Senior Workday Payroll, Absence & Time Tracking Analyst - Minneapolis, MN (Hybrid) - Full time Role

We’re seeking a Senior Workday Analyst specializing in Payroll, Absence and Time Tracking to own configuration, support, and optimization across these critical Workday domains. You’ll serve as the HR Technology subject matter expert partnering with Payroll, HR, Finance, and IT to deliver accurate payroll outcomes, compliant time tracking, and a great employee experience. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys diving deep into Workday configuration, solving complex calculation challenges, and leading improvements from discovery through testing and production.

Essential Functions

To perform this job successfully, an employee must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily, with or without reasonable accommodation. To request a reasonable accommodation, notify Human Resources or the manager who oversees the position.

Workday Configuration & Administration

1. Design, build, test, and deploy configurations in Workday Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking for the US and Canada, including:
   1. Time Entry Templates, Time Entry Codes, Time Calculation Groups/Rules, related eligibility and validation rules, Meal/Rest penalties, and schedule policies.
   2. Payroll input processing, retro and on-cycle/off-cycle runs, gross-to-net calculations, pay components, earning/deduction setup, garnishments, and year-end processes (W-2/T4).
   3. Payroll accounting setup (journals, ledgers), settlement configuration, bank files, and payroll close processes.
   4. Time off plans and related components (accruals, time offs, eligibility rules, etc), leave types, and related absence configurations (worklets, hubs, reporting).
2. Maintain business processes, security roles, domains, and task routing related to payroll, time, and absence.
3. Support third-party absence vendor relationship, including data reconciliation, impacts and flow of connection points, and changes as needed.
4. Manage semi-annual Workday Releases—impact assessments, regression testing, feature adoption, and documentation.

Testing, Support & Operations

1. Lead parallel payroll testing, UAT, and regression cycles for new rules, integrations, and release updates; develop test scripts and acceptance criteria.
2. Triage and resolve tickets with defined SLAs; identify root causes and drive permanent fixes.
3. Create and maintain SOPs, job aids, knowledge articles, and change management communication for stakeholders.

Governance, Compliance & Stakeholder Partnership

1. Ensure adherence to federal/state/provincial wage-and-hour laws, FLSA, tax rules, and internal control frameworks.
2. Ensure high data quality—audits, reconciliations, and controls to support compliance and accurate financial postings.
3. Partner closely with Payroll Operations, HR, Finance/Accounting, Timekeepers, and People Leaders to align system behavior with policy and contract requirements.
4. Provide SME guidance in projects—M&A transitions, new locations, time clock deployments, and payroll vendor changes.

Minimum Qualifications

1. At least 5 years of Workday configuration experience with a strong focus on Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking, including:
2. Demonstrated expertise configuring Time Calculation Groups/Rules, overtime/premium logic, complex pay components, retro pay, garnishment handling and time off plan/leave types.
3. Experience with national and global payroll setup (US, Canada, UK)
4. Experience supporting regional legislative Absence requirements (US city/state and provincial sick leave polices, state paid family leave, etc)
5. Advanced reporting and calculated fields skills; comfort with audit and reconciliation methods.
6. Experience facilitating working sessions with stakeholders to gather requirements and design solutions to meet those needs.
7. Experience translating technical configuration into business language, creating clear documentation that stakeholders can easily understand.
8. Experience solving complex issues and communicating clearly with stakeholders.
9. Solid understanding of payroll accounting (journals, costing, balancing), wage-and-hour compliance, and tax concepts.
10. MS Excel experience utilizing Pivot Tables, Power Pivots, Charts, Conditional Formatting, creating formulas and utilizing Excel prebuilt formulas, V-Lookups, and File Joins.
11. Knowledge of basic HR and Payroll concepts and business cycles, including payroll results audits and payroll tax adjustments.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Workday Pro certification in Payroll and/or Time Tracking
2. Experience with BIRT/document transformations, Workday Security design, and managing cross-functional dependencies (ex: Absence and Benefits downstream impacts on Time Tracking and Payroll).
3. Background supporting production environments and complex schedule policies, preferably via Scrum/Agile methodologies.
4. Exposure to SOX controls, audit readiness, and year-end payroll activities (W-2/T4, amendments).
5. Experience with time clocks (TCP, Kronos/UKG, or similar).
6. Experience collaborating within an HR Technology team to drive best practices and process improvements.

Best Regards,

Chetna

Truth Lies in  Heart