Payroll and Benefits Specialist

Butternut Mountain Farm seeks a Payroll & Benefit Business Partner to own end-to-end payroll and benefits for our maple manufacturing operations. In this role, you will process multi-state payroll, maintain accurate employee records, administer health, retirement, and leave programs, and ensure compliance with wage-and-hour and benefits regulations. You'll partner with HR, Finance, and operations leaders to improve processes, support employees with payroll and benefit questions, and provide clear reporting that supports a collaborative, values-based culture rooted in Vermont agriculture.

Responsibilities

• Process accurate, timely biweekly payroll for hourly and salaried employees across multiple shifts and locations.
• Administer health, dental, vision, life, disability, and 401k plans, including enrollments, changes, and terminations.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state wage-and-hour, tax, and benefits regulations, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of changes.
• Reconcile payroll and benefits invoices, resolve discrepancies, and partner with Finance on reporting and month-end processes.
• Maintain HRIS data integrity, employee records, and documentation for audits and regulatory reviews.
• Support employees with payroll and benefits questions, delivering clear, timely, and confidential guidance.
• Coordinate open enrollment, benefits communications, and vendor/broker relationships.
• Prepare and analyze payroll and benefits reports to support budgeting, forecasting, and leadership decision-making.
• Partner with HR and operations to improve processes, controls, and employee experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Support onboarding and offboarding to ensure accurate setup and closure of payroll and benefit records.

Required Skills

• Payroll processing
• Benefits administration
• HRIS systems (e.g., ADP, Paylocity, Paychex)
• FLSA and wage-and-hour compliance
• Benefits reconciliation
• Excel and data analysis
• Reporting and audit support
• Vendor and broker coordination
• Leave of absence administration
• Employee onboarding and offboarding