Total Rewards & HR Operations Specialist

Location: Remote - OPEN to LATAM, South Africa, or Philippines Schedule: Full-time, US Business Hours Alignment (CST/EST) Type: Full-time Contractor Reporting to: HR Manager / Director of Total Rewards Salary: $1,800-$2,400 depending on experience Role Overview: The Employee Experience Anchor We are a growing, fast-moving organization dedicated to delivering top-tier operational support to our global workforce. We are seeking a highly organized, tech-savvy Total Rewards & HR Operations Specialist to serve as the critical "first point of contact" and administrative anchor for our payroll, benefits, and internal HR services. This is a key, highly visible role. You are not just monitoring an inbox; you are the face and voice of the company’s internal operations. Your mission is to own our shared HR email inbox, serve as the primary filter for incoming employee queries, run standard payroll audits, and coordinate with our external benefits vendors. This role requires an empathetic, high-EQ communicator who can masterfully navigate ADP, interpret company policy with absolute accuracy, and resolve Tier 1 issues before they require escalation to senior leadership. For the right candidate, this role offers an exceptional path for growth—we actively encourage cross-training to expand your skillset across various operational and strategic verticals. Key Responsibilities I. Tier 1 HR Support & Inbox Governance (Primary Focus) * First-Level Contact: Serve as the direct, dedicated point of contact for all internal employee inquiries regarding pay, timecards, benefits enrollment, and systems. * Inbox Management: Take complete ownership of the shared HR/Total Rewards email inbox, ensuring all messages receive prompt, warm, and highly professional responses. * Policy Interpretation: Act as the first line of defense for policy questions—accurately interpreting and explaining our employee handbooks, holiday schedules, and compensation policies. * Triage & Escalation: Resolve 80% of standard questions independently. When an issue requires specialized intervention, compile the case notes and efficiently escalate it to the appropriate HR leader. II. Payroll Auditing & ADP Administration * ADP System Mastery: Manage employee profiles, timecards, tax documents, and direct deposit details within ADP, serving as our internal system expert. * Pre-Payroll Audits: Run regular, detailed audits on weekly and bi-weekly payroll runs to verify hours logged, overtime calculations, late-fee adjustments, and deduction accuracy. * Reporting & Data Export: Pull standard and custom payroll reports from ADP to assist the finance and leadership teams with month-end reconciliation. III. Benefits Coordination & Vendor Liaison * Vendor Management: Act as the primary administrative bridge between our company and our third-party benefits brokers/providers. * Enrollment Support: Guide new hires through their health, dental, vision, and retirement plan enrollments, ensuring all selections are completed inside designated onboarding windows. * Discrepancy Resolution: Assist employees in navigating technical claims, coverage questions, and account lockouts by coordinating directly with vendor support. IV. Systems Hygiene & Cross-Training * Data Hygiene: Maintain pristine digital files and accurate system records, ensuring that employee status changes (promotions, transfers, terminations) are updated across all databases. * Continuous Cross-Training: Proactively raise your hand to learn other administrative, financial, or operational tasks to help support our lean leadership team as we scale. Who You Are Experience & Technical Skills * The HR Foundation: 3–5+ years of experience in HR Administration, Tier 1 HR Support, Payroll Operations, or Benefits Coordination. * ADP Proficiency (Highly Preferred): Practical, hands-on experience navigating ADP (ADP Workforce Now, Run, or Globalview). * System Savvy: High tech-literacy with the ability to quickly master new cloud-based software, ticketing systems, and database portals. * Excel Literacy: Comfortable working within Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to manage formulas, sort data, and audit numbers. * Elite English: Exceptional written and verbal English skills. You must possess a highly empathetic, professional, and clear communication style when representing company policies. Mindset & Work Style * High Emotional EQ: You understand that pay and benefits are deeply personal topics. You treat every inquiry with maximum confidentiality, empathy, and urgency. * "Zero-Error" Precision: You have an eagle eye for detail. You take pride in finding the missing dollar, the unapproved timecard, or the typo in a contract before it goes downstream. * Independent & Resourceful: You find genuine satisfaction in investigating a problem, tracking down the answer in our documentation, and presenting the solution. * Flexible and Eager to Learn: You thrive in growing environments where you can wear multiple hats and cross-train to level up your career.