Position
Payroll Administrator
Department
Corporate Services - Finance
Salary
Our salaries generally range from $58,495 to $65,224 and are based on qualifications and experience
Languages
English is required and French is an asset
Term
Temporary Contract (1 year) - Replacement
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is the national voice of local governments, representing their interests with the federal government.
With over 2,000 members, including Canada’s largest cities, small urban areas, rural and remote communities, as well as 20 provincial and territorial municipal associations, FCM represents more than 90% of the country’s population. Through its advocacy, funding offers and diverse programs, FCM’s work has a direct impact on Canadians’ quality of life.
At FCM, we are committed to making the communities Canadians live in more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable. We aspire to be deeply respectful, collaborative, empowering and inclusive. All leaders in the organization embrace these values, the corporate culture and the passion for FCM’s mission.
The Payroll Administrator plays a critical role in ensuring the accurate and timely processing of payroll and benefits administration. This position is responsible for assisting in payroll processing, responding to inquiries, maintaining payroll records, and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation. The role contributes to the smooth operation of the payroll function and supports employees, management, and external stakeholders with payroll-related matters.
Payroll Administration:
- Responds to payroll-related inquiries and reporting requests from employees, management, and external stakeholders in a timely manner
- Provides counsel and guidance to employees, People & Culture (P&C), and management on routine payroll-related questions and inquiries
- Supports the Senior Financial Analyst, Payroll and Benefits in ensuring payroll policies and procedures are up to date and compliant with applicable legislation
- Assists in bi-weekly payroll processing, including:
- Reviewing and confirming employee changes in HRIS against approved changes from P&C
- Completing new hire profiles, processing terminations, and making necessary adjustments throughout the employment cycle (e.g., retro pay, top-ups)
- Issuing ROEs for terminations, leaves of absence, and pay group changes
- Maintaining accurate bi-weekly/monthly deductions (group insurance, RRSP/GIA, parking) and recording manual benefit payments for employees on leave
- Inputting one-time adjustments (e.g., miscellaneous, overrides)
- Balancing all payroll transactions, ensuring proper authorization before transmission, and validating output after submission
- Maintains detailed payroll records and employee files for annual audit process
- Performs monthly reconciliation and balancing of statutory deductions per HRIS registers against statements from applicable governing bodies
- Supports reconciliation and preparation of journal entries, processing of payroll-related invoices, and balancing payroll-related general ledger (GL) accounts
- Supports preliminary year-end balancing to identify and process adjustments before year-end
- Update HRIS with applicable changes before the first pay of the year and communicate changes impacting employees
- Complete additional year-end payroll runs to balance totals as necessary
- Assists in the preparation of year-end forms (T4s, T4As and T2200s)
Benefits Administration:
- Responds to employee and provider inquiries regarding benefits in a timely and accurate manner
- Complete administrative tasks with benefits providers (e.g., Sun Life, Desjardins), including enrolment of new employees, coordinating updates and life change adjustments, and related communication and follow-up with employees
- Provides assistance to employees regarding the claims process, including liaising with benefits providers and intervening on employees' behalf if necessary to resolve issues
Knowledge, Experience and Skills
- Post-secondary education in Finance, Accounting, or a related field
- 3-5 years of payroll administration experience
- Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) designation or working towards certification is an asset
- Knowledge of payroll legislation and best practices
- Experience with payroll software (Workday preferred) and a good understanding of Excel, Word, Outlook, and the internet in an Office 365 environment
- Team player who also has the ability to work independently and with minimal supervision
- Requires good organizational, time management and prioritization skills, with a strong attention to detail
- Ability to communicate effectively, with tact and diplomacy, in English is required, in French would be an asset
The benefits to joining the FCM team include summer hours (Fridays off between July 1st and Labour Day); office facilities located in the ByWard Market, FCM’s commitment to employee development and a competitive range of employee benefits and services. FCM encourages flexible work arrangements to support the wellbeing and productivity of employees.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is committed to fostering an organizational culture that embraces equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, where individuals from diverse racial and ethnic identities, nationalities, social economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and physical and mental abilities can thrive and be fully engaged at their best level.
FCM welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process.
The future of work at FCM includes a hybrid work model; therefore, this role will be a combination of virtual and on-site work. The successful candidate is required live within 80kms of downtown Ottawa and be authorized to work in Canada.
For additional information on this posting, or for further information on FCM, access our website at www.fcm.ca. Visit the careers section of our website to apply. The deadline for applications is June 22nd, 2026, or until the position is filled.
We thank all candidates for their interest; however, we will only contact those selected for an interview. All the applications will be kept on file for six months following the hiring.
