Payroll Specialist

Protect Democracy is seeking a Payroll Specialist to join our small, collaborative, committed Finance team helping scale and strengthen the financial and payroll operations of a growing nonprofit.

The role centers on hands-on execution and compliance: processing accurate, on-time payroll while keeping the organization aligned with complex federal and state employment laws.

This is an excellent opportunity for a finance professional with strong attention to detail, the ability to critically think while managing competing priorities, and enthusiasm for successfully driving complex processes forward. This role is remote based in the US.

* The priority application deadline for this role is July 23, 2026. Protect Democracy was formed in late 2016 with an urgent and explicit mission: to prevent our democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government. Our mission is non-partisan, and it is our north star.

Since 2016, we have since assembled a team of 130+ experts who have served under Democrats and Republicans, and in the senior ranks of other nonprofit, political, or media organizations.

Joining our organization as the Payroll Specialist is an excellent opportunity to make a positive impact on our democracy, playing a critical role in ensuring Protect Democracy ’s operational excellence, legal compliance, and financial accuracy.

In this role, you’ll run day-to-day payroll operations for a multi-entity organization with employees across more than 30 states. The ideal candidate for this role is passionate about our mission, oriented towards solutions, and adaptable amidst uncertainty.

Please note that candidates who reach the final hiring stage will be required to satisfactorily complete a pre-offer background check.

** In this role, you will: Own semi-monthly payroll and 401K processing across two entities in conjunction with the Accounting team, inc including input validation, deduction changes, and post-run reconciliation; Ensure all payroll policies and