Human Resources Specialist

This is a Full Time Job

Department: Human Resources
Classification: Full-Time
Reports to: SVP, Human Resources
Location: Toronto, ON (4 days in office/1 day remote)

Position Summary
The HR Specialist plays a key role in supporting the full employee lifecycle and ensuring efficient HR operations across recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, HRIS management, and employee relations. This position serves as a primary point of contact for employees and managers, maintains accurate HR data, ensures compliance with federal, provincial, and local regulations, and contributes to ongoing HR projects and process improvements. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, proactive, adaptable, and committed to delivering exceptional internal customer service.

Key Responsibilities
Payroll Administration
• Accurately process bi-weekly payroll for Canada and the United States using Rippling.
• Verify timesheets, wage calculations, deductions, and withholdings.
• Respond promptly to payroll-related inquiries and help troubleshoot issues.
• Ensure accurate processing of compensation adjustments, tax forms, direct deposit updates, and other payroll changes.
• Conduct payroll audits and ensure compliance with payroll tax regulations across multiple states.

Benefits Administration
• Manage enrollments, changes, terminations, leave of absence claims, and open enrollment processes.
• Coordinate communications with benefits brokers, carriers, and internal teams.
• Provide consultative guidance to employees and managers regarding compensation and benefits policies.
• Support compensation programs, salary reviews, and rewards initiatives.

HR Operations & Employee Support
• Serve as the first point of contact for HR-related inquiries, providing timely and accurate guidance or routing to appropriate team members.
• Maintain and update employee information within Rippling
• Maintain accurate and confidential employee records, managing sensitive changes such as promotions, transfers, and terminations.
• Support employee relations efforts by responding to questions, addressing concerns, and assisting HR leadership with investigations or documentation.
• Assist with organizing HR meetings, training sessions, events, and employee engagement activities.
• Maintain HR libraries including job descriptions, policies, and templates.
• Prepare employment verification letters, reports, presentations, and other HR correspondence.

Recruitment & Onboarding
• Assist with full-cycle recruitment, including posting job openings, scheduling interviews, coordinating candidate communications, and supporting background checks.
• Draft and prepare offer letters, employment confirmations, and other hiring documentation.
• Facilitate new hire onboarding, including system setup, orientation, documentation collection, welcome materials, and coordination with internal stakeholders.
• Ensure smooth offboarding, including HRIS updates, payroll and benefits changes, exit packets, and access removal.

Compliance & Reporting
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local HR laws and regulations (AODA, etc.).
• Assist with policy audits, development, and updates.

Project & Administrative Support
• Support HR department projects and initiatives aimed at continuous improvement, automation, and efficiency.
• Coordinate meetings, events, training sessions, and HR team functions.
• Process HR invoices
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

Required
• 1-3 years of experience in Human Resources, Payroll administration, Benefits support, or a related role.
• Experience with global payroll processing (Canada & United States) and multi-state compliance.
• Strong knowledge of HR policies, employment law, and best practices.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Visio) and Google Workspace.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict-management skills.
• Exceptional organization, time management, and attention to detail.
• Ability to independently manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Background in compensation, benefits, or HR data analysis.
• Experience with Rippling.
• Entertainment industry HR experience.