Payroll & Benefits Specialist at Algo in Calgary, Alberta, CA

Payroll & Benefits Specialist

About the Role

Algo is looking for a Payroll & Benefits Specialist to own the accurate, on-time, and compliant delivery of payroll and benefits administration for our Canadian team, with growing exposure to our global footprint. This role picks up the operational and administrative backbone of pay and benefits so our People Operations Lead can focus on strategy, policy, and program design.

This is a role for someone who takes real ownership of a process, brings order to competing deadlines without being told twice, and wants a clear runway to grow — into more senior payroll and compensation & benefits work, and eventually across the HR profession more broadly. You'll work independently on your core deliverables, with the support and mentorship of the People Operations Lead and the wider HR team.

What You'll Own

Payroll Administration (Canada, with global exposure)

• Own end-to-end processing of Canadian payroll each cycle — accurate, on time, fully compliant with federal and provincial requirements.

• Process all payroll change inputs (new hires, terminations, salary changes, bonuses, leaves) and confirm they land correctly in the pay run.

• Reconcile payroll data each cycle, investigate and resolve discrepancies before they become problems.

• Prepare payroll reporting, accruals, and journal entry support for Finance.

• Support year-end payroll activities: T4s, ROEs, and (as our footprint grows) W-2 coordination.

• Act as the day-to-day liaison with payroll vendors and, for select global locations, PEOs — keeping information flowing accurately between Algo and external partners.

• Track payroll legislation changes across our jurisdictions and flag anything that needs attention before it becomes a compliance risk.

Benefits Administration

• Administer employee enrollments, life-event changes, and terminations across our benefit plans, keeping every system in sync.

• Reconcile vendor invoices against payroll and HRIS records, and chase down and resolve any mismatches.

• Be the first point of contact for employee questions about coverage, enrollment, and deductions — with the judgment to know when to escalate.

• Coordinate open enrollment logistics and help prepare clear, plain-language communications for employees.

• Maintain benefits data across BambooHR and vendor platforms, and run regular audits to catch and correct discrepancies.

Records, Systems & Process Ownership

• Maintain accurate, audit-ready employee records and documentation across BambooHR in line with employment legislation.

• Own the administrative side of onboarding and offboarding: system setup, data entry, and change tracking.

• Build and maintain simple, reliable checklists and trackers for recurring payroll and benefits cycles — and look for ways to make them faster and less error-prone.

• Bring structure to ambiguity: when a process doesn't exist yet, you're comfortable proposing one rather than waiting to be told.

What You Bring

• 2–4 years of experience in payroll and/or benefits administration, ideally with direct Canadian payroll experience.

• Exceptional organizational skills — you can run several deadline-driven processes at once without dropping a detail.

• A genuine sense of ownership: you don't need close supervision to know what “done right” looks like.

• Comfort with ambiguity and a bias toward building or improving a process rather than just following one.

• Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups) and comfort learning new HRIS and payroll platforms.

• Discretion and sound judgment handling confidential employee and compensation data.

• Clear, empathetic communication — you remember that behind every pay discrepancy or benefits question is a person who needs a straight answer.

Nice to Have

• Progress toward a PCP (Payroll Compliance Practitioner) or CEBS designation.

• Exposure to multi-jurisdiction or EOR/PEO payroll coordination.

• Experience with BambooHR, Wagepoint, PayFit, or similar platforms.

Where This Role Can Go

We built this role to be a genuine on-ramp, not a holding pattern. As you build a track record of accuracy and ownership, there are two natural directions to grow:

• Deeper into Compensation & Benefits — toward Payroll & Benefits Analyst, then Compensation & Benefits Specialist or Manager, taking on plan design, benchmarking, and vendor strategy.

• Broader into HR — toward a Generalist or People Operations path, building on the employee-lifecycle and cross-jurisdiction exposure this role already gives you.

You'll have direct mentorship from the People Operations Lead, exposure to global comp & benefits work as Algo's footprint grows, and real input into how our payroll and benefits processes evolve — not just execution of what already exists.