HR & Payroll Specialist

Title: HR & Payroll Specialist
Supervisor: Director of HR
Office Location: Warrenton, Virginia
Job Classification: Full-time, Non-Exempt

About PEC

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) conserves and restores the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.

Your Role

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is seeking to hire a full-time HR & Payroll Specialist to work in our headquarters office in Warrenton, VA. The HR & Payroll Specialist operates under a dual mandate that bridges technical back-office precision with visible, human-centric organizational engagement. The position requires absolute numerical accuracy, data security, and disciplined administration to execute full-cycle biweekly payroll and enforce compliance paired with an approachable, empathetic, and visible in-person presence at headquarters to serve as a trusted point of contact for staff inquiries, facilitate constructive conflict resolution, and address daily employee relations matters with discretion and empathy. PEC has a staff of approximately 70 employees and a broad offering of benefits.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations, Workplace Culture & HR Support (40% Allocation)

• In-Office HR Support: Establish and maintain a visible, approachable HR presence at the Warrenton headquarters office to handle walk-in staff inquiries, build trust across departments and diverse work styles, and address daily employee relations matters with discretion and empathy.
• Employee Onboarding & Offboarding: Manage onboarding and exit workflows, processing intake documentation, delivering new-hire orientations, maintaining confidential personnel files, and coordinating smooth transitions for incoming and departing staff.
• Culture & Conflict Resolution: Evaluate workplace concerns using active listening and de-escalation strategies, facilitate constructive communication between staff and supervisors, enforce organizational policies equitably, and drive initiatives that deepen employee connection to PEC’s core values.
• Leave & Accommodation Support: Administer employee leave requests and accrued leave balances—including year-end carryover adjustments—and coordinate FMLA, ADA accommodations, and paid leave programs in full alignment with statutory requirements.

Payroll & Benefits Administration (40% Allocation)

• Biweekly Payroll Execution: Direct and execute 100% accurate biweekly payroll runs for hourly and salaried employees using Dominion Payroll / iSolved, maintaining complete data integrity across timesheets, pay rates, account coding, state tax setups, and deductions.
• Deductions, Garnishments & Adjustments: Calculate and process wage garnishments, child support orders, tax levies, court-ordered deductions, payroll tax adjustments, salary updates, bonuses, and severance payments with complete confidentiality.
• Benefits Administration & Bill Reconciliation: Oversee annual open enrollment workflows, maintain accurate employee benefits records, perform monthly insurance carrier bill reconciliations, manage 403(b) retirement contributions, and handle electronic data and payment transmissions for HSA and FSA accounts.
• Reporting and Claims Management: Manage and prepare reports, unemployment claims documentation, state agency reporting, and workers’ compensation claims administration, including return-to-work coordination.

Recruitment, Compliance & Operations (20% Allocation)

• Recruitment Management: Utilize Asana to track talent acquisition workflows, draft offer letters, post open positions across recruitment channels, execute background checks, and complete employment verifications and reference checks, and assist hiring managers as needed with screening candidate applications, scheduling panel interviews, and communicating with applicants.
• Regulatory Compliance & File Audits: Maintain audit-ready human resources records to include personnel files, employment law posters, and Form I-9 records and ensure organizational adherence to federal, state, and local employment laws, labor standards, and internal workplace policies.
• Process Improvement & Systems Optimization: Continuously audit HRIS and payroll procedures to identify operational efficiencies, leverage platform automation within iSolved and Asana, and eliminate manual data entry errors.

Geographic Focus

This position will be based out of PEC’s headquarters office in Warrenton, VA or in a hybrid manner to be decided jointly with their supervisor. The nature of this role will require two to three days in office.  This position may require limited travel within PEC’s nine-county service area. Occasional nights and weekends may be required.

Required Qualifications

• Strong work ethic and commitment to PEC’s core values, mission and vision
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, or equivalent practical experience. An Associate’s degree combined with significant, direct HR and payroll experience will be considered as an equivalent.
• 3 years progressive experience combining hands-on biweekly multi-state payroll processing with active employee relations management.
• Experience with automated payroll systems (Dominion Payroll / iSolved)
• Applied understanding of employee benefits administration, multi-state payroll rules, wage and hour laws, FMLA, ADA, and workers’ compensation protocols.
• Proficiency in or willingness to learn and excel in the following software (or similar): project management systems (Asana), MS Office Suite and Google Suite
• Strong ability to plan, organize, prioritize and coordinate multiple projects with initiative and time management skills to meet deadlines consistently
• Strong interpersonal skills and collaborative abilities, including the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds and work styles
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy, and strict adherence to confidentiality
• Ability to work independently after initial instruction
• Ability to prioritize among competing demands (with direction)

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional HR certification (e.g., SHRM-CP or PHR) or Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) credential.
• Prior experience working within a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or an accredited land trust.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

This position will mainly be completed in an office environment. Office work requires extended sitting or standing and the use of a computer, keyboard, and mouse. Occasional attendance of outdoor events may occur, in all weather conditions. Occasional lifting of materials up to 40 lbs. is required (such as a carton of paper). Due to the public-facing nature of PEC’s mission and community events, employees may occasionally be photographed, filmed, or quoted for use in organization publications, promotional materials, social media, and website content.

Compensation

This is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly position with benefits. Salary range is $25.00 to $30.00 per hour, commensurate with experience.

Benefits

PEC offers an outstanding and robust benefits package to full-time employees including:

• Two health plans (83% employer paid premium for employee only plan, 80% employer paid for added dependents)
• Short- & Long-Term Disability*
• Group Term Life*
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity insurances*
• HSA account (with employer match up to $750 per year)
• FSA accounts (health & dependent care)
• 403(b) pension plan with employer contribution after 1 year of service with 100% vesting from day one
• 10 paid holidays
• 2 floating holidays
• PTO leave – 24 days per year, accrued each pay period
• 1 day per year of paid leave to volunteer at another non-profit or charitable cause
• Salary continuation leave for employee or family illness – from 2 to 8 weeks fully paid leave eligibility every 24 months, depending on length of service
• Paid bereavement, jury duty and military service training leave
• Travel expense reimbursement
• Hybrid work environment and flexible work schedules
• Cell Phone Reimbursement, up to $75 per month
• Professional development support
• Payment for relevant licenses & professional membership fees.

*Indicates that this insurance premium is 100% paid by PEC for employee’s coverage.

The Piedmont Environmental Council recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, and therefore our job descriptions are guidelines. Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), reasonable accommodations during the Application or interview process may be requested. If you have any questions or concerns, please email apply@pecva.org.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.