Employee Records & Payroll Administrator

Job Highlights 

The Employee Records & Payroll Administrator supports the full payroll and employee data function at Houston Grand Opera, working under the direction of the Payroll Manager. This role is responsible for the hands-on, transactional work that keeps payroll running accurately and on time: entering and maintaining employee data, configuring and auditing payroll deductions, administering PTO and leave tracking, and ensuring the integrity of employee records in the HRIS and payroll systems.

This is a detail-intensive role that requires strong organizational skills, a high degree of accuracy, and a commitment to confidentiality. The Administrator is process-oriented and reliable, communicates proactively when issues arise, and takes ownership of their work within a well-defined scope.

Join Us!

We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO.

About the Houston Grand Opera

The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors.

Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer robust benefits to full-time employees, including:

• Comprehensive and affordable health benefits.

• Generous paid time off.

• 403b retirement plan with employer match.

• Flexible work schedule.

• Professional development fund and opportunities.

• Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation.

• Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events.

Key Responsibilities

HRIS & Employee Data Integrity

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records in the HRIS, including new hires, terminations, transfers, promotions, compensation changes, and benefit elections.

• Audit employee data on a regular basis to identify and correct discrepancies, duplicate records, and incomplete fields.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for data entry requests from human resources, managers, and employees; review submissions for completeness and compliance before processing.

• Develop, document, and enforce data entry standards, naming conventions, and workflows to ensure consistency across the system.

• Generate and distribute routine and ad hoc reports from the HRIS to support HR, Finance, and leadership decision-making.

• Partner with finance and human resources colleagues and vendors to troubleshoot system errors and escalate issues as needed.

Payroll Processing Support

• Crosstrain comprehensively with the Payroll Manager on all payroll processing functions, including weekly and semi-monthly payroll cycles, off-cycle adjustments, and final paychecks.

• Assume full payroll processing responsibilities in the absence of the Payroll Manager, ensuring payroll is completed accurately and on schedule.

• Review and verify timekeeping data, hours worked, PTO usage, and pay code accuracy prior to each payroll run.

• Process manual checks, wage garnishments, child support orders, levies, and direct deposit changes as needed.

• Assist with payroll tax filings, year-end W-2 preparation, and reconciliation activities under the direction of the Payroll Manager.

• Maintain payroll records and documentation in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

Benefits Accrual and Deduction Administration

• Reconcile monthly carrier invoices against HRIS enrollment records and payroll deduction registers; identify and document discrepancies.

• Prepare union benefits invoices for each payroll cycle.

• Process employee 403(b) enrollment elections, contribution rate changes, and updates in the HRIS and payroll system.  Maintain records of participant elections and transmittal confirmations; flag discrepancies between payroll records and recordkeeper reports.

• Track protected leaves of absence (FMLA, state leave, personal leave) in coordination with human resources; ensure accurate payroll treatment and benefit continuation during leave periods.

Qualifications

Experience

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field; or equivalent work experience.

• Minimum 2–3 years of experience in payroll processing, HR administration, or a closely related role.

Skills and Abilities

• Experience entering and maintaining employee data in a payroll or HRIS platform (Paycom a plus).

• Familiarity with payroll deduction types, including pre-tax benefit deductions, retirement contributions, and garnishments.

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy; ability to work with high volumes of data and catch errors before they reach employees.

• Solid organizational skills and ability to manage recurring deadlines reliably.

• Proficiency in Excel and comfort working with spreadsheets for reconciliation and data review.

• Discretion and professionalism in handling confidential employee information.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience in a nonprofit organization, arts institution, or similarly mission-driven environment.

• Familiarity with PTO administration and leave tracking in an HRIS.

• Exposure to 403(b) plan administration or benefits invoice reconciliation.

• Familiarity with collective bargaining agreements and international tax withholdings a plus but not required.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Primarily office-based or hybrid work environment; prolonged periods of computer use.

• Must be available during critical payroll processing windows, which may occasionally require early morning, end-of-day, or weekend availability.

• Ability to sit for extended periods and perform repetitive keyboarding tasks.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those we consider important for an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job: extended periods of sitting and performing tasks such as typing and using a computer mouse, with strong visual and auditory focus, occasional lifting (not exceeding 20 pounds), reaching for items, effective communication skills, and fine motor abilities, being mobile within the office for activities like attending performances, events, and meetings. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Equal Opportunity

Houston Grand Opera is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at HGO are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws or regulations. HGO will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. HGO encourages applicants of all ages.