Payroll and Benefits Specialist

The Kennedys HR team support the firm around the world with all people related matters.

The HR team is based in various locations globally across Kennedys' 5 regions; APAC, EMEA, US, LATAM and UK.  The areas of HR that we have responsibility for are Business Partnering, Learning and Development, Recruitment, Responsible Business, Policies and Operations, Reward and HR Systems. 

You will be working in a fast-paced, demanding, and global environment as we strive to make a difference for our people, clients and communities where we work.

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Payroll and Benefits Specialist to join our HR team at Kennedys in the New Jersey office location. This role is critical in ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing, as well as the administration of employee benefits. The ideal candidate will have strong experience with Paylocity, exceptional Excel skills, and a solid understanding of payroll and benefits compliance within a professional services environment.

Key responsibilities

Payroll and HRIS

• Process the firm's bi-weekly and semi-monthly multi-state payroll ensuring all employee data is correct and compliant with legal and tax requirements.
• Manage payroll-related calculations and resolve discrepancies.
• Accurately enter and maintain employee information in the HRIS and Paylocity systems, including new hires, terminations, job changes, compensation updates, leaves of absence, and personal details.
• Generate, analyze, and present payroll and benefits reports using advanced Excel functions (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, formulas, macros).
• Assist with year-end payroll activities, audits and statutory reporting.
• Process verification of employment, wage statements, garnishments, term letters, and manage the processing of unemployment claims.
• Perform regular audits of HRIS data to ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
• Maintain employment related change trackers.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the firm regarding all payroll, HRIS, and benefits-related inquiries, providing expert guidance and support.
• Continuously seek process improvements to enhance payroll and benefits operations efficiency and accuracy.
• Stay current with payroll legislation, tax laws, and benefits regulations relevant to the US.

Benefits

• Administer employee benefit programs including 401(k), health insurance, life and disability, and other voluntary benefits.
• Assist with Leave of Absence processing.
• Administer COBRA notifications and ensure compliance with federal regulations during the employee offboarding process.
• Prepare and distribute the quarterly benefits newsletter to communicate updates, deadlines, and relevant information to employees.
• Update and maintain HR-related content on the firm's intranet to ensure information is current and accessible.
• Work closely with the finance team for benefits reporting and to manage billing related to employee benefits, ensuring accurate invoicing and reconciliation of benefits costs.
• Coordinate new hire benefits orientation to ensure smooth onboarding and benefits enrollment.
• Prepare materials and communications for open enrollment periods.
• Support benefits compliance reporting to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Manage census information for benefit portals.

Required experience 

• 5-8 years of proven experience managing payroll and benefits administration, preferably within a law firm or professional services environment.
• Proven experience administering and maintaining HRIS systems such as Workday, Paylocity, ADP.
• Strong proficiency in Paylocity payroll software is essential.
• Must be familiar with FMLA rules and regulations.
• Advanced Excel skills, including experience with formulas, pivot tables, data analysis, and reporting.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated experience in HR data entry, system configuration, and data integrity audits.
• Strong knowledge of US payroll legislation, tax, and benefits regulations.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a customer-focused approach.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a fast-paced team.

General Duties 

• Maintain the high standard of service offered to the firm's internal clients and to assist in creating and developing the professional reputation of the function
• Understand and live by Kennedys values – approachable, straightforward, supportive and distinctive
• Be subject to varying degrees of supervision on a day-to-day basis
• Create and maintain professional and positive relationships with partners and employees
• Work in line with the firm's Contribution Areas which are specific to your role and level
• Maintain trust and confidentiality at all times
• Act as a Trusted Advisor by building relationships across all business services teams to ensure a consistent approach and service
• Undertake any specific training as and when required
• Operate safely and considerately in the workplace.

The annualized salary range for this role is $70,000 - $85,000. However, this is contingent upon level of experience, practice group, location and other job-related factors permitted by law.

FLSA: Exempt

About Kennedys

Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 2,750 people worldwide across 48 offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and America we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field.

Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims.

We're a fresh-thinking firm, and we're not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time.

What do we have to offer?

We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you'll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference.

Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive and distinctive. Our values are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for.

The Firm recognises the value of investing in our people's development and believes our culture and values contribute to the quality of our work and of our client relationships. With a culture of on-the-job and experiential learning, peer to peer learning, mentoring, resources and tools that enable you to drive your career, we can support your development in your current and future roles.  A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices.

We strive to celebrate diversity, empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work.  We've created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority.  We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work.  Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work.

Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.