Payroll & Timekeeping Program Manager (Public Service Administrator)

Essential Functions

• Serves as the Payroll & Timekeeping Program Manager for the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC).
• Serves as a member of the IDEC Labor Relations Advisory Team.
• Plans, organizes, directs, and manages IDEC’s compliance with State of Illinois retirement laws, rules, and regulations, including the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) and applicable Collective Bargaining Agreements, as they relate to employee retirement and retirement-related benefits.
• Serves as a full-line supervisor.
• Provides confidential program management planning, execution of program plans, program reporting, and other requested or required projects and reports for the Human Resources Director and IDEC Leadership.
• Manages the Onboarding and Offboarding and New Employee Orientation Programs.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of duties enumerated above.

Minimum Qualifications

• Requires knowledge, skill, and mental development equivalent to completion of four (4) years of college, preferably with courses in business or public administration.
• Requires prior experience equivalent to three (3) years of progressively responsible administrative experience in a public or business organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Three (3) years of professional work experience of State of Illinois payroll, timekeeping, and personnel systems, including e-Time, Central Timekeeping and Payroll System (CTAS), Central Payroll System (CPS) or similar systems, and related CMS processes and requirements.
• Three (3) years of professional work experience interpreting and applying State and federal employment laws, rules, and Collective Bargaining Agreements, including but not limited to SERS retirement requirements, FMLA, and military leave provisions.
• Three (3) years of professional work experience supervising or serving in a lead worker role over professional and clerical staff in a high-volume payroll, timekeeping, or employee services environment, including assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, addressing grievances, and recommending or imposing discipline.
• Three (3) years of professional work experience coordinating complex personnel transactions in collaboration with HR, Transactions, Fiscal, and external oversight entities to ensure accuracy, compliance, and timely processing.
• Three (3) years of experience utilizing strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience conducting investigations into payroll and timekeeping discrepancies, preparing findings, and making recommendations to senior leadership.
• Two (2) years of experience preparing detailed written, statistical, and compliance reports, including the use of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) to create spreadsheets, charts, graphs, dashboards, and confidential status reports.
• Excellent communication and training skills, including experience providing technical assistance, guidance, and training to employees, supervisors, and managers on payroll, timekeeping, retirement, onboarding/offboarding, and employee benefit processes.

Conditions of Employment

• Requires a criminal history check through the Illinois State Police.
• Requires the ability to use state issued equipment, such as a cell phone or laptop.  
• Overtime is a condition of employment, and you may be requested or required/mandated to work overtime including scheduled, unscheduled, or last-minute overtime. This requires the ability to work evenings and weekends.  
• Requires ability to travel in the performance of duties, with overnight stays as appropriate. Requires appropriate, valid driver’s license.
• Certain provisions of the revolving door restrictions contained in 5 ILCS 430/5-45 apply to this position. As a result, the employee should be aware that if offered non-State employment during state employment or within one year immediately after ending State employment, the employee shall, prior to accepting any such non-State employment offer, notify the Office of the Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor (OEIG) or may be subject to a fine.

*The conditions of employment listed here are incorporated and related to any of the job duties as listed in the job description.

About the Agency:

The Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) was signed into law in June of 2024 with the focus of making early childhood education and care services simpler, better and fairer for families with young children across the state. During fiscal years FY25 and FY26, IDEC will be working through transitioning data, programs and services from three state agencies – the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), – to IDEC in order to be fully operational by July 2026. Illinois strives to be the best state in the nation to raise a family with young children and IDEC is committed to continue putting children and families center while reducing complexities and finding efficiencies in the system and advancing equity.