Workday Payroll SME

Senior Consultant Advisor, ERP Alma Arteaga is recruiting this position.

Seeking a consultant who will be responsible for leading the design, standardization, and optimization of payroll processes and configurations across a multi-entity network environment. This role focuses on aligning disparate payroll practices into a unified, compliant, and scalable Workday payroll framework. The consultant will serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for Workday Payroll, ensuring operational consistency, regulatory compliance, data integrity, and system efficiency across all business units.

• Some onsite work in Valhalla, NY
• 12-month contract role

• Lead the development and implementation of standardized payroll policies, processes, and controls across the network.
• Harmonize pay rules, earnings codes, deductions, tax treatments, and payroll calendars across multiple entities.
• Establish governance frameworks for payroll configuration changes, approvals, and version control.
• Define and document standardized payroll operating models, procedures, and workflows.
• Configure and maintain Workday Payroll, including earnings, deductions, taxation, retro processing, and off-cycle payrolls.
• Support payroll parallel testing, validation, and reconciliation activities during standardization and deployment phases.
• Ensure accurate integration between Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, Absence Management, Benefits, and Financials.
• Ensure payroll configurations comply with federal, state, and local regulations (e.g., FLSA, tax compliance, wage/hour laws, union agreements where applicable).
• Partner with Legal, HR, and Compliance teams to mitigate payroll risk and audit exposure.
• Support internal and external audits, including documentation, controls testing, and remediation.
• Partner with HR, Finance, IT, and Operations leaders to drive alignment on payroll standardization strategy.
• Translate business requirements into scalable Workday payroll solutions.
• Support organizational change management, including communications, training, and adoption strategies.
• Provide functional leadership and advisory support to payroll teams across the network.
• Ensure data accuracy, reconciliation controls, and auditability across payroll processes.
• Support standardized reporting, analytics, and payroll metrics across entities.
• Establish data governance standards for payroll-related information.

• 5+ years of extensive experience in Workday Payroll configuration and deployment
• Proven experience leading enterprise payroll standardization initiatives
• Prior experience with Healthcare facility
• Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll regulations, wage and hour laws, and payroll compliance
• Experience in multi-entity, multi-location, or networked organizational environments
• Expertise in payroll process design, transformation, and optimization
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex system and process transformations
• Advanced documentation, requirements gathering, and solution design capabilities

• Workday Payroll certification(s)
• Experience with large-scale HRIS or ERP transformations
• Background in healthcare, government, education, or other highly regulated industries
• Experience with unionized workforce payroll structures
• Change management or project management certification (e.g., PMP, Prosci, Agile)

• Payroll systems architecture
• Process standardization and governance
• Regulatory compliance
• Enterprise system integration
• Data governance and controls
• Risk management
• Change leadership
• Operational transformation

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