Senior Payroll Administrator

Firefighters First Federal Credit Union has proudly been serving the firefighter community since 1935. We have built trusting relationships within the fire family as the nation’s largest exclusive firefighter credit union. Our commitment to providing our members with exceptional financial products and services, along with our legendary service, has allowed us to grow our membership nationally. Join a team that values its employees, invests in professional growth, and makes an impact in the firefighter community.

The Senior Payroll Administrator independently owns and drives the end-to-end administration of FFCU’s multi-state payroll operations, functioning as the organization’s subject matter expert for payroll systems, processes, controls, and compliance. This is a seasoned, high-autonomy role: the incumbent is expected to anticipate issues, exercise independent judgment, and lead payroll and benefits-related outcomes with minimal day-to-day direction.

Primary Responsibilities

• Overseeing and processing multi-state payroll operations end to end — bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and off-cycle cycles, ensuring accurate and timely completion in accordance with established controls, requirements, and organizational policies.
• Serving as the payroll subject matter expert and ADP Workforce Now “Super User,” directing system configuration, employee data integrity, reporting, and audit readiness, and proactively identifying and implementing improvements to platform functionality and controls.
• Driving the administration of payroll-related benefits and retirement programs, including deduction management, benefit-change processing, and 401(k) administration; owning reconciliation of carrier invoices, billing statements, and payroll deduction registers against enrollment and payroll data, resolving discrepancies directly with carriers and HR.
• Managing multi-state payroll tax compliance and reporting — including tax jurisdiction setup, withholding accuracy, timely remittance, and quarterly/annual filings (941, state unemployment, local withholding) — proactively resolving agency notices and jurisdictional discrepancies, and partnering with ADP and Finance on tax setup for new work locations.
• Proactively owning end-to-end reporting for payroll- and benefits-related monthly reporting, filings, testing, and documentation — including but not limited to month-end, ad hoc reporting requests, EEO-1 reporting, non-discrimination testing, and Form 5500.
• Acting as the primary advisor and point of escalation for employees, leaders, and internal and external partners on payroll and benefits related matters, exercising discretion and independent judgment to resolve sensitive or complex situations.
• Continuously evaluating and improving payroll processes, controls, and systems to enhance accuracy and efficiency, implementing improvements within delegated authority, and supporting HR initiatives requiring payroll, HRIS, benefits, reporting, or compliance expertise.

Basic Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree
• 7 years’ experience in payroll administration, including experience with multi-state payroll.
• 5 years’ experience with processing California payroll.
• 5 years’ experience using Excel, Word, and Outlook, including advanced Excel formulas such as VLOOKUP.
• 3 years’ experience serving as an advanced or “Super User” in ADP Workforce Now, with broad access to and working knowledge of the platform’s payroll processing and HR functionality.
• 3 years’ experience employee 401(k) retirement plans and payroll-related benefit deductions.
• 3 years’ experience with benefits administration, including reconciliation of carrier invoices and payroll deductions.
• 3 years’ experience with payroll-related compliance activities, including non-discrimination testing, EEO-1 reporting, and Form 5500 activities.

Remote Expectations:

• 100% remote role
• Dedicated Home Office: This position requires a permanent home office in a fixed location and is not a work-from-anywhere or travel-based role.
  • This ensures compliance and supports daily collaboration for our legendary member service.

Benefits:

We offer exceptional benefits to our employees, including:

• Competitive salary with a pay for performance bonus
• Fully paid Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits package for employees.
• Fully paid Life insurance, AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage
• 401k plan with a 3% safe harbor from the credit union and a matching program of up to 4%
• Education reimbursement of up to $5,250 annually, along with a 0% education loan assistance program
• Pet Insurance
• 4 weeks of PTO annually including 2 ½ days of float time.
• 9 paid holidays plus 2 half days

Firefighters First Federal Credit Union is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, age, gender, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. Firefighters First Federal Credit Union is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, contact Human Resources at careers@firefirstcu.org.