Associate Human Resources Analyst, Payroll Specialist

The Judicial Council of California is accepting applications for the position of Associate Human Resources Analyst in the TCAS Payroll unit for the Branch Accounting and Procurement (BAP) office.

This role supports 20 trial courts that use the Phoenix HR/Payroll system to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. It involves entry-level knowledge and experience in HR and payroll regulations. The position is under the direct supervision of a Human Resources Supervisor and involves frequent interaction with both internal staff and external partners. Responsibilities include handling HR, payroll, and benefits transactions, conducting research, and helping implement system updates.

The Judicial Council
The Judicial Council of California is the policy setting body for the state court system and has constitutionally conferred statewide rule-making authority. This authority includes developing, advocating for, and allocating the judicial branch budget. A majority of Council members are California state justices and judges; however, the Council also includes lawyers, legislators, and court administrators.

By enhancing its role as a leadership, knowledge, and service resource for the judicial branch, the Judicial Council’s staff organization seeks to continue to evolve as one of California’s most dynamic public service entities, focused on improving access to justice for all Californians by innovating and responding to the changing needs of the courts and the public. As a government body charged with improving the statewide administration of justice, the Judicial Council has multiple offices with diverse responsibilities relating to court policy and operations. As employees of the council, every member of staff should view and approach their work as one Judicial Council with a public service mission that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Judicial Council strives for work-life balance, including substantial vacation and holiday time. In addition, we offer an excellent benefits package, including pension, medical, dental, and vision coverage, flexible spending, up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs, and retirement savings plans. In San Francisco, the office is only a 7-minute walk from the downtown Civic Center BART station. In Sacramento, the office is minutes from downtown, just north of Discovery Park.

The Judicial Council offers hybrid work arrangements for many positions. The successful candidate will be expected to work in person at the Judicial Council’s San Francisco or Sacramento office at least two days per week, based on their office leader’s direction, and reside in the areas surrounding these locations.

Duties

Provide Human Resource (HR) and Payroll services support to trial courts utilizing the Phoenix SAP system for HR/Payroll:

• Enter, process, and maintain human resources and organizational management master data, benefits, payroll, and time and attendance requests from courts utilizing Phoenix SAP HR/Payroll
• Research and resolve payroll system related issues and provide guidance to trial courts customers.
• Assist trial courts and the Payroll Financial Services unit’s analysts in collecting unidentified claims and arrears and implementing new state taxes.

Process and post payroll, reconcile and distribute vendor reports, files, and payment data for courts utilizing Phoenix SAP HR/Payroll:

• Process court main and off-cycle payrolls, process correction payroll runs, and finalize and post payroll.
• Compare finance/general ledger accounts to payroll extracts and identify, research, and resolve posting errors to ensure proper and timely retirement and savings plan payments
• Upload vendor files and submit balanced remittance documents to finance staff to ensure proper payment within the vendor’s expected timeframes. Validate accepted submissions through the vendor’s web portal(s)
• Troubleshoot, resolve, and test issues with file failures, suspensions, or rejects, and submit incidents for configuration requests when business specifications or file format and layout requirements change

Assist in maintaining system accuracy and consistency - review support requests, initiate incidents, support the implementation of system improvements, support packs, disaster recovery, and new or changing court requirements:

• Review trial court requests for system changes for completion, accuracy, and compliance with state & federal laws and negotiated union agreements impacting the Phoenix SAP HR/Payroll module
• Review test scenarios and results to validate rules and regulations against new or changing configurations and perform additional testing when applicable.
• Validate integration testing results and conduct user acceptance testing for support pack implementation and disaster recovery

Represent the Payroll Services team as a subject matter expert at various meetings:

• Participate in tax meetings held with Payroll Financial Services and Human Resources Payroll System Support staff to review, research, and resolve tax issues identified during payroll processing and the tax reconciliation process
• Contribute to quarterly meetings with court stakeholders to share new or changing information relevant to court needs and system updates
• Meet with Human Resources System Support staff to make recommendations, review training material, and provide feedback regarding new and changing work instructions and other training documents

Special projects and reporting:

• Monitor, process reports, and ensure reporting compliance for the State Controller’s Office Government Compensation in California (GCC) and The State and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4)
• Serve as functional subject matter expert for special projects related to organizational management, benefits, time management, payroll, and employee and manager service

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Attend unit meetings and bi-weekly one-on-one meetings; and
• Complete required biennial Judicial Council training hours.

Salary

• $6,708 - $9,391/month

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in human resources, business administration, psychology, or a directly related field that would provide the knowledge and skills necessary for the assigned area. An additional four (4) years of professional human resources experience may substitute for the bachelor’s degree. Or, additional directly related experience and/or education may be substituted on a year-for-year basis.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Intermediate SAP Human Resources/Payroll ERP experience.
• Ability to understand system integration between payroll and finance modules in an ERP system and review payroll financial data.
• Strong analytical skills reviewing, interpreting, and applying employment rules, court policies, and negotiated changes.
• Ability to independently research and make informed recommendations.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skill.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams, Planner, and Word.
  

Other Information

Please note: if you are selected for hire, verification of employment eligibility or authorization to work in the United States will be required.

How to Apply

This position is Open Until Filled and requires the submission of our official application, a resume and a response to the supplemental question. To ensure consideration of your application for the earliest round of interviews, please apply by July 15, 2025.

To complete an online application, please click the Apply to Job button.
                                                                                                                              
The Judicial Council provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who request such accommodation. Reasonable accommodation needs should be requested through Human Resources at (415) 865-4260. 
 

Supplemental Questions

To better assess the qualifications of each applicant, please provide a response to the following questions. Your answers should not exceed a total of three pages.

1. Please explain why you’re interested in this position and what skills you’d bring to it.
2. Please explain your experience with SAP or other Enterprise Planning (ERP) system(s), including the areas of the system you’ve utilized, frequency, and proficiency. 

Benefits

Some highlights of our benefits package include:

• Health/Dental/Vision benefits program
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• Choice of Annual Leave or Sick/Vacation Leave
• 1 personal holiday per year
• Up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs
• CalPERS Retirement Plan
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• FlexElect Program
• Pretax Parking
• Long Term Disability Program (employee paid/optional)
• Group Legal Plan (employee paid/optional)
  

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Judicial Council of California Is an Equal Opportunity Employer.