Job Description

Location

1017 Middlefield Road Redwood City, 94063

Description

WHY JOIN THE REDWOOD CITY TEAM?

We offer a wide range of meaningful career opportunities with potential for growth, training and development, competitive salaries, flexible work schedules, paid time off, and robust benefits. The Redwood City team is guided by of excellence, integrity, service  inclusion, collaboration and innovation. Inherent in these values is a great organizational culture based on trust, strong and supportive leadership, respect, risk-taking, empowerment, and effective communication.

The community is known for its inclusivity, strong engaged neighborhoods, and civic  pride. The City works diligently to maintain positive and productive relationships with community partners, together providing outstanding services, programs and opportunities for residents and businesses. This mix of tradition and progress, community and diversity, makes Redwood City an extraordinary place to work and call home. If you’re looking to grow your career as a part of a hard-working and fun Finance Department team that fosters innovation, creativity and collaboration, we hope you’ll apply.  

ABOUT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Redwood City’s Finance Department shares an exceptional spirit of camaraderie, always finding ways to bring fun and laughter into the financial backbone of the organization. The Department manages payroll; accounts payable; accounts receivable, accounting; compliance with the purchasing ordinance; budget preparation and annual financial reporting; and treasury management, including investments and debt administration. Team members practice a strong work ethic and attention to detail; celebrate innovation; and seek out continuous improvements to strengthen quality of service and internal controls and streamline processes.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The City of Redwood City invites you to apply for the position of Payroll Supervisor -Confidential.  Under general direction of the Financial Services Manager the Payroll Supervisor, plans, organizes, supervises, trains and evaluates the work and activities of assigned staff engaged in payroll operations ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant processing of employee compensation. Primary duties include providing expert level strategic leadership in planning, preparing, processing, and maintaining the City’s payroll and related records and reports, and partnering with Human Resources to recommend and implement payroll policies and procedures to meet City responsibilities with respect to labor agreements, labor laws, payroll tax administration and system updates.

A few typical responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinates, oversees, and participates in the full spectrum of payroll activities; ensures timely and accurate posting of payroll to the financial accounting system; ensures accurate deduction and remittance of garnishments, child support, IRS levies and court orders as administered by vendors or internal staff; and ensures accurate reporting of changes in pay, payroll status, taxes, benefits, deductions, and retroactive pay adjustments.
• Assists in the development, implementation, administration, and prioritization of goals, objectives, policies, and procedures for assigned Payroll programs.
• Plans, organizes, schedules, assigns, directs, coordinates, and reviews work activities and projects; monitors workflow; reviews and evaluates work products, methods, and procedures; and works with staff to identify and resolve problems. 
• Participates in coordinating and maintaining payroll system data and is responsible for the execution of internal controls to ensure accuracy of data.

• Participates in the development, implementation, and enhancement of the Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) system including configuration, testing, and validation to ensure payroll accuracy and compliance; subject matter expertise on payroll processes to support ERP system design and enhancement; data migration, system integration, and reconciliation; coordinates needs and customizations to meet the needs of departments and/or sound financial practices; and monitors ERP system performance, recommends enhancements, and supports continuous improvement initiatives.

• Selects, trains, motivates, and evaluates assigned personnel; provides and/or coordinates staff training; develops work performance standards; works with employees to correct deficiencies; and implements discipline and termination procedures in conjunction with the Human Resources Department.

• Assists in the investigation of complaints; suggests corrective actions and recommends and implements improvements.
• Keeps abreast of relevant and applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, City labor agreements, policies and procedures, and payroll best practices; recommends and implements payroll policies and procedures to comply with the applicable rules and regulations.  
• Ensures compliance with reporting mandates; submits appropriate forms and transmits information to government agencies, including the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Employee Development Department (EDD).
• Ensures CalPERS pension plan extracts are accurate and filed timely; responds to CalPERS payroll reporting inquiries, discrepancies, audit responses, and action plans.
• Develops, maintains, updates, and communicates organization wide payroll policies and processes regarding earnings, deductions, and timekeeping.
• Compiles, analyzes, and reconciles a variety of records in the preparation of documents and reports; conducts complex analysis and prepares reports as required. Coordinates payroll activities with other departments, divisions, and outside agencies and organizations; assists with training and responding to questions from department timekeepers on timekeeping and payroll systems, payroll legislation, and City policy related to payroll.
• Assists with the preparation of data for use in labor negotiations.
• Performs related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Job Description URL: 

https://www.redwoodcity.org/home/showpublisheddocument/29908/638853400204070000

Job PDF: 

Ideal Candidate

The Ideal Candidate will embrace the City’s emphasis on excellent customer service; will be detail-oriented and able to manage multiple tasks; will successfully perform work requiring analytical ability and be able to synthesize and summarize information; will use initiative and independent judgment; will exercise direct and general supervision over technical support staff; will be a team player who likes working with a variety of City staff and the public and have a sense of humor.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying.  A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in business administration, public administration, finance, accounting, or a related field.  

Experience:

Five years of increasingly professional level government accounting and payroll experience, including experience working with collective bargaining agreements, and at least two years of supervisory or lead experience.

Licenses & Certificates:

Possession of, or ability to obtain, a valid California driver’s license.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of payroll, accounting, internal controls, and auditing.
• Modern and complex principles and practices of public agency finance, including payroll data processing software systems such as Oracle, Tyler Munis, Workday or other similar enterprise Resource Planning systems and procedures.
• Applicable federal, state, and local public sector laws, codes, and regulations, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), CalPERS reportable compensation, taxation, and payroll processing and reporting requirements.
• Principles and practices of effective leadership and employee engagement, supervision, training and performance management and evaluation.
• Retirement reporting that includes enrollment, wage earnings, contributions, and separations.  
• Principles and practices of data collection, recordkeeping, business letter writing, and report preparation.
• Principles, practices, methods, procedures and techniques used in budgeting and governmental accounting, including Accounting Principles General Accepted in the USA (US GAAP).
• English language structure, spelling, composition and grammar. Principles of mathematics and statistics.
• Benefits and insurance deductions administration.
• Interpret payroll related sections of labor and employment agreements.
• Modern office practices, procedures, methods, and equipment, including computer-based accounting systems, electronic spreadsheets and word processing programs.
• Principles of budget development and administration.

Ability to:

• Oversee, coordinate, and direct the day-to-day operations of payroll programs and activities.
• Analyze financial information.
• Attention to detail. Understand, interpret, and apply Citywide and departmental code, policies, procedures, memorandums of understanding, legal documents, and applicable federal, state, and local policies, laws, and regulations, as they pertain to payroll.
• Recommend, implement, and evaluate goals, objectives, programs, projects, policies, and procedures.
• Respond quickly and accurately to requests for information from sources both inside and outside the organization.
• Prepare and maintain a variety of records and reports using computer software
• Supervise, train, develop and evaluate subordinates.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and interact with a variety of people, using team building skills and proactive communication.
• Make decisions and communicate the decision process and outcomes with subordinates and management team.

Special Instructions

**This position has been updated to remain open until January 5, 2026 at 5pm. If you have already applied, no action is needed. CalOpps notifications will be sent out within a few weeks following the close date of 1/5/26.

A City application, resume, cover letter and responses to the supplemental questions are required.

Applications must be filled out completely. Failure to complete the application and supplemental questions will disqualify the applicant from the recruitment process. Failure to list work experience, education or training, or stating “See Resume” in the work experience section of the application will be considered an incomplete application and subject to disqualification. Resumes may be attached separately, but resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a City application. 

Prior to appointment, candidates will be required to pass a background check (at no cost to the candidate) including the following:

1. Criminal History Check
2. Credit Check
3. Fingerprint Check
4. DMV Check
5. References

Note: internal candidates may be required to complete the above-mentioned requirements.

Recruitment Contact

Contact email: 

[email protected]

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