute standard payroll reports to support HR, Finance, Operations, and Leadership.
·    Partner with Finance to support month‑end close activities such as labor accrual and assist with audit requests.
·    Identify and implement process improvements, automation, and enhanced controls to increase efficiency and accuracy across payroll operations.
·    Participate in cross‑functional projects such as payroll/HRIS system upgrades, benefit plan implementations, and change management initiatives.
·    Create, maintain, and update standard operating procedures, process documentation, and training materials; provide guidance and mentoring to other staff.
·    Communicate professionally and effectively with internal stakeholders (HR, Finance, Leaders) and external partners (vendors, government agencies, auditors) on payroll issues, audits, and compliance matters.

Qualifications

•    A BS degree in Human Resources or Business or Accounting, or related field preferred, 
•    Prior experience in payroll processing, tax filings or in human resources is strongly preferred.
•    Proficiency with payroll systems and HRIS (e.g., SAP Employee Central, EC Payroll, Workday, UKG, or equivalent) and advanced Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, SUMIFS); demonstrated experience preparing, reconciling, researching, and reporting complex payroll data.
•    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively interact with team members, management, and vendors.
•    Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and maintain data privacy.
•    Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to produce accurate, error-free work.
•    Ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while maintaining accuracy and compliance, especially during peak processing periods.
•    Takes initiative and drives issues to resolution in a professional manner.
•    Strong collaboration and networking skills.
•    Superb judgment, maturity, and professionalism.

NOTE

Eastman will not accept applicants for this offered position who require visa sponsorship, including those whose status is F-1 visa OPT who subsequently would require ongoing visa sponsorship.