HR Operations & Payroll Specialist

In business for over 30 years, Allied has built upon its roots in film advertising and publicity to become a global leader in entertainment, culture, and lifestyle marketing. Allied’s award-winning team of specialists, over 400 strong across 23 global offices, create campaigns that drive conversion for some of the world’s biggest brands in film, TV, sports, gaming, live entertainment, cultural institutions, hospitality, and consumer brands. Our teams provide best-in-class marketing solutions across a range of services including integrated paid, owned, and earned media, creative solutions, and strategic consulting.

Job Title: HR Operations & Payroll Specialist

Department: HR

Reports To: VP, HR

Location: Hybrid, In-Office in Boston, MA 

Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Overview:

The HR Operations & Payroll Specialist owns payroll for Allied’s US, Canada and UK employees and is the go-to resource for employee pay questions. Beyond payroll, this role supports the HR systems, processes, and data that keep people operations running smoothly. It’s a hands-on role for someone who takes pride in getting pay right, explaining it clearly, and finding better ways to work.

Work Environment:

This position is currently performed primarily remotely from the employee’s home office. In-office or in-person collaboration is required as business needs dictate. Currently, in office expectations are 1x per week, work location arrangements are subject to change.

Key Responsibilities:

Payroll (approx. 35%)

• Own end-to-end payroll for the US and Canada, including regular runs, off-cycle payments, terminations, adjustments, and year-end activities (W-2s, T4s)
• Independently resolve payroll tax, compliance, and pay accuracy issues across US states and Canada, determining corrective actions and communicating outcomes to employees and Accounting
• Approve and release payroll funding, partnering with Accounting on reporting, journal entries, and reconciliations
• Serve as the primary point of contact for pay, tax, timesheet, and deduction questions, explaining them clearly and with care
• Respond to employment and income verification requests
• Coordinate with outside payroll vendors to support international payrolls and be a key player in the transition of UK payroll in-house

HR Operations & Benefits Administration (approx. 25%)

• Manage Allied’s self-funded medical plan in partnership with our broker, third-party administrator (TPA), and stop-loss carrier, including claims funding, reconciliations, and monthly reporting
• Review, approve, and pay benefits invoices, identifying and resolving discrepancies with carriers and the TPA
• Administer US and Canada benefits programs, including enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, and eligibility changes
• Serve as the day-to-day contact for carriers, the TPA, and brokers, resolving claims, eligibility, and billing issues
• Support plan compliance, including COBRA, ACA reporting, Form 5500, PCORI fees, and plan documents, in partnership with the HR manager, and broker 
• Handle protected health information in line with HIPAA privacy and security requirements
• Run onboarding and offboarding processes, including system setup, documentation, and benefits changes
• Respond to HR inbox cases related to benefits, onboarding, offboarding, and general HR processes

HR Systems (approx. 20%)

• Serve as a day-to-day administrator for Rippling, including configuration, workflows, troubleshooting, and vendor tickets
• Gather business requirements, test changes, and communicate system updates to employees and managers
• Build self-service resources and FAQs that reduce repeat employee questions
• HR Support, Data & Reporting (approx. 20%)
• Support HR programs including open enrollment, performance reviews, learning management, recruiting, and hiring
• Partner with the HR team on projects and process improvements across the employee lifecycle
• Maintain data accuracy and integrity across HR, payroll, and benefits systems
• Build and maintain reports for HR and leadership, including benefits plan and payroll reporting

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 3 to 5 years of experience in HR operations, payroll, or a combination of both
• Hands-on experience processing multi-state US payroll
• Experience administering an HRIS, preferably Rippling or a comparable all-in-one platform
• Intermediate to advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and data cleanup
• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain technical pay and benefits topics in plain language
• High attention to detail and sound judgment with confidential information
• Comfort managing a high volume of requests while keeping projects moving

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with a payroll implementation, migration, or new system rollout
• Exposure to international payroll (UK or Canada)
• Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), or SHRM-CP/PHR
• Experience in an agency, entertainment, or other fast-paced professional services environment

Key Competencies:

• Attention to detail
• Communication
• Judgement & Decision making
• Problem solving
• Prioritization of deadlines, ongoing requests, and projects
• Ability to use AI responsibly, including evaluating accuracy, protecting confidential information, and applying appropriate human review and judgment

Compensation:

• Base salary range: $65,000 – $70,000, commensurate with experience

Benefits: 

At Allied Global Marketing, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support our employees' health, financial security, and overall well-being. This includes medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) retirement plan, paid time off, and additional programs to support work-life balance. Benefits eligibility and offerings may vary based on role, location, and employment type.

Allied Global Marketing is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.