Sr. Payroll Specialist – Remote

UnitedHealth Group is a health care and well-being company that’s dedicated to improving the health outcomes of millions around the world. We are comprised of two distinct and complementary businesses, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, working to build a better health system for all. Here, your contributions matter as they will help transform health care for years to come. Make an impact with a diverse team that shares your passion for helping others. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Sr. Payroll Operations Specialist is responsible for payroll payments to employees, general deduction management and coordination of effort with other HC departments, vendors and business units to ensure accurate and timely results.  The Sr. Payroll Operations Specialist will act as an SME for the department and will mentor and train others as needed.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Identify new processes or changes to existing payroll business processes
• Responsible for accurate and timely payroll entries, including STD payments, termination pay, relocation and other payline adjustments
• Act as an SME for payroll-related questions and issues
• Manage Tier 2 cases and assignment of case volume to rest of team, adding resolution notes as needed
• Communicate SLA guidelines to managers and employees as well as track trends to prevent future issues
• Manage group email box and perform the necessary actions in the given timeframe
• Manage the Robotics process for direct deposit, 401K changes, and overpayment transactions
• Manage timecard transactions from GSS and GTS to ensure the team has the necessary information for final pays or off cycles
• Review leave of absence paychecks and work with vendor to ensure that employees are paid with accuracy
• Conduct user acceptance testing for new functionality and defect fixes within GSS
• Run audits and resolve all issues for the bi-weekly payroll run while partnering with the Payroll Systems team
• Coordinate and send upload files to Payroll Systems team for bi-weekly payroll
• Create off-cycle payments to employees as a result of HRHD cases, termination pay, reductions in force, etc. and adhere to state regulations and company policy
• Process manual check adjustments to ensure employee’s taxes and wages are accurate
• Work with outside vendors to load accurate data for relocation, disability payments and other taxable earnings and deductions; troubleshoot any issues that arise
• Research outstanding checks for the escheat process
• Create and calculate overpayment spreadsheets and communicate the information with the employee
• Work with current and former employees to pay back money owed to the company; communicating effectively, collecting funds and reporting results
• Work with collections vendor when accounts have been turned over for collections
• Communicate with employees to collect credit card payments
• Manage general deductions for employees, including financial fitness, garnishment refunds, benefit deductions/refunds
• Create and document new processes as needed for mergers and acquisitions
• Research errors, determine root cause and make recommendations for on-going process improvements 
• Use knowledge and judgment to troubleshoot issues and problems
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of employees
• Collaborate with Benefits, Wealth, Compensation, TAM and HR communities in the support of payroll changes
• Maintain effective relationships with key internal and external customers and vendors
• Mentor and train Payroll Operations Specialists
• Other projects as assigned

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years functional payroll experience 
• Experience working as a contractor placed at UHG or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy 

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Washington, D.C. Residents Only: The hourly range for this role is $23.22 to $45.43 per hour. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone–of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income–deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes — an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug – free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.