Workday Payroll Consulting Manager

We are seeking a strategic thinker and consultant with experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Payroll transformation lead engagements across business process assessment, technology strategy, organizational readiness, Workday implementation, and post-production support. This role is ideal for someone who is looking to apply their Workday Payroll experience as a Workday customer or system implementor, to a broader strategic context, helping clients navigate complex decisions, align technology with mission, and drive meaningful change. This is not an implementer role, it’s about shaping the vision and guiding the journey. As such, your Workday Payroll implementation and support experience is valued, but your broader strategic thinking, and ability to cultivate strong client relationships is what drives success.

Key Responsibilities

• Guide ERP Readiness and Advisory: Conduct assessments, develop roadmaps, and advise clients on ERP-related decisions within broader transformation efforts.
• Shape Client Strategy: Collaborate with client leaders and practitioners to define vision, evaluate options, and align technology investments with mission outcomes.
• Facilitate Stakeholder Alignment: Lead daily meetings, workshops, interviews, and executive briefings to surface priorities, drive program execution and build consensus. Effectively manage working relationships between our clients, system implementation partners, independent contracts and other third parties.
• Advise with Leading Practice: Help our clients contextualize their Workday challenges and decisions, bringing relevant experience, Workday product expertise, and practical solutions.
• Provide Operational Leadership: Facilitate the end-to-end product lifecycle for Workday Payroll solutions, including roadmap definition, backlog prioritization, and delivery across configuration, integration, reporting and technical teams.
• Direct Workday Releases: Provide framework and tactical support for our clients to manage biannual releases and routine system enhancements, ensuring platform stability while driving continuous improvement across payroll processes.
• Drive Sustainment Planning: Facilitate planning of an effective future state Payroll organization that adapts to Workday HCM and Payroll functionality, and provides the client with the opportunity to make organizational changes that will positively impact their payroll capacity and capability.
• Collaborate Across Workstreams: Partner with delivery teams across large complex Workday programs including program management, change management and training, HR, Finance and IT towards a shared vision of success, and greater ROI for our Workday customers.
• Contribute to Practice Growth: Support methodology development, proposal writing, business development, thought leadership, and internal capability building.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on configuration experience in Workday payroll as a Workday customer or systems implementor.
• 3+ years of product ownership experience in Workday payroll and other Workday HCM modules as a Workday customer or consultant.
• Experience defining and managing execution of agile release management processes including backlog management, roadmap definition, prioritization, sprint planning and change control.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Workday payroll solution and Workday ecosystem.
• Workday customer or implementor certification in payroll.
• Strong functional knowledge of payroll business processes, including upstream and downstream impacts across Workday functional areas, common challenges with Workday solutions, and leading practices.
• Strong analytical and communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations.
• Ability to lead client engagements independently and collaboratively.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous employment as a management or technology consultant at a recognized professional services organization.
• Previous experience in management or technology consulting, with material client project experience in payroll and HCM business process analysis and ERP transformation (e.g., current state assessment, software selection, software implementation).
• Experience working with mission-driven sectors such as higher education, nonprofit, and state and local is preferred.
• Previous experience and/or certification as payroll professional.
• Experience supporting business development efforts such as proposal writing and sourcing new business for existing clients is preferred.

Additional Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to build trusted advisor relationships with clients
• Experience supporting sales and business development
• Position requires flexibility to travel periodically based on business and client needs

Additional Information

Attain Partners values your mental, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing. Our comprehensive benefits package starts on your first day of employment and includes benefits such as:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision coverage, HSA and FSA accounts, life and disability insurance, fertility and family planning benefits, and employee assistance and discount programs
• 11 paid federal holidays and flexible unlimited time off (UTO)
• Generous 401(k) matching with immediate vesting
• Flexible career paths – our career tracks provide advancement, mobility, and flexibility as you continue to grow with us
• A healthy environment where we value unique experiences, and care about everything that makes you, you.