Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Employment Opportunity: Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Permanent, full-time | Hybrid work arrangement | Subject to probationary period

Established in 1789, the University of King's College is Canada's oldest chartered university and is associated with Dalhousie University. A small and extraordinarily lively academic community located in Halifax (Kjipuktuk), Nova Scotia, King's is known nationally and internationally for its highly acclaimed interdisciplinary programs in the humanities, including its renowned Foundation Year Program, its professional programs in journalism and its fine arts programs in creative writing. King's is a community where students, faculty, alumni, and staff work to bring greater understanding, creativity, and compassion to the world.

Overview

Reporting to the Controller, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Human Resources Manager, the Payroll & Benefits Specialist is responsible for the accurate and compliant administration of payroll and benefits for all employee groups, including faculty, staff, and casual employees.

The role supports institutional accountability through timely processing, regulatory compliance, and responsive service. Working closely with both Finance and Human Resources, the Specialist helps ensure effective communication, policy alignment, and a positive employee experience.

This position also coordinates technical aspects of employee onboarding and offboarding, such as system access, account provisioning, and security protocols, in collaboration with internal and external partners.

This role operates in a predominantly Excel-based environment with several manual processes and requires a high attention to detail, organization, and comfort working with data.

Key Responsibilities

The Payroll & Benefits Specialist will perform the following core duties:

Payroll Administration

• Administer full-cycle payroll for faculty and staff (monthly), and casual/student employees (bi-weekly)
• Prepare and submit monthly remittances to the Canada Revenue Agency and benefits providers
• Reconcile payroll-related general ledger accounts
• Calculate and issue annual salary adjustments and retroactive payments
• Process T4s and T4As, including pension adjustments and taxable benefits
• Coordinate payroll tax updates and benefits rate changes with external service providers
• Calculate maternity/parental leave top-ups and other salary adjustments
• Ensure timely and compliant preparation and submission of Records of Employment (ROE's) in line with federal guidelines
• Administer student refunds and emergency bursaries through payroll
• Support administration of faculty supplemental leave grants and travel/research grant payments
• Manage wage garnishments and other government-mandated deductions
• Support payroll-related inquiries from employees

Benefits and HR Administration

• Serve as administrator for all group benefits plans (Blue Cross, Manulife, Greenshield, Beneva) as well as the Nova Scotia Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP) including onboarding and offboarding and online benefits enrollment
• Provide benefits information packages to new employees
• Coordinate annual group benefits renewal with external consultants
• Track and manage employee absences (vacation, sick leave, parental leave, long-term disability, sabbaticals)
• Calculate and monitor vacation accruals and banked overtime and distribute monthly reports to managers
• Maintain and update the employee handbook and benefits information as required on the university website
• Liaise with Dalhousie University for ID card issuance and system access (Banner, NetID, email), including provisioning and deactivation aligned with onboarding and offboarding processes
• Support access governance by maintaining accurate records and following established procedures
• Manage benefits administration for retiree members including communication of benefit rate changes and reconciliation of payments
• Create and maintain annual faculty and staff list
• Maintain confidential personnel files for all employees

Fiscal Year-End Procedures and Reconciliations (March 31)

• Prepare and post year-end accruals (vacation, overtime, payroll) and journal entries
• Respond to payroll-related audit requests and provide data for external auditors
• Compile and reconcile data for the Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act (PSCDA) audit

Additional Duties

• Complete salary surveys (e.g., AAU, UCASS) and government reporting with attention to accuracy and institutional alignment
• Serve as minute-taker for the Employee Benefits and Wellness Committee, ensuring timely and professional documentation
• Coordinate Canada Summer Jobs applications, including submission, tracking, and follow-up with relevant departments
• Provide operational and analytical support to the Bursar's Office, including assistance with reconciliations, journal entries, student accounts, and financial reporting as needed
• Collaborate closely with the Human Resources Manager on a range of HR initiatives, including policy development, employee communications, and process improvements
• Contribute to cross-functional projects and institutional priorities by offering payroll and benefits expertise
• Perform other duties as assigned, with a commitment to service excellence and continuous improvement

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum 5 years of experience in payroll and benefits administration
• Strong knowledge of payroll legislation and benefits administration/policies
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Excel and Word)
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong problem-solving skills and demonstrated resourcefulness
• Commitment to responsive and professional service

Preferred

• CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist) designation
• Experience with Sage 300
• Experience in a university, not-for-profit, or public sector environment
• Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification
• Experience supporting enterprise systems, including user access and security administration

Additional Information

• Preferred start date: Immediate
• Initial onboarding may occasionally require evening or weekend availability; work hours will be adjusted accordingly
• Salary range: $58,151 to $79,040
• Includes comprehensive benefits and mandatory enrollment in the Nova Scotia Public Service Superannuation Plan (PSSP)

The successful candidate will join a collaborative, service-oriented HR and finance team committed to supporting the King's community.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter to:

Pethrona Russell
Human Resources Manager
University of King's College
6350 Coburg Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2A1
[email protected]

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University of King's College is committed to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. We encourage and welcome applications from Indigenous persons (especially Mi'kmaq), persons with a disability, racialized persons, including persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), women, persons of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversification of our community.