Payroll & HRIS Specialist

About the foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation invests in creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure that people communities and the planet can flourish. Together with our partners we are harnessing societys collective capacity to solve our toughest problems. As a nonpartisan philanthropy the Hewlett Foundation has made grants in the U.S. and globally for nearly six decades based on an approach that emphasizes dialogue across difference long-term support collaboration and trust.

Globally we make grants to address both longstanding and emerging challenges like our efforts to advance gender equity and governance reimagine the economy and society and reduce the growing threat of climate change. Our U.S. efforts prioritize strengthening democracy advancing education for all and supporting community-led the San Francisco Bay Area we call home we make grants to support meaningful artistic experiences in local communities and support regional foundations working on critical issues such as housing. All of our grantmaking also invests in advancing racial justice and in strengthening the effectiveness of our grantees and of philanthropy itself. The Hewlett Foundations assets are approximately $13.9 billion with annual awards of grants totaling more than $600 million. More information about the Hewlett Foundation is available at:

The foundation has approximately 130 employees in programmatic operational communications and investment roles located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Across the organization our employees are challenged with meaningful work have the resources for ongoing professional development and learning and contribute to a collegial and engaging environment where they can thrive. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion as part of our guiding principles and encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.

About the Human Resources Department

The Human Resources (HR) team supports the foundations work by creating strategic vision for the organizations HR goals and fostering our evolving organizational culture of collegiality respect equity and inclusion. The team consults with senior management and staff to develop policies programs and services that support organizational priorities and individual and team objectives. We support our staff and provide guidance throughout the entire employee lifecycle aspiring for excellence at all stages.

About the Position

The Payroll & HRIS Specialist is responsible for administering the Foundations payroll operations and supporting HR data analytics reporting and HRIS system functions. Reporting to the Associate Director Total Rewards & HRIS this role ensures payroll accuracy compliance with federal and state regulations and consistent data integrity within ADP Workforce Now. The position also collaborates with HR Finance IT and external vendors to support compliance enhance HR system processes and produce reports and analytics for informed decision-making.

Essential duties and responsibilities

Payroll Administration

• Administers end-to-end semi-monthly payroll processing for multi-state employees including regular supplemental and termination pay.
• Processes employee payroll actions in ADP including direct deposits tax elections and pay status updates.
• Calculates and verifies vacation sick leave overtime accruals and employee withholding status for accuracy and compliance.
• Maintains compliance with payroll-related requirements including:
  • Workers Compensation audits and annual filings
  • EEO-1 and California Pay Data (Pay Transparency) reports
  • 403(b) and 457(b) plan audit support including contribution reconciliation and analysis
  • FMLA reconciliation for unpaid leaves and benefit tracking
  • Administers payroll tax treatment for pre-tax and taxable employee benefits including commuter FSA HSA adoption fertility and surrogacy programs.
  • Accurate domestic partner payroll setup and tax treatment
• Maintains accurate state payroll tax account registrations.
• Prepares Form 990 compensation data support to Finance including verifying taxable compensation benefits and deferral amounts for officers and key employees.
• Conducts quarterly and year-end payroll activities including reconciliations W-2 processing and new-year setup for payroll benefits and tax updates.
• Provides ADP self-service and timekeeping system guidance to new hires and managers to support accurate payroll processing.
• Responds to employee and third-party inquiries (e.g. verifications of employment unemployment insurance garnishments).
• Maintains payroll documentation supporting materials for audits and internal process checklists.
• Coordinates payroll audits conducted every five years gathering documentation and responding to auditor requests.
• Conducts payroll orientations with new employees.

HRIS & Systems Administration

• Serves as ADP Workforce Now administrator for HR and payroll modules (security roles approvals and configuration).
• Uploads and maintains new-hire packets in ADP syncing data from the applicant tracking system and verifying pay grades.
• Reviews and approves employee data changes in ADP to ensure data integrity and compliance with internal controls.
• Updates and monitors employee status in ADP during leaves of absence and return-to-work actions.
• Documents ADP workflows maintains user-access lists and coordinates updates when personnel or approval roles change.
• Performs routine data integrity checks and resolves discrepancies (e.g. duplicate records missing fields code tables).

People Analytics & Reporting

• Produces monthly and ad-hoc HR reports including the monthly headcount report for Finance.
• Build and maintain dashboards in ADP DataCloud (or equivalent) to track headcount turnover and pay trends.
• Defines and maintains reporting data dictionaries and documentation for recurring reports.
• Validates data accuracy and consistency across HR and payroll reports.
• Supports preparation of annual Total Rewards Statements by verifying compensation and benefits data for accuracy.

Annual & Project Responsibilities

• Prepares and submits annual compliance filings including:
  • EEO-1 Report
  • California Pay Data Report
  • Workers Compensation Audit
  • 403(b) and 457(b) audit materials
• Coordinates publication of the annual Foundation holiday calendar in collaboration with the CPO and IT.
• Supports HRs annual budget planning and expense reconciliation process.
• Contributes to special projects such as the HR digitization initiative process improvement efforts and cross-functional reporting enhancements.
• Identifies and implements process improvements across payroll HRIS and reporting functions to enhance efficiency accuracy and compliance.
• Collaborates cross-functionally to streamline workflows and leverage system capabilities.
• Maintains HR and payroll records in accordance with document-retention standards.

Required skills and knowledge

• Bachelors degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proficiency in ADP Workforce Now; experience with ADP DataCloud preferred.
• Strong understanding of payroll laws wage and hour regulations and benefit taxation.
• Advanced Excel skills and familiarity with HR analytics or dashboard tools.
• Demonstrated accuracy attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
• Effective communication and customer-service orientation across HR Finance IT and vendor teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of payroll experience including multi-state payroll (California required).

• Experience with payroll tax treatment for pre-tax and taxable employee benefits.
• Knowledge of 403(b) 457(b) and HSA contribution administration.
• Familiarity with FMLA COBRA and other leave or benefit compliance programs.
• Experience supporting HR budgeting reporting and vendor invoicing.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The position is based in Menlo Park California. Staff are working in a hybrid environment and currently expected to work from the Hewlett Foundation office at least 2-3 times per week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are required). While performing the duties of this position the employee is required to spend extended periods of time at a computer.

Compensation and Benefits

The Hewlett Foundation is committed to providing compensation that is competitive within the philanthropic sector. We offer a generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this role starts at $100000-$125000. Offers are based on the candidates years of experience and our practice of maintaining salary equity within the foundation.

To Apply

Please apply online and submit a resume and cover letter explaining how your skills fit this position.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation embraces the importance of diversity equity and inclusion both internally in our hiring process and organizational culture and externally in our grantmaking and related practices. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds cultures and experiences.