HR Specialist

Job Responsibilities

The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) represents the public interest of South Carolina in utility regulation for the major utility industries – electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water/wastewater, and transportation – before the Public Service Commission (PSC), the court system, and state and federal regulatory bodies. Additionally, the ORS houses the state’s Energy Office, Broadband Office, Equipment Distribution Program (EDP), and has responsibility for oversight of railroad safety and natural gas pipeline safety in South Carolina.

As a member of the Human Resources team, this position will be responsible for:

• SCEIS Lead - Ensure the accurate and timely capture of all ORS workforce and organizational data in SCEIS. Ensure the review and accurate processing of all HR actions in accordance with CG payroll and SCEIS procedures to include new hires, salary changes, terminations, supervisory or organizational changes, and other individual employee changes such as direct deposit, retirement selections, etc. Serve as SCEIS expert, participate in user group activity, communicate changes, and provide training as needed on SCEIS functionality.
• Ensure the accurate processing of employee retirement selections in SCEIS. Coordinate with other HR staff to verify retirement selections at the time of hire and/or within 30 days of hire, and process ORP annual enrollment changes. Regularly monitor and reconcile insurance benefits premium accumulator by correcting records, processing refund requests, or coordinating with Finance for employer contribution corrections. Regularly monitor EES for retirement employer requests and complete and document as required. Assist and facilitate retiring employee deferred compensation rollovers.
• Payroll - Utilize SCEIS reporting tools and payroll closing procedures to verify payroll accuracy and documentation. Ensure thorough documentation of actions and corrections. Obtain review and approval of payroll summary from HR director and CFO. Manage the notification and delivery of employee W-2s. Manage the processing, request, and delivery of off-cycle payrolls as required. Facilitate special payroll scenarios with CG's office and State Treasurer's office to ensure accurate processing, timely communication, and delivery of paychecks.
• Ensure all staff are assigned SCEIS roles necessary to process time and/or leave. Provide user-id and initial password information along with training and/or reference material for accessing and processing time and leave. Respond to employee and supervisor requests for correcting records or processing missing time and leave. Implement a schedule of report review for reconciling missing time, quota discrepancies, or other time and leave module transactions. Ensure employees' prior state service is verified and reflected in recorded dates for leave accrual purposes.
• Receive and respond to various information requests for current and former employees - current and prior employment verifications, payroll verification for loan purposes, service verification for retirement and public service loan forgiveness.
• Participate with the HR team in recruitment and selection activities. Assist in the coordination of interviews, participation in interviews, communicating with applicants and managers, and coordination with agency leadership on job offers.

Minimum and Additional Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least five years of human resources experience using SCEIS ECC HR modules, SCEIS Central, and BEX reporting.

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of human resources principles and practices and laws and regulations affecting human resources. Ability to exercise judgement and extreme discretion. Ability to communicate effectively in written and oral form. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse workforce.

Additional Comments

• All ORS employees are required to attend ethics training annually for continued employment.
• All ORS employees are prohibited from owning equity in regulated utilities.
• Work hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.
• Remote work is not available and employees work in-office at 1901 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201.