Principal Grants Management Implementation Consultant, Higher Education

Workday•Atlanta, GA

18d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Higher Ed Functional Consulting team partners with colleges and universities to design and deliver Workday Grants Management solutions. The team leads implementations end to end, balancing scope, milestones, and quality, and uses shared knowledge and Workday AI tools to improve implementation quality and efficiency. The Grants Management Consultant partners with higher education customers to design, configure, and deploy Workday Grants Management solutions. The role applies Workday product and implementation expertise to translate business requirements into practical solutions, with meaningful ownership of the Grants workstream and autonomy to recommend designs that support long-term success. The consultant works closely with customers, project teammates, and Engagement Managers to move projects forward and support customers through implementation milestones. The position is open at Senior Consultant or Principal Consultant level depending on experience, scope of expertise, and track record. Travel may be required up to 50% based on client and project needs. Workday’s Flex Work approach requires at least half of each quarter spent in the office or in the field with customers, prospects, and partners, depending on the role.

Requirements

For the Principal Grants Management Consultant level: 6 or more years of Grants and Financial consulting experience, or 6 or more years of Grants operational experience at a Higher Education institution.
For the Principal Grants Management Consultant level: 6 or more years of experience in a consulting, software, or internal Workday environment, with hands-on responsibility for payroll configuration and testing and partnering with stakeholders.
For the Principal Grants Management Consultant level: 6 or more years of Workday Grants experience.
Experience with Workday, Lawson, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, or similar applications.
Experience with Grants Management solutions and one or more of the following: Accounts Receivable, Projects, Endowments, Fund Accounting, or Nonprofit Accounting.
Experience working with Higher Education and/or Nonprofit organizations.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; Finance or Accounting is preferred.
At least two full-cycle software implementations in the Higher Education industry.
Understanding of reporting and compliance requirements for government-funded grants.
Ability to manage multiple customers in parallel, estimate effort accurately, surface risks early, and coordinate with Engagement Managers and project teams to keep scope, schedule, and quality on track.
Ability to build trusted, long-term relationships with payroll, HR, and/or finance stakeholders in Higher Education and/or Nonprofit environments, including navigating complex governance structures such as committees, unions, and shared governance.
Ability to travel up to 50% based on client and project needs, particularly for key implementation milestones such as design sessions and major testing events.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of research or clinical trial solutions.
Finance or Accounting degree or background.

Responsibilities

Design and configure Workday Grants Management solutions for customer needs and operational realities.
Apply deep Workday Grants Management product expertise across customer engagements.
Elicit, clarify, and document customer business requirements.
Document solution decisions so customers can support and sustain their environments after go-live.
Partner with client and data conversion teams on conversion of legacy grants and financial data into Workday.
Partner with integration teams on configuration and testing of integrations between Workday and third-party or custom solutions, as applicable.
Support customer testing cycles, including issue triage and resolution.
Transfer system knowledge to customer teams to support adoption, confidence, and long-term success in production.
Communicate with the Engagement Manager about project status, hours forecasting, time reporting, risks, and mitigation plans.
Help customers prepare for and navigate implementation milestones from design through testing and deployment.
Mentor consultants who are newer to Grants Management.
Participate in training and knowledge-sharing updates that strengthen team capability.
Identify opportunities to improve the Higher Education consulting practice and lead or participate in internal initiatives.