"Payroll Practitioner (Accountant IV)"

Job Details

Payroll Practitioner (Accountant IV)

Department: Human Resources

Location: Wellesley Hills

MassBay fosters educational excellence and academic success to prepare students for local and global citizenship, to promote their personal growth, to meet critical workforce demands of communities, and to contribute to the region’s economic development.

Massachusetts Bay Community College is served by a cadre of employees of varied backgrounds and experiences. We invite all individuals to consider joining our community. Located in Greater Boston, MassBay is a comprehensive, open-access community college, offering associate degrees and certificate programs on three campuses in Wellesley Hills, Framingham, and Ashland, Massachusetts.

Position Summary:

The ideal candidate will join a vibrant educational community and have a desire and ability to serve a population of students with various needs and backgrounds. The Payroll Practitioner will work closely with the Payroll Director and Payroll Administrator to ensure that all biweekly payroll is processed in an accurate and timely manner. The Payroll Practitioner will also collaborate with the Human Resources Office and Finance Department staff to provide necessary reports and will be responsible to implement and improve processes and procedures for the department.

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

• Review and process student, work-study, and part-time requests to hires based on requisitions and personnel action forms;
• Enter data in the payroll system, including new hire set up on students and part-time employees; including benefits, taxes, direct deposit, union dues, savings & deferred compensation deductions;
• Responsible for mapping valid accounting strings and grants to all employees, per the fiscal department chart of accounts. Maintain and verify all data in State accounting systems;
• Process table request changes in the State Accounting system, including cost unit, grant, profile, and combo codes;
• Review and enter grant changes and split charges per Grant Administrator and Grant Accountant;
• Prepare Labor reports to review with the Payroll Director and identify necessary corrections;
• Administer Self Service Time and Attendance, run and review reports, resolve errors by assisting employees and their supervisors;
• Review all Time Reporting Codes and confirm approvals for bi-weekly payroll;
• Enter time and attendance exceptions for full-time faculty on a weekly basis, including maintaining and filing weekly exceptions for auditing purposes;
• Enter miscellaneous payroll compensation requests, meal, and travel allowances;
• Assist and provide back-up to the Payroll Administrator with full-time and part-time payroll balancing;
• Run weekly reports in State Mobius system based on Best Practices Procedures to ensure accuracy of bi-weekly payroll;
• Maintain payroll records including both on paper and electronic files by following department guidelines, best practices and State Comptroller retention policies;
• Work with the State Comptroller Office to process garnishments;
• Process and review final payroll tasks for new hires and terminations;
• Administer sick bank program and leave balances including faculty attendance;
• Assist in calendar and fiscal year end duties;
• Review, recommend and implement changes to payroll processes;
• Analyze and report by earnings payment types; such as overtime, reimbursements, athletic coach stipends, special payouts and grant expenditures;
• Assist Payroll Director and Payroll Administrator in computing expenditures by reviewing payroll labor reports vs MMARS cash funding balances available by appropriation, grants and projects;
• Other duties as assigned.

This list is not to be considered all-inclusive. A supervisor may assign other duties as required to meet the needs and foster the mission of the College.

All employees of MassBay are expected to work collegially and collaboratively within a community that values and celebrates the variety of student experience.

Minimum Qualifications:

Accountant IV:

Applicants must have at least (A) three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in accounting or auditing, of which at least (B) one year must have been in a supervisory, administrative or managerial capacity, or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.

Substitutions:

I. An Associate’s degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required (A) experience.*

II. A Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of two years of the required (A) experience.*

III. A Graduate degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for the required experience.*

*Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of accounting including terminology;
• Knowledge of the methods of general report writing;
• Ability to analyze and determine the applicability of accounting data, to draw conclusions and to make appropriate recommendations;
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as financial reports, accounts and ledgers;
• Ability to understand, apply and explain the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, etc. governing assigned unit activities;
• Ability to perform mathematical calculations using formulae to solve accounting problems;
• Ability to follow oral and written instructions;
• Ability to gather information by examining records and documents and through questioning individuals;
• Ability to maintain accurate records;
• Ability to prepare general and financial reports;
• Ability to write concisely, to express thoughts clearly and to develop ideas in logical sequence;
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral expression;
• Ability to exercise sound judgment;
• Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information;
• Ability to deal tactfully with others;
• Ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others;
• Ability to work independently;
• Ability to work in a team setting;
• Ability to give written and oral instructions in a precise, understandable manner.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Sensitivity and commitment to the goals of Affirmative Action;
• Experience working in a community college or similar environment;
• Demonstrates commitment to working with students in need;
• Experience with payroll processing and accounting systems;
• Knowledge of State and Federal payroll laws;
• Proficient in Excel;
• Capacity to meet critical deadlines;
• Experience in Higher Education.

Additional Information:

Salary Range: AFSCME Unit I, Grade 20 Step 1 $69,816.24 annually. Appointments from outside the bargaining unit begin at Step 1 of the range.

As a Massachusetts State Employee, you are offered an outstanding suite of benefits adding value to your salary.

• Array of choices for health insurance plans to meet individual/ family needs
• Affordable Dental Insurance and vision discount program
• 12 paid State/ Federal holidays
• Generous sick, vacation, and personal time
• Flexible Spending Plans to reduce your taxable income
• Low-cost basic and optional life insurance
• Defined Benefit Pension Plan, providing a fixed, pre-established benefit for employees at retirement
• Thinking to save more money towards retirement: consider Deferred Compensation plans i.e., 457(b) or 403(b).
• Tuition Benefits for employees and dependents at state colleges and universities
• Free Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Eligibility towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
• Free gym and parking on campus

Need more info: https://www.massbay.edu/employment/benefits

Classification: Please find the link to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Human Resources Division Classification Specification for the position, https://www.mass.edu/forfacstaff/classificationspecs/home.asp.

Position Type: AFSCME-Unit I

Deadline: October 3rd, 2025 or after that until filled.

To Apply: Please include a letter of interest and resume with your online application.

Staff

Hiring is subject to state appropriation funding.

Final candidates are required to provide sealed transcripts and official certifications.

Hiring is contingent upon a successful CORI clearance.

Massachusetts Bay Community College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, genetic information, gender identity or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and college policies. The College prohibits sexual harassment, including sexual violence. Inquiries or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, retaliation or sexual violence shall be referred to the College’s Affirmative Action and/or Title IX Coordinator, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.