Senior Workday Payroll Lead Higher Education

We are seeking a seasoned Senior Workday Payroll Lead to lead a complex Workday Payroll implementation within a Higher Education environment.

The ideal candidate will be a hands-on Workday Payroll SME with deep expertise in Payroll configuration, payroll engine design, testing, parallel payroll, balancing, reconciliation, and go-live. Candidates must have multiple full lifecycle Workday Payroll implementations and direct experience supporting complex university payroll environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary Workday Payroll Lead / SME for a complex Higher Education implementation.
• Lead Workday Payroll through discovery, design, configuration, testing, deployment, go-live, and post-production support.
• Configure and design Workday Payroll including:
  • Payroll engine setup
  • Earnings and deductions
  • Payroll calculations
  • Payroll taxes
  • Retro processing
  • Payroll balancing and reconciliation
• Lead payroll testing, parallel payroll execution, reconciliation, and go-live readiness.
• Support pass-through payroll models and shadow payroll calculations.
• Facilitate payroll workshops, requirements sessions, and solution-design discussions.
• Partner with Workday architects, HCM, integrations, Time Tracking, Absence, and client teams.
• Troubleshoot complex payroll configuration and calculation issues.
• Manage payroll risks, issues, dependencies, and client escalations.
• Serve as a trusted payroll advisor to client leadership and project stakeholders.
• Drive cross-functional teams toward successful implementation and deployment.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of Workday Payroll experience.
• Minimum 3 4 full lifecycle Workday Payroll implementations.
• At least 2 implementations as a Workday Payroll Lead.
• 5+ full lifecycle implementations strongly preferred.
• Deep hands-on Workday Payroll configuration experience.
• Strong expertise with:
  • Payroll Engine Design
  • Payroll Calculations
  • Earnings & Deductions
  • Payroll Tax Configuration
  • Retro Processing
  • Parallel Payroll
  • Payroll Testing
  • Payroll Balancing
  • Payroll Reconciliation
• Experience with pass-through payroll and shadow payroll calculations.
• Strong client-facing consulting and stakeholder-management experience.
• Proven ability to lead complex Workday Payroll implementations.

Higher Education Experience Required

Candidates must have direct Higher Education / University Workday Payroll implementation experience