PAY & BENEFITS SPECIALIST

 
Competition number:             J0726-0906
 
Department:                            People & Culture
 
Status:                                     Full-Time, Two- year term
 
Hours:                                       Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (35 hours per week); (some evenings, weekends, and holidays)
 
 
Annual/hourly salary:              $76,200 – $95,100 (position with benefits and pension plan)
 
Closing date:                           August 23, 2026
 
Anticipated start date:             As soon as possible
 
 
Introducing the National Arts Centre
 
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams – the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety – and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.
 
At the National Arts Centre, we believe the performing arts are vital to the human experience. A house of dreams for the Canadian performing arts, we work with artists and arts organizations from across this land to revitalize our sector. 
 
Curious to learn more? Read our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, The Journey Ahead.  
 
 
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism and Accessibility
 
We are on a journey, committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, anti-racism and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples will guide our actions. 
 
The NAC welcomes applications from?candidates who can help us meet our vision, and contribute to the diversity of?lived experiences, perspectives, and approaches.?When you join the NAC, you will be part of an inclusive?community working hard to dismantle barriers to employees’?well-being, access, potential, and success. The NAC actively seeks candidates who identify as women, Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour (IBPoC), members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and people?with disabilities. We encourage you to self-identify in the recruitment process.
 
Key activities:
 
Under the direction of the Director, Compensation and Benefits, the Pay and Benefits Specialist is responsible for the accurate and timely administration and maintenance of payroll, benefits, and human resources information for National Arts Centre’s employees. The NAC is comprised of six pay groups, including unionized and non-unionized environments, paid on both weekly and bi-weekly schedules. The incumbent collects, verifies and processes payroll information for their assigned pay groups and maintains employee information including any HR related information within Dayforce.  The Pay and Benefits Specialist also maintains various plans such as the Public Service Pension Plan and Long-Term Disability plan. The incumbent is also responsible for the reconciliation of all payroll deductions and contributions as part of the monthly remittances issued by the NAC to multiple partners. The Pay & Benefits Specialist works closely with the People and Culture team, the Finance department and other NAC departments, cross-functionally to deliver accurate payroll activities and seamless employee payroll experience. This role ensures data integrity, supports reconciliation and reporting activities, and contributes to process standardization and continuous improvement within the Payroll Services Team.
 
Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
 

• Provides information to employees, management, unions, and government agencies as required;
• Maintains accurate payroll, benefits, pension, leave and employee information within Dayforce;
• Processes end-to-end payroll for multiple employee pay groups;
• Handles payroll-related inquiries from employees and management;
• Prepares payroll reports and assist with audits, reconciliation and internal reporting.
• Stays up to date with changes in payroll legislation, tax laws, and industry best practices;
• Contributes to payroll and benefits initiatives such as system upgrades, audits, process optimization, and policy updates;
• Promote data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance in all payroll and benefits activities.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or related discipline; or a relevant combination of post secondary education and experience;
• Minimum of four (4) years of experience in payroll and benefits administration;
• Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) certification is an asset;
• Fluent in both official languages (English and French), written and spoken;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Knowledge of accounting, payroll and benefits;
• Strong knowledge of payroll legislation, employment standards, statutory deductions and related compliance requirements;
• Experience administering pension plans, preferably within a public-sector, Crown corporation, or unionized environment. Experience with the Public Service Pension Plan (Superannuation) is a strong asset;
• Knowledge of system workflows and data integrity best practices for 300+ employees and/or multiple pay groups;
• Knowledge and experience using HRIS and payroll systems; experience with Dayforce is considered a strong asset);
• Advanced proficiency of Microsoft Excel for payroll reporting, data analysis and reconciliation;
• Ability to work with minimum supervision while being a strong team player;
• Proven ability to handle sensitive information with discretion, tact, and confidentiality;
• Ability to analyse problems and propose thorough, innovative solutions;
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines while ensuring accurate, compliant data processing and reporting;
• Ability to manage stress level while under pressure;
• Ability to work some evenings, weekends and/or holidays, as required to support payroll processing.