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Job Description
Description
The Administrative Services Department is looking for a detail-oriented payroll professional ready to make an impact!
At the City of Palo Alto we’re committed to serving the public with integrity, innovation, and impact. We’re looking for a passionate and dedicated Management Specialist Payroll to support our payroll team during an exciting transition to the S/4HANA platform. If you have experience with SAP PY (Payroll) modules and time evaluation (CATS), and thrive in fast-paced environments, we want to hear from you.
This limited part-time role will play a role in the transition to the S/4HANA Project. This project will upgrade the current SAP payroll system to the newer S4/Hana platform. This position will support the testing and validation of the new system, while assisting current payroll staff on payroll processing duties to allow capacity for support.
This position offers a hybrid work model, combining remote and onsite work, and is a temporary appointment funded for up to six months.
Department
The Administrative Services Department (ASD) provides analytical, organizational, and administrative support for a wide variety of projects throughout the organization. The Department prides itself on a high-level of customer service to decision-makers, the public, employees, and other departments in the City. ASD records, monitors, and protects the City’s assets through essential financial management, including forecasting, budgeting, and financial reporting. ASD’s divisions include Accounting, the Office of Management and Budget, Purchasing, Treasury, Real Estate, Revenue Collections, Stores and Administration. Learn more about the Administrative Services Department.
Our Organization
The City of Palo Alto is located in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to global technology and business leaders, startups, Stanford University, and a highly educated and engaged constituency. The City is committed to cultivating a creative and progressive economy and is actively engaged in making a difference both locally and globally. Working at the City, you will join a culture that strives for excellence and encourages leadership, new ideas, and creative solutions.?
Essential Duties
In this position, you will:
- Assist with payroll processing, testing, and documentation
- Support system transition efforts with accuracy and efficiency
- Handle sensitive information with professionalism and discretion
- Troubleshoot and document system discrepancies
- Update and provide clear detailed process flows
- Ability to adapt to change quickly and work independently to support current payroll staff in varied tasks as necessary.
What you bring:
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to work independently
- Quick learning skills and adaptability
- Excellent interpersonal communication
- Confidence working under pressure and meeting tight deadlines
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Knowledge of payroll functions and procedures; office equipment; telephone etiquette
- Basic arithmetic; rules of proper English usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling
- Familiarity with excel tables and formulas
- Prior SAP knowledge or comparable platform
- Ability to provide clear written and verbal communication
- Knowledge working in public sector payroll with multiple bargaining units highly desirable
- Experience reviewing and comprehending complex payroll calculations
Minimum Qualifications
Education, training and/or work experience which demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:- Two years’ experience in accounting and/or payroll office preferred.
Preferred Qualifications:- Background in excel and Adobe
- Some experience with SAP and other similar system/ platforms
Supplemental Information
Tentative Timeline:
Applications Open - Thursday, March 26th
Applications Close - Sunday, April 12th
Interviews - week of April 20th
The Selection Process:- Recruitment status notifications will be sent via email or text (please enroll in text alerts when applying).
- Updates can also be found on your governmentjobs.com account.
- Applicants will be screened throughout the posting process and highly qualified candidates may be invited to interview at any time.
- The screening process for this position may include a virtual recorded interview and/or panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
- More than one position may be filled through this posting.
Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.
The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
This is a non-benefited position.
Closing Date/Time: 4/12/2026 11:59 PM Pacific -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Palo Alto
Show moreThe Community
The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-NewsCity Government
Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.
Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.
Join an Award Winning Team
Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.
Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."
Contact Us
Phone: 650-329-2376
Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov
Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map
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