Payroll job description: template and real figures
A template for hiring a payroll, with what employers in today’s 125 open postings for this work ask for and offer. Copy it, fill in the brackets, then post the job free.
- Open postings today
- 125
- Experience asked, median
- 5 years
- Postings that state pay
- 40%
- Median advertised pay
- $128K
- Open to remote work
- 26%
Payroll Specialist [Company] · [City, or Remote and the countries it is open to] · [Full-time] About us [Two sentences: what the company does, for whom, and one number that shows where it is now.] About the role Our Payroll Specialist makes sure every employee is paid the right amount on time, with the right taxes withheld. You will report to [manager’s title] and work with [team]. What you will do - [The most important result of the first year, with a number] - Multi-country payroll: [what this means in your team] - Tax filings: [what this means in your team] - Benefits deductions: [what this means in your team] - Payroll software: [what this means in your team] - [One more duty that is specific to this job] What we are looking for - [5]+ years of experience as a payroll - Experience with Excel - Experience with Jira - [One or two must-haves that are specific to this job] Pay and benefits - Pay range: $[lowest] – $[highest] a year, [plus equity or bonus if any] - Parental leave - Equity - Home office stipend - [Paid time off, health cover and the rest of your benefits] How to apply [What to send, the interview steps and how long they take. Name the date you will reply by.]
What today’s payroll postings say
| Experience asked | Median 5 years; the middle half ask 3–6 years (80 postings name a number) |
|---|---|
| Pay advertised | $102K – $172K for the middle half; median $128K (48 postings with a yearly US-dollar range) |
| Skills named most | Excel (39%), Jira (9%) |
| Benefits named most | Parental leave (27%), Equity (25%), Home office stipend (6%) |
| Most common level | Senior (26% of postings) |
| Titles employers use | Payroll Specialist, Payroll Manager, Payroll Analyst, Senior Payroll Analyst, Senior Payroll Accountant, Senior Payroll Specialist |
Counted from the 125 open postings for this work on Nov 14, 2026, read from employers’ own careers pages. Recounted on every update.
Questions about hiring a payroll
- What should a payroll job description include?
- What the person will achieve in the first year, the duties, the must-have experience, the pay range and how the hiring steps work. For this work, today’s postings name Excel, Jira most often.
- Should a payroll job posting show the salary?
- Yes, if you can: 40% of today’s 125 open payroll postings here do. A range filters out people who would turn the offer down, and several US states and EU countries now require it.
- How many years of experience should I ask for?
- The median in today’s payroll postings is 5 years. Ask for what the work needs: every extra year you require shrinks the pool of applicants.
Everything about payroll work
See also: 125 open payroll jobs · payroll pay · how to hire a payroll · all job description templates